GLR November-December 2025

days later, Kamehameha III, Kaomi, and the Hulumanu em barked on a grand tour of O‘ahu, moving the court from Hon olulu to Ewa. Along the way they indulged in prodigious amounts of rum, now readily available, and of ‘awa , a tradi tional Polynesian drink with euphoric effects. The king was de termined to show that he was still the ultimate arbiter in the kingdom. But Kaomi realized just how unstable the situation had become. So long as he and Kamehameha III remained to gether in what the Christians regarded as a relationship too dis gusting to even be named, there was little chance that they could maintain the monarchy and establish the kingdom as an inde pendent nation worthy of international recognition. And so, Kaomi ended his aik ā ne relationship with Kame hameha III and left the court. It was not an act of cowardice but of bravery, loyalty, and love. Shortly thereafter, Kamehameha III attempted to take his own life by slitting his throat and drowning himself. It’s not clear whether this act was related to the breakup with Kaomi. Very little is known about what happened to Kaomi next. Some missionaries and Christianized Hawaiian historians claimed he died shortly after the abduction incident in a state of poverty and disgrace. Hiram Bingham, who had introduced Kaomi to Christianity yet refused to accept him into the church, was particularly harsh: “Kaomi fell into neglect, and ere long, faded away and died, none seeming materially to feel his loss, or to envy the fleeting honors and pleasures of such an infidel despiser of revealed religion.” This seems to have been wishful thinking, because another missionary, Sheldon Dibble, wrote of meeting Kaomi in Lahaina, Maui, three years later. Dibble was also a passenger on the schooner on which Kaomi, who was travelling to Honolulu for medical treatment, died in 1837. His departure was accompanied by a large tsunami, which Dibble interpreted as a divine punishment for his sexual sins. Kaomi’s survival of the assault by Kaikio‘ewa led one mod ern historian to speculate that he was sheltered at Moku‘ula, the royal compound in Lahaina that was taboo to the missionaries’ prying eyes. Other Hulumanu were important members of the court there, and the king may have continued to provide sup port for his ex-lover even if their relationship could no longer be public. It’s impossible to know for sure, as none of Kaomi’s writings were preserved. Nor does he have any known descen dants who might have passed on his oral history. § T HE “ TIME OF K AOMI ,” as the period of 1832–1834 came to be known, represented a revival of Native traditions and resistance against Westernization that became a recurring theme in Hawai ian history. In the 1880s, King David Kalakaua, known as the “Merry Monarch,” sparked the first Hawaiian renaissance by reviving Hawaiian music and hula, building ‘Iolani Palace and fostering national identity and pride. The second Hawaiian ren aissance, starting in the 1970s, centered on language revival, long-distance traditional canoe voyaging, land struggles, and legal inclusion. But even though both movements trace their roots to the time of Kaomi, his name was not mentioned, and discussion of same-sex relationships and gender fluidity in K ā naka Maoli society were absent. Similar to the marginalization of gay men during the Civil Rights movement and lesbians within the women’s movement, debates surrounding sexual and

gender identities were seen as irrelevant, inappropriate, or even damaging to the broader cause. Instead, for more than a century, historians presented the time of Kaomi as a warning against the perils of resisting Chris tian commandments. Kaomi was described as “cunning” and “evil,” and the Hawaiian practices he helped revive as “sinful pleasures” and “things of darkness.” Many biographies of Kamehameha III simply skip from 1832, when he became ruler, to 1839, when he initiated the legal changes that led to a con stitutional system, completely ignoring the period in between. Today, however, there is renewed attention to Kaomi and what he can teach us about the lasting impact of colonization and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. Adam Keawe Manalo-Camp, a young Native Hawaiian cultural his torian, sees Kaomi’s journey as “a story of Indigenous resist ance, of a kanaka trying to navigate an imposed worldview that sought to erase us.” This interest has been reflected in academic papers, artworks, a play, and exhibitions at the Bishop Museum and King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center. Given the current global assault on queer rights, it’s impor tant to ask how the legacy of Kaomi can best be preserved and passed on to future generations. Lei Pua ‘Ala Queer Histories of Hawai‘i, a multidimensional project that I co-direct with my husband and partner Joe Wilson to document and memorialize gender and sexual diversity across the multicultural landscape of the islands, is approaching this question through the lens of the commemorative landscape. The aim is to create a perma nent public art piece that portrays Kaomi neither as a villain or a victim but as a hero—a man who was willing to sacrifice everything, even his own life, to protect the man he loved and save the Hawaiian Kingdom. Statues are a classic way to honor heroes, but in Kaomi’s case, a traditional solid sculpture wouldn’t capture the complexity of how he has been viewed from various perspectives over time. An intriguing alternative is to create a parametric sculpture composed of thin, parallel sheets. From one angle, Kaomi appears to be a three-dimensional figure, but as viewers move around it, he would seemingly vanish, only to reappear from different view points—just as he did over the past two centuries. Now more than ever, it is crucial for queer people to see themselves reflected in public spaces as valued members of so ciety—past, present, and future. Equally important is the broader society’s need to understand that gender and sexual di versity are not “woke” concepts but essential parts of our shared history and humanity. I cannot imagine a better teacher than Kaomi Moe to convey these truths. R EFERENCES Kamakau, Samuel Manaiakalani. Ruling Chiefs of Hawaii . Kamehameha Schools Press, 1992. Klieger, P. Christiaan. Kamehameha III . Green Arrow Press, 2015. Manolo-Camp, Adam Keawe. “Ka W ā I ā Kaomi: The Time of Kaomi.” Historical Investigations in West Maui . Lance D. Collins and Bianca K. Isaki, editors. University of Hawaii Press, 2024. Silva, Noenoe K. Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to Ameri can Colonialism . Duke University Press, 2004. Author’s Note: As with many colonized populations, reconstructing the saga of Kaomi is hindered by the paucity of contemporary source materials. Most of what we have is the work of outsiders, often mis sionaries, rather than native Hawaiians.

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