Background
Manai‘ula Tehuiari‘i was born to Tute Tehuiari‘i, a chief from either Tahiti, or Moorea or Bora Bora. Her father was the adoptive son of King Pōmare I of Tahiti, who named him Tute in honor of Captain Cook (Tapena Tute in Polynesian).
Manai‘ula Tehuiari‘i was born to Tute Tehuiari‘i, a chief from either Tahiti, or Moorea or Bora Bora. Her father was the adoptive son of King Pōmare I of Tahiti, who named him Tute in honor of Captain Cook (Tapena Tute in Polynesian).
Her name has also been given as Mareilila, Malaiula, Mareiula, or Mareira. In 1826, he brought his entire family over to Hawaii, where he served as missionary and royal chaplain to Kamehameha III and Kamehameha IV. They were asked to wait for his return but not long after, both Ninito and Manai‘ula married the Sumner brothers, John Kapilikea Sumner and William Keolaloa Kahānui Sumner, respectively. In approximately 1848, John Mix Stanley, an American painter of landscapes, and Native American portraits and tribal life, painted a portrait of Manaiula.