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Samuel Mānaiakalani Kamakau (October 29, 1815 – September 5, 1876) was a Native Hawaiians historian and scholar. His work appeared in local newspapers and was later compiled into books, becoming an invaluable resource on the Hawaiian people, Hawaiian culture, and Hawaiian language while they were disappearing.
Along with David Malo and John Papa ʻĪʻī, Kamakau is considered one of Hawaii's greatest historians, and his contributions to the preservation of Hawaiian history have been honored throughout the Hawaii.
A society was started at Lahainaluna according to the desire of the teachers. As the people of Alebione (Albion) had their British history and read about the Saxons and William, so the Hawaiians should read their history...The King said he thought the history of all the islands should be preserved from first to last.
Known as the Royal Hawaiian Historical Society, members included King Kamehameha III, Keoni Ana, Timothy Haalilio, David Malo, Dwight Baldwin, William Richards, Sheldon Dibble, Kamakau and others. Elected officials included president Kamehameha III, vice-president William Richards, secretary Sheldon Dibble, and treasurer Samuel Kamakau. The society disbanded after the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom moved from Lahaina on the island of Maui to Honolulu, Oahu in 1845.
Kamakau married S. Hainakolo and moved to his wife's hometown of Kīpahulu. Their daughter, Kukelani Kaaapookalani, was born in December 1862, after which the couple moved to Oahu.
In 1860 Kamakau converted to Roman Catholicism from Congregational Protestantism.
From 1866 to 1871, Kamakau wrote a series of newspaper articles about Hawaiian culture and history: "Ka Moolelo o Kamehameha I", a history of Kamehameha I; "Ka Moolelo o Nā Kamehameha", a history of the House of Kamehameha; and "Ka Moolelo Hawaii", a history of Hawaii. The articles were published in the Hawaiian language newspapers, Ke Au Okoa and Ka Nūpepa Kūokoa. Kamakau has served as a district judge in Wailuku, Maui and was a legislator for the Hawaiian Kingdom. From 1851 to 1860 he represented Maui in the House of Representatives, and from 1870 to 1876 represented Oahu.
He died at his home in Honolulu on September 5, 1876, and was buried in the Maemae Chapel Cemetery in Nuuanu Valley.
In 2005, the Hawaii State Legislature passed H.R. No. 55, declaring October 29, 2005 "Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau Day":
Legacy
On October 29, 1994, the Hawaii & Pacific Section in the Hawaii State Library was named the "Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau Room" in honor of Kamakau's legacy as a "great Hawaiian historian who also served his community as an outstanding writer, scholar, jurist, and legislator." In 2000, a Hawaiian immersion school in Kāneʻohe, Oahu recognized Kamakau's contributions by naming their school Ke Kula o Samuel M. Kamakau. See the school's website at Ke Kula o Samuel M. Kamakau. The Hawaii Book Publishers Association's annual Ka Palapala Pookela ("excellent manuscript") competition presents the Samuel M. Kamakau Award for the best Hawaii Book of the Year.
WHEREAS, SAMUEL MANAIAKALANI KAMAKAU, born October 29, 1815, in Mokuleia, Waialua, Oahu, has been noted by many as one of Hawaii's greatest historians of Hawaiian culture and heritage; and
WHEREAS, as a noted writer, SAMUEL MANAIAKALANI KAMAKAU authored books in Hawaiian that would later be translated by esteemed organizations such as the Bishop Museum and Kamehameha Schools, for future generations to learn from; and
WHEREAS, by his actions and through his passion for accurately recording native Hawaiian history, SAMUEL MANAIAKALANI KAMAKAU teaches our keiki, both Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian, what life was like as a Hawaiian, and thereby preserves for posterity, the legacy of a storied people; and
WHEREAS, along with maintaining a record of Hawaiian history, SAMUEL MANAIAKALANI KAMAKAU through his birth and affiliation with Waialua, solidifies Waialua's position as a stronghold for Hawaiian culture; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that this body commemorates SAMUEL MANAIAKALANI KAMAKAU's contributions to memorializing Hawaiian history by proclaiming October 29, 2005, as SAMUEL MANAIAKALANI KAMAKAU Day.
Works
In 1961, the Kamehameha Schools Press published Kamakau's first two series as a book entitled Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii. Three years later, in 1964, the Bishop Museum published his last series as a trilogy, entitled Ka Poe Kahiko: The People of Old, The Works of the People of Old: Nā Hana A Ka Poe Kahiko, and Tales and Traditions of the People of Old: Nā Moolelo A Ka Poe Kahiko.
A revised edition of Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii was published in 1992.
Further reading
Noenoe K. Silva (2025). 082233349X, Duke University Press. 082233349X
Categories: 1815 Births, 1876 Deaths, Converts To Roman Catholicism From Congregationalism, Historians Of Hawaii, Hawaiian Kingdom Judges, Lahainaluna School Alumni, Members Of The Hawaiian Kingdom House Of Representatives, Native Hawaiian People, Native Hawaiian Writers, Queen Emma Party Politicians
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