Puaaiki

Bartimeus Lalana Puaʻaiki (c. 1785 – February 21, 1844) was an early convert and the first Native Hawaiian to be licensed to preach Protestant Christianity.

Prior to his conversion, he served as a hula dancer in the court of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu.

Born circa 1785, in Waikapu on the island of Maui, Puaʻaiki was encumbered with birth defects which rendered him short-statured and visually impaired (partially blind) in later life.

In the court of King Kamehameha II he served as a hula dancer and was a member of the retinue of Queen Kamāmalu.

In the same year, American missionary Jonathan Smith Green wrote Notices of the Life, Character, and Labors of the Late Bartimeus L. Puaaiki, of Wailuku, Maui, Sandwich Islands in his memory.