Līloa was a ruler of the island ofHawaii in the late 15th century.[1] He kept his royal compound inWaipi'o Valley.
Līloa was the firstborn son of Kiha-nui-lulu-moku, one of thenoho aliʻi (ruling elite). He descended from Hāna-laʻa-nui.[2][3] Līloa's mother Waioloa[4] (or Waoilea[5]), his grandmother Neʻula, and his great-grandmother Laʻa-kapu were of theʻEwa aliʻi lines ofOahu.[2][4] Liloa's father ruled Hawaii asaliʻi nui and upon his death left the rule of the island to Līloa. Kiha had four other sons, brothers to Līloa. Their names were Kaunuamoa, Makaoku, Kepailiula, and (by Kiha's second wife Hina-opio[5]) Hoolana. Hoolana's descendants were the Kaiakea family of Molokai, from whomAbraham Fornander's wife Pinao Alanakapu was descended.[5]
Līloa had two sons: his firstborn,Hākau, from his wife Pinea (his mother's sister); and his second son,ʻUmi-a-Līloa, from his lesser-ranking wife, Akahi-a-Kuleana.[6]
Līloa was the common progenitor of royal dynasties from whom many of the pre- and post-unification rulingali'i derived their genealogy andmana: all of the kings and queens of theKingdom of Hawaii could point to him as their ancestor and source of paramountcy.
Hawaiian activistKanalu G. Terry Young has claimed that the practice ofmoe aikāne (a type of sexual relationship, frequently homosexual, between members of thealiʻi classes) originated with Līloa.[7]
During the reign ofKing Kalākaua Līloa'skāʻei, or royal sash, became part of the regalia associated with thecrown jewels: the possession of this sash lent legitimacy to the elected King, by way of association with the ancestor's military prowess and divine power. "Kalākaua valued the sash as a symbol of his inheritedkapu status and the legitimacy of his royal accession. The feather cordon was a rightful possession of the reigning king of Hawai‘i even in the late nineteenth century."[8]
Today, Līloa'skāʻei is one of theHawaiian crown jewels in the collection of theBishop Museum in Honolulu.