He was a son of the Chiefess Kalanikauleleiaiwi and her husband Kauaua-a-Mahi, son of Mahiolole, the great Kohala chief of the Mahi family.
He was born to Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku and his half-sister, Princess Kalanikauleleiaiwi, granddaughter of Iwikauikaua (whose symbol was a torch burning at midday) and daughter of chiefess Keakealaniwahine.