Kānāwai Māmalahoe

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Kānāwai Māmalahoe is a historic Hawaiian law established by Kamehameha I that protects the safety and rights of noncombatants, often summarized as the principle to “let the old men, women, and children lie in safety.”

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Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Hawaiian law
historic law
legal principle
alsoKnownAs Ke Kānāwai Māmalahoe NERFINISHED
Law of the Splintered Paddle NERFINISHED
appliesTo children
civilians
noncombatants
old men
women
codifiedIn oral tradition before written constitutions
country Hawaiian Kingdom NERFINISHED
describedBy “Let the old men, women, and children lie in safety”
foundedBy Kamehameha I NERFINISHED
hasCulturalSignificance symbol of justice in Hawaii
symbol of protection for the weak
hasEffect limitation on violence in warfare
protection of civilians during conflict
hasHistoricalPeriod late 18th century Hawaii
hasInterpretation early form of humanitarian law
precursor to modern protections for civilians in war
hasMottoForm “E nā kānaka, e mālama ʻoukou i ke akua, a e mālama hoʻi i kā ʻoukou poʻe kānaka”
hasOriginalLanguage Hawaiian language
hasTheme mercy in warfare
responsibility of rulers to protect subjects
inception 1797
influences Hawaiian concepts of human rights
modern Hawaiian legal culture
inspiredBy battlefield incident involving Kamehameha I and fishermen
isPartOfTradition Native Hawaiian customary law
jurisdiction Hawaii NERFINISHED
Hawaiian Kingdom NERFINISHED
laterIncorporatedIn Hawaiian Kingdom constitutional law
State of Hawaii constitutional law NERFINISHED
legalPrinciple noncombatants shall not be harmed
travelers and the defenseless must be protected
legalStatus constitutional principle in Hawaii
mainSubject human rights
laws of war
protection of noncombatants
partOf Constitution of the State of Hawaii NERFINISHED
recognizedIn Hawaii state jurisprudence
relatedTo Hawaiian Kingdom military campaigns
Kamehameha I NERFINISHED

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Kamehameha I legalAct Kānāwai Māmalahoe