Qualla: Battle of Mokuohai https://qualla.com/battle-of-moku-ohai en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:09 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/3/n/battle-of-moku-ohai-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Mokuohai https://qualla.com/battle-of-moku-ohai Battle of Mokuohai: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-moku-ohai/ Photo credit User:J JMesserly, CC BY-SA 3.0. The ohai trees are gone now. Sesbania tomentosa, the native shrub that gave this battlefield its name, is an endangered species that no longer grows near the Kona coast. No monument marks the spot south of Kealakekua Bay where, in 1782, the course of Hawaiian history pivoted. The Battle of Mokuohai -- "grove of ohai trees" -- was a fight over succession, honor, and who would unite the Hawaiian Islands. It was Kamehameha's first major victory, and it was won not with Western weapons but with traditional ones: sling stones and a shark-tooth dagger.

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/3/n/battle-of-moku-ohai-wp/8e3n-battle-of-mokuohai-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Mokuohai: A Kingdom Divided at the Tomb https://qualla.com/battle-of-moku-ohai/ Photo credit User:J JMesserly, CC BY-SA 3.0. When Kalanioupu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii, died in the spring of 1782, his family carried his remains to the royal mausoleum at Puuhonua o Honaunau -- the great place of refuge on the Kona coast. His son Kiwalao inherited the kingdom, but his nephew Kamehameha rec...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/3/n/battle-of-moku-ohai-wp/8e3n-battle-of-mokuohai-a-kingdom-divided-at-the-tomb.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Mokuohai: Blood on the Lava Rock https://qualla.com/battle-of-moku-ohai/ Photo credit User:J JMesserly, CC BY-SA 3.0. The battle took place just south of Kealakekua Bay, near the present-day community of Keei, along the shore of what is now called Mokuakae Bay. As tensions escalated, women and children from both sides flooded into Puuhonua o Honaunau, the sacred place of refuge where even warrio...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/3/n/battle-of-moku-ohai-wp/8e3n-battle-of-mokuohai-blood-on-the-lava-rock.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Mokuohai: The Long Road to Unification https://qualla.com/battle-of-moku-ohai/ Photo credit User:J JMesserly, CC BY-SA 3.0. Mokuohai was decisive but not final. Kamehameha now controlled much of the island's western coast, but Keoua Kuahula held the south and east, and years of warfare followed. In 1790, a volcanic eruption on Kilauea caught Keoua's army crossing the Ka'u Desert. Dozens of warriors di...

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]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/8/e/3/n/battle-of-moku-ohai-wp/8e3n-battle-of-mokuohai-the-long-road-to-unification.mp3 0:06 4 full