by Alicia Nani Reyes
Papenoo & Papeʻete, Tahiti
For Hawaiian Youths Abroad 2024, we are staying in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti. Today, there are 12 foreign embassies and consulates in Tahiti, including the United States and Australia. I would like to share about another consulate which was the Hawaiian Kingdom.
The presence of the Hawaiian consulate in Papeete, proves the diplomatic relationships between ari’i (Tahitian nobility) and aliʻi (Hawaiian nobility) dating back to the early 19th century. In pursuit of strengthening Tahitian and Hawaiian alliances, Kamehameha I’s arranged the marriage of his son Liholiho to one of Pomare I’s daughters, and his daughter Kekauluohi to Pomare II. Due to the death of Pomare I’s in 1803, the marriage arrangements never happened; however, there would be an eventual marriage of ariʻi and aliʻi. Our story begins with Princess Eugenie Ninito Salmon, the grandniece of Queen Pomare IV of Tahiti.
Princess Ninito was betrothed to Prince Moses Kekūāiwa, the elder brother of Alexander Liholiho and Lot Kapuāiwa of Hawaiʻi. When Ninito travels to the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1849 she is gifted a niho palaoa (hook pendant) by Kauikeauoli to signify the kinship between Hawaiʻi and Tahiti. Shortly after Ninitoʻs arrival, she receives the news regarding death of Moses Kekūāiwa. His brothers were not of marriageable age, so Princess Ninito then married John Kapilikea Sumner. Along with Ninito, her cousin Princess Manaiula Tehuiarii married into the Sumner family which was John Sumner’s older brother, William.
Princess Ninito Sumner and John Sumner then traveled back to Tahiti, where John Sumner would become the first consul for the Hawaiian Kingdom Consulate in Papeete from 1881-1885. Ninito and John Sumner lived out their days traveling back and forth between Tahiti and Hawaiʻi to maintain their diplomatic responsibilities. One worth mentioning is the letter from Princess Ninito to Queen Liliuokalani on November 8 1893 where Ninito sends personal greetings and also reinforcing connection between ariʻi of Tahiti and aliʻi of Hawaiʻi. In 1898, Ninito Sumner passes way in 1898 and is buried in present day Honolulu, Hawaiʻi at King’s Street Catholic Church. The same rest place for John Sumner in 1915.
Today, descendants of Ninito still maintain the kinship between Tahiti and Hawaiʻi. While we traveled up mauka to Haururu to visit the birth place of Pele, we were greeted and accompanied by Johann Hironui Bouit, a kahu of Haururu and descendant of Ninito Sumner. We had the opportunity to talk story with him and even share mele. Hironui was born in Tahiti and raised on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi as a youth up until his early adulthood, where he attended University of Hawaiʻi and played football. After college, he had the opportunity to return home and fulfill his kuleana in his ancestral homelands. Since arriving in Tahiti, an emerging theme has been returning home. From day one, we were welcomed back home by the community in Tautire. In day two, we meet Hironui and he shares about reconnecting with home. As a Hawaiian born and raised in the diaspora, I am reminded of the importance of returning home and remembering our connections to our home and our ancestors. As we continue to be in Tahiti, we are remembering our relations to our relatives across Moananui.
Back in Papeete, we come together as people of Moananui and especially the upholding the kinship of Hawaiʻi and Tahiti with our ongoing resistance to imperialism and militarism. Today protests are happening in Papeete to speak up about the disruption of the lands and waters in Tahiti with the offsetting of 193 bombs for French nuclear testing. We are reminded of the struggle that date back to 1842, where France bombed Papeete. It was in 1842 where Queen Pomare IV was forced to sign the protection treaty with the French. Queen Pomare IV wrote a letter to Kauikeauoli in 1844 expressing her concerns and seeking support from the Hawaiian Kingdom as she is being threatened to be taken under siege by the French Navy. Kauikeauoli wrote back in expressing solidarity. Being in Tahiti today as a part of Hawaiian Youths Abroad affirms our commitment to our cousins of Moananui.
Mahalo nui!
