Saturday 08.17.19
‘ama: Talkative, prattling, tattling. Light, bright. Young.
Friday 08.16.19
wela: Hot, burned. Heat, temperature. Figuratively, lust, passion. To feel such. Eel. A new field, as of sweet potatoes. A piece of land cleared for planting by burning.
Thursday 08.15.19
olo: To rub back and forth, to grate, saw. A saw. To resound, sound long. Long surfboard, as of wiliwili wood. Hill. Shelf. Large foreign glass beads, said to be so called from a Hawaiian name given to the British ship, Queen Charlotte Mary, which came in 1786 under the command of Captain Dixon. This ship is said to have introduced the beads.
Wednesday 08.14.19
kuke: To nudge, push, jostle. Thin type of adze as used for finer work in handicraft. Cook. To cook. Customs, duty. To be on duty or watch. A Duke.
Tuesday 08.13.19
māʻili: Pebble or stone, as used for making sinkers for squid fishing. Pebbly, for of pebbles. Small arrowroot (pia) tubers, so called because they grow well in stones. Small taro, as found growing in weeds.
Monday 08.12.19
ola: Life, health, well-being, living, livelihood, means of support, salvation. Alive, living. Curable, spared, recovered. Healed. To live. To spare, save, heal, grant life, survive, thrive.
Sunday 08.11.19
moekolohe: Adultery. To commit adultery, fornicate. Adulterous. Literally, illegal mating.
We all remember Elvis, but Bing did it first, along with Shirley Ross, in the movie Waikīkī Wedding. Beautiful harmony together. Martha Raye is wonderful here as the wrong woman. Listening to this reminds me of my mom. She loved all the hapa-haole songs. She’d sing them to us while she played her ‘ukulele.”
Blue Hawaiʻi
by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger
Perfume in the air and rare flowers everywhere
And white shadows we could share at Waikīkī
A sky full of stars and soft far away guitars
It seems to be only a reverie
Night and you and blue Hawaiʻi
The night is heavenly
And you are heaven to me
Lovely you and blue Hawai’i
With all this loveliness
There should be love
Come with me while the moon is on the sea
The night is young and so are we
Dreams come true in blue Hawaiʻi
And mine could all come true
This magic night of nights with you
Saturday 08.10.19
ea: Sovereignty, rule, independence. Life, air, breath, respiration, vapor, gas. Fumes, as of tobacco. Breeze, spirit. To rise, go up, raise, become erect. To smell.
Friday 08.09.19
nānā: To look at, observe, see, notice, inspect. To care for, pay attention to, take care of. Quiet, restful. Goat.
Thursday 08.08.19
‘anuʻu: Stairs, jogs, steps, terrace, dais, ledge. Tower in ancient halau, about 7 meters high and 5.5 meters square, as enclosed with white ʻōloa tapa. Sprain, strain, disjointed vetebra. To stumble trip, sprain. To land heavily or jar, as when one steps down, but there is no step. Jarred. Figuratively, error, slip. To err. A step between two notes on a musical staff. Noun indicating comparison of adjectives.
Wednesday 08.07.19
‘ōiwi: Native, native son. Physique, appearance. To appear. Self. Own.
E Kuʻu Morning Dew
Words by Larry Kimura, music by Eddie Kamae
E kuʻu morning dew
Alia mai, alia mai
Maliu mai ʻoe
I kaʻu e hea nei
E kali mai ʻoe
Iaʻu nei, iaʻu nei
ʻO wau iho nō
Me ke aloha
Wehe mai ke alaula
ʻOliliko nei līhau
E hoʻohehelo ana
I neia papālina
I uka o Mānā
I ka ‘iu uhiwai
Ma laila nō kāua
E pili mau ai
Ma laila nō kāua
E pili mau ai
My morning dew
Wait a moment
Pay attention
To what I call out
Wait
For me, for me
I remain yours
With love
Dawn breaks
And the wet dew sparkles
Causing a rosy color
On these cheeks
Up at Mānā
In the mist-shrouded highland
There, you and I
Will remain forever
There, you and I
Will remain forever
Tuesday 08.06.19
kena: Quenched. Satisfied of thirst. Weary, as from heavy toil. Grieved and distressed.
Monday 08.05.19
paneʻe: To move along, bring, push along a little. Pushed forward. Delayed, postponed. Delay, postponement. To do in installments, as to serialize a novel in a newspaper. Old, worn-out.
Pōhakuloa – Gary Haleamau & Keala Haleamau Lindsey
Pōhakuloa nanea ia
Pōhakuloa nahenahe mai
Nahenahe mai
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puanaPōhakuloa nahenahe mai
Nahenahe mai
PōhakuloaSuch a nice place to be
Gently speaking to my heart
Tell the refrain
Of Pōhakuloa
Gently speaking to my heart
Sunday 08.04.19
pōhaku: Rock, stone, mineral, tablet. Sinker. Thunder. Rocky, stony. Weighted with rocks, hence stationary, not moving. Type of crab.
Saturday
hāmau: Silent. Silence. Hush.
Aloha Friday 08.02.19
pali: Cliff, precipice, steep hill or slope suitable for olonā ( a native shrub), or wauke (the paper mulberry). Full of cliffs. To be a cliff. Figuratively, an obstacle, difficulty. Haughty or disdainful.
Thursday 08.01.19
hopu: To seize, grasp, take, catch, capture, arrest. Seizure, taking, arrest.
Wednesday 07.31.19
kīkaha: To soar, glide, poise, wheel, skim along, as a frigate bird. To turn aside, detour, veer, deviate. To maneuver. To walk along absent-mindedly, ignoring everyone.
Tuesday 07.30.19
pololei: Straight, upright, direct, correct, right, OK, accurate, all right. Eyes front (military command). A land shell (Lamellaxis), frequently followed poetically by the epithet kani kua mauna, singing in the mountain ridges. An adder’s-tongue fern, (Ophioglossum concinnum), a small native fern with single narrow-oblong blade, which supports one narrow spore-bearing spike about 2.5 cm long.
Monday 07.29.19
ioioleʻa: Brisk, spirited, lively, quick-tempered, angry.
Sunday 07.28.19
kuaʻāina: Country, as distinct from the city), countryside. Person from the country, rustic, backwoodsman. Of the country, countrified, rustic, rural. Literally: back land.
Every time I hear this instant Hawaiʻi music classic, I feel like I was born and raised in Kahaluʻu. I used to do this one when I was in my Campus Road band. If I could remember how to play guitar, I think I would sit down and play this one right now.
I wish I could find a decent live recording, but the recording quality of all the ones I found was poor.
Kuʻu Home o Kahaluʻu
by Jerry SantosI remember days when we were younger
We used to catch ʻoʻopu in the mountain stream
‘Round the Koʻolau hills we’d ride on horseback
So long ago it seems it was a dreamLast night I dreamt I was returning
and my heart called out to you
But I fear you won’t be like I left you
Me kealoha kuʻu home o KahaluʻuI remember days when we were wiser
When our world was small enough for dreams
And you have lingered there my sister
And I no longer can it seemsLast night I dreamt I was returning
and my heart called out to you
But I fear you won’t be like I left you
Me kealoha kuʻu home o KahaluʻuChange is a strange thing
it cannot be denied
It can help you find yourself
or make you lose your pride
Move with it slowly
as on the road we go
Please do not hold on to me
we all must go aloneI remember days when we were smiling
When we laughed and sang the whole night long
And I will greet you as I find you
With the sharing of a brand new songLast night I dreamt I was returning
and my heart called out to you
To please accept me as you’ll find me
Me kealoha kuʻu home o Kahaluʻu
Saturday 07.27.19
kūliʻu: Deep, as a voice. Penetrating, profound, as thoughts. Late, remote, of a distant past.
Friday 07.26.19
kāne: Male, husband, male sweetheart, man. Brother-in-law of a woman. Male, masculine. To be a husband or brother-in-law of a woman. Capitalized, the four great Hawaiian gods. Capitalized, the name of the 27th night of the lunar month. Capitalized, the name of a sacred star, seen by priests as portending great misfortune, as the death of a chief. Perhaps a variable like Mira or Algol, or even a nova. Name given at ʻEwa, Oʻahu, for the Tahitian banana known as polapola and hēʻī.
Thursday 07.25.19
kila: High place. Strong, stout, bold. (Also sila.) Seal, deed, patent, brand. Sealed. To fix a seal. Steel, knife blade, chisel. Pen. To write with a pen. Earmark, as on cattle. Capitalized Silas. Gill, a small liquid measure.
Wednesday 07.24.19
ākea: Broad, wide, spacious, open, unobstructed, public, at large. Full, as a skirt. Breadth, width. Liberal.
Tuesday 07.23.19
pule: Prayer, magic spell, incantation, blessing, grace, church service, church. To pray, worship, say grace, ask a blessing, cast a spell. Week.
Monday 07.22.19
ōlaʻi: Earthquake, tremor. Light porous stone or pumice.
The Beauty Of Mauna Kea
by Keola BeamerHe lei keakea noho mai lā i ka mauna
Ka mauna kiʻekiʻe i luna kū kilakila
Kilakila no luna
No luna i ke aoMy friend and I would sometimes roam
The trails of Mauna Kea
And in the evening we’d come home
And see her standing thereThe moon moves around her when she sleeps
The clouds stand beside her when she weeps
And I could be forgotten and a thousand miles away
And still I would recall the beauty of Mauna KeaNow to any land you go
She will be with you
If you love her like I do
ʻO Mauna KeaAnd I live in the city now
And I see different things
In the nights when I’m alone
She is in my dreamsThe wind spins all around her when she wakes
The sun spreads its warmth across her face
And I could be forgotten and a thousand miles awayAnd still I would recall the beauty of Mauna Kea
Of Mauna Kea
Of Mauna Kea
Sunday 07.21.19
‘aumakua (plural: ʻaumākua): Family or personal gods, deified ancestors who might assume the shape of sharks (all islands except Kauaʻi), owls, as at Mānoa, Oʻahu and Kaʻū and Puna, Hawaiʻi), hawks (Hawaiʻi), ʻelepaio, ʻiwi, mudhens, octopuses, eels, mice, rats, dogs, caterpillars, rocks, cowries, clouds, or plants. A symbiotic relationship existed. Mortals did not harm or eat ʻaumākua (they fed sharks), and ʻaumākua warned and reprimanded mortals, in dreams, visions, and calls. A trustworthy person. To offer grace to ʻaumākua before eating. To bless in the name of ʻaumākua. To ask someone to hula. The request was not refused without giving the caller a lei or flower.
Saturday 07.20.19
‘ūpā: Any instrument that opens and shuts, as shears, scissors, tongs, bellows, carpenter’s compass. To beat, as the heart. To open and shut, as the mouth champing food. To slam, bang, as a door. A furious attack, onslaught.
Aloha Friday 07.19.19
o’o: Matrured, ripe as fruit. Of mature age, middle-aged, elderly. To mature, ripen, to grow old. An adult human, maturity.
Thursday 07.18.19
pūkē: To strike, hit, beat.
Wednesday 07.17.19
puehu: Scattered, dispersed, routed, gone, tousled. Fine, crumbling. Every which way, as hair in the wind. Peeling, as sunburn. Remainder, remnant. To remain.
Tuesday 07.16.19
none: Slow, tedious, time-consuming. Patience-trying, teasing, annoying, fretting. To tease, nag.
Monday 07.15.19
muli: After, behind, afterward, by and by. Last, because, following behind. Younger, youngest. Follower. Thin end of a pearl-shell shank. Stern of a canoe, back.
Definitely one of the greatest Hapa-Haole songs ever written. This one can get stuck in your head for a while.Waikīkī
by Andy CummingsThere’s a feeling deep in my heart
Stabbing at me just like a dart
It’s a feeling heavenlyI see memories out of the past
Memories that always will last
Of the days that used to be
*(Of a place beside the sea)Waikīkī
At night when the shadows are falling
I hear the rolling surf calling
Calling and calling to meWaikīkī
Tis for you that my heart is yearning
My thoughts are always returning
Out there to you across the seaChorus:
Your tropic nights and your wonderful charms
Are ever in my memory
And I recall when I held in my arms
An angel sweet and heavenlyWaikīkī
My whole life is empty without you
I miss that magic about you
Magic beside the sea
Magic of Waikīkī
Sunday 07.14.19
ipo: Sweetheart, lover.
Saturday 07.13.19
mānaʻonaʻo: Horrible, dreadful, pitiful, horrifying, gruesome, shocking. Shocked, horrified. Heartbreaking. Grief.
Friday 07.12.19
puhi: To burn, set on fire, bake (preceded by ke). To blow, puff. Blowhole. Spouting, as by a whale. To smoke, as tobacco. To extract, as water from steam. To distill, brew. Eel. A banana. Sticks supporting a pāku’iku’i net. Uncircumcised foreskin.
Thursday 07.11.19
kupu: Sprout, growth. Offspring. Upstart, as one rising suddenly and conspicuously to high position. To sprout, grow, germinate, increase. To occur. Spirit, supernatural being.
Wednesday 07.10.19
hopena: Result, conclusion, sequel, ending, destiny, fate, consequence, effect, last.
Tuesday 07.09.19
mali: To flatter, soothe, persuade with soft words, cajole, speak gently (less common than hoʻomalimali). To tie, as bait to a hook, hook to a line, feathers to a lei, or the end of a rope so that it will not unravel. A string used for such purposes.
Monday 07.08.19
koho: Guess, election, choice, selection, interpretation. To choose, select, bid, guess, estimate, anticipate, decide on, pick nominate, vote, elect, draw lots. Tip of a paddle blade.
Sunday 07.07.19
palaka: Indifferent, inactive, uninterested, lax, listless, apathetic, oblivious, careless or negligent in doing something, as going to church. Disinterest, indifference. A fish. A checkered shirt, usually blue and white, of block-print cloth. In the 19th century, a coarse work shirt worn by males, known then in English as a “frock,” mentioned frequently in the literature, especially in Peter Ka’eo’s letters in 1873-74 to his cousin, Queen Emma, and hence probably from English “frock” rather than from “block.” Block, as in block and tackle.
Saturday 07.06.19
weli: Fear, terror, dread. Fearful, afraid. A holothurian (sea cucumber). Scion, sucker, shoot, as from a root. Spreading root. Phosphorescent light on water, believed caused by a ghost that was interfering with fishing. A greeting of affection, similar to aloha. To greet.
Friday 07.05.19
‘olu: Cool, refreshing. Soft, supple, flexible, pliant, elastic, slack, springy. Pleasant, comfortable, at ease. Polite, kind, courteous. Coolness. Softness, grace, slackness. Comfort, amenities. Courtesy, kindness.
This was my class song when we graduated high school. All information below from the Huapala website:
Hawaiʻi Aloha
words by Rev. Lorenzo Lyons, music by James McGranahanE Hawaiʻi e kuʻu one hānau e
Kuʻu home kulaīwi nei
ʻOli nō au i nā pono lani ou
E Hawaiʻi, aloha ēHui:
E hauʻoli nā ‘ōpio o Hawaiʻi nei
ʻOli ē! ʻOli ē!
Mai nā aheahe makani e pā mai nei
Mau ke aloha, no HawaiʻiE haʻi mai kou mau kini lani e
Kou mau kupa aloha, e Hawaiʻi
Nā mea ʻōlino kamahaʻo no luna mai
E Hawaiʻi aloha ēNā ke Akua E mālama mai iâ ʻoe
Kou mau kualona aloha nei
Kou mau kahawai ʻōlinolino mau
Kou mau māla pua nani ēO Hawaiʻi, o sands of my birth
My native home
I rejoice in the blessings of heaven
O Hawaiʻi, alohaChorus:
Happy youth of Hawaiʻi
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Gentle breezes blow
Love always for HawaiʻiMay your divine throngs speak
Your loving people, o Hawaiʻi
The holy light from above
O Hawaiʻi alohaGod protects you
Your beloved ridges
Your ever glistening streams
Your beautiful gardensSource: Na Mele o Hawaiʻi Nei by Elbert & Mahoe – One of the most beloved songs written by Rev. Lorenzo Lyons, also known as Makua Laiana, was taken from an old hymn “I Left It All With Jesus” composed by James McGranahan (1840-1907). Rev. Lyons arrived as a missionary in Waimea, Hawaiʻi, July 16, 1832. He translated more than 900 hymns, became a citizen of Hawaiʻi and died in Waimea, Oct. 6, 1886
Thursday 07.04.19
maka: Eye, eye of a needle, face, countenance. Presence, sight, view. Lens of a camera. Beloved one, favorite. Person. Point, bud, protuberance. Center of a flower, including usually both the stamens and the pistils. Nipple, teat. Sharp edge or blade of an instrument. Point of a fishhook. Beginning, commencement. Source. Any new plant shoot coming up. Descendent. Mesh of a net, mesh in plaiting. Stitch, in sewing. Raw, as fish. Uncooked. Green, unripe, as fruit. Fresh, as distinct from salted provisions. Wet, as sand. Probably the same as manu, canoe bow and steer pieces. A seaweed. Varieties of sweet potato. Recognition token. [The name of one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met : )]
Wednesday 07.03.19
haukeʻa: Stained, smeared, smudged, defaced, sorted. To besmirch, stain, smear. Defiled, as taboo food cooked with common food. Babbler.
Tuesday 07.02.19
miki: Quick, active, nimble, prompt, alert, spry, sprightly, watchful, fast and efficient in work. Speed, alertness. To suck in, dip in. To shrink, as clothes, or as salt beef in boiling. To spring together, as sides of a steel trap. To draw in, as an octopus. To contract. To recede, as an undertow. To shrivel, as a leaf. To take up with the fingers, as poi. Evaporated, as water by boiling.
Keola and Kapono Beamer are contemporary Hawaiian musicians. This album, Honolulu City Lights, was released in 1978 during that critical period when the Hawaiian music renaissance began to steamroll. I wish I had a video of them doing this title song live, but no mo’. This song is so ingrained in the Hawaiian ethos, that I think about it every time I fly out of Hawaiʻi, even if it’s in the middle of the day.
Monday 07.01.19
kuwa: To make a din, talk loudly, resound. Prayer for special events, as trimming grass over the for of a grass house, or completion of a new canoe or net.
Sunday 06.30.19
palapala: Document of any kind, bill, deed, warrant, certificate, policy, letter, tract, writ, diploma, manuscript. Writing of any kind, literature. Printing on tapa or paper. Formerly the Scriptures or learning in general. To write, send a written message. Maui name for pualu, a fish. Name for maomao, a fish.
Saturday 06.29.19
hulei: To lift, raise, draw up, as a skirt. To pull, pry. To pitch and toss, as a ship on the waves. To move along, as a ship. To flap wings. To trot, as a horse.
Friday 06.28.19
lāʻau: Tree, plant, wood, timber, forest, stick, pole, rod, splinter, thicket, club. Blow or stroke of a club. Strength, rigidness, hardness. Male erection. To have formed mature wood, as of a seedling. Wooden, woody. Stiff, as wood. Medicine, medical. Lump or knot in the flesh, as eased by the rubbing kahi massage. To feel such a knot or stiffness. Cramp, Charley horse. To have a cramp. Picture frame. General name for canoe end piece.
Thursday 06.27.19
inaina: Anger, wrath, rage, hatred, enmity, malice. To hate, abhor. Moved with hatred, angry.
Wednesday 06.26.19
‘āweʻaweʻa: Faint trace, spot, glimpse. Faint, dim. Streaked, faded.
Tuesday 06.25.19
unuhi: To take out, withdraw, as money from a bank, or a drawer from a desk. To unsheathe, extract. To take off, as a ring. To translate, interpret.
Monday 06.24.19
‘oihana: Occupation, trade, job, employment, position, career, service (as religious or military), ministry, right, industry, business, bureau, customs, activities, department, agency, office. Biblical book of Acts. Professional. Tools, utensils.
I was lucky enough to see Sonny Chillingworth play this love story song live at a high-school graduation party in Hilo. It is a tremendously moving song to hear live, and is enhanced especially if folks step up to dance hula too, which at this party they did.“Hiʻilawe” is one of the most famous songs to come out of Hawaiʻi not only because so many musicians have recorded it, but because one of, if not THE most, revered Hawaiian slack key guitar players, Gabby Pahinui, is world-famous for his version.
These lyrics and notes are from the Huapala website:
Hiʻilawe – Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Sr.
Kūmaka ka ‘ikena iā Hiʻilawe
Ka papa lohi mai aʻo MaukelePakele mai au i ka nui manu
Hau walaʻau nei puni WaipiʻoʻAʻole nō wau e loaʻa mai
A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwiHe hiwahiwa au na ka makua
A he lei ʻāʻī na ke kupuna
*(A he milimili ho’i na ka makua)No Puna ke ʻala i hali ʻia mai
Noho i ka wailele aʻo HiʻilaweI ka poli nō au o Haʻi wahine
I ka poli aloha o HaʻinakoloHoʻokolo ʻia aku i ka nui manu
I like ke ka ʻina meka uahoaHe hoa ʻoe no ka lā leʻaleʻa
Na ka nui manu iho haunaeleE ‘ole ko’u nui piha akamai
Hala aʻe nā ʻale o ka moanaHao mai ka moana kau e ka weli
Mea ʻole naʻe ia no ia hoʻokeleHoʻokele o ʻuleu pili i ka uapo
Honi malihini au me kuʻu alohaHe aloha ia pua ua lei ʻia
Ku’u pua miulana poina ʻoleHa’ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana
Kūmaka ka ʻikena iā Hiʻilawe
*(No Puna ke ʻala i hali ʻia mai)*indicates Alternate Stanzas
All eyes are on Hiʻilawe
In the sparkling lowlands of MaukeleI have not been trapped by the gossip
Chattering everywhere in WaipiʻoI am not caught
For I am the mist of the mountainsI am the darling of the parents
And a lei for the necks of grandparents
*Beloved of my parentsThe fragrance is wafted from Puna
And lives at Hiʻilawe waterfallI was at the bosom of Haʻi, the woman
At the beloved bosom of HaʻinakoloAnnoyed at the many birds
They were indifferent to the distress they causedYou are my companion in the day of joy
The many birds there caused a commotionIt is my great skill
The waves of the ocean overwhelm usThe ocean rages fearfully
But my steering is skillfulHurry, let us go close to the wharf
I am your new love to be kissedMy flower, my lei, my love for you
Is unforgettable like the muilan flowerTell the refrain
All eyes are on Hiʻilawe
*The fragrance is wafted from PunaSource: Sonny Cunha’s Music Book – Copyright 1902 William Coney – First published under the title Halialaulani (Fond Recollections of the Chiefs) by Mrs. Kuakini, it is also credited to Martha K. Maui under the title of Ke Aloha Poina ʻOle (Unforgettable Love), but was written by Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Sr. This information was given to Larry Kimura by Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Jr. and contributed by Keola Donaghy. This mele is about a love affair at Hiʻilawe (highest waterfall in Hawaiʻi) and Waioʻulu, two waterfalls in Waipiʻo Valley on the Big Island. The girl, from Puna, describes herself poetically as the fragrance from Puna. Distressed by the gossip mongers, she calls them chattering birds. Mist of the mountains in the 3rd verse is the poetic way of saying this is a secret love affair. Lālākea and Hakalaoa are streams at the top of Waipʻio Valley that flow over the cliff forming the twin waterfalls of Hiʻilawe and Hakalaoa. They merge into the Hi’ilawe stream that is one of two main waterways in Waipiʻo Valley.
Sunday 06.23.19
kūpaʻa: Steadfast, firm, constant, immovable. Loyal, faithful. Determined. Loyalty, allegiance, firmness.
Saturday 06.22.19
‘ume: To draw, pull, attract, entice. Attractive, alluring. Attraction. A sexual game for commoners, the counterpart of kilu, the chiefs’ game. It was called ‘ume, to draw, because players of the opposite sex were drawn to one another. To pair off in the game. Fermata in music, hold pause. To lengthen, as a sound. An overlaid or braided thatching used on corners and ridges of a house.
Friday 06.21.19
‘āluka: Crowd, heap. Mixed, crowded, heaped.
Thursday 06.20.19
walaʻau: To talk, speak, converse. Formerly, to talk loudly, shout.
Wednesday 06.19.19
pākaha: To cheat, fleece, plunder, rob, raid. A kind of shell, perhaps a conch.
Tuesday 06.18.19
emi: To diminish, reduce, depreciate, grow smaller, subside, wane, decrease, recede, ebb. To lose vigor, droop, lower. Low, reduced, thin. Reduction, decrease, loss. Mitigated. Cheap. Flat (in music).
Monday 06.17.19
holoholo: To go for a walk, ride, or sail. To go out for pleasure, stroll, promenade. Basting. To baste, sew. A net into which fish run after being frightened. To fish with this net. An old Hawaiian game of kicking a ball to which feathers were attached. To play this game.
Wailele ʻO ʻAkaka
(ʻAkaka Falls)
– Words & music by Helen Parker
Malihini kuʻu ʻike ʻana
Kahi wailele ʻo ʻAkaka
Kau maila i luna
Lele hunehune maila i nā pali
Lele hunehune maila i nā paliKau nui aku kahi manaʻo
A e ʻike lihi aku i ka nani
I uka i puīa
I ke ʻala me ke onaona
I ke ʻala me ke onaonaOnaona wale hoʻi i uka
I ka paʻa mau ʻia e ka noe
I uka kūpaoa
E moani nei i kuʻu poli
E moani nei i kuʻu poliNa ke akua mana loa
E kiaʻi maluhia mai
I kēia mau pua
O kuʻu ʻāina aloha
O kuʻu ʻāina alohaI neʻe oe kū au e ʻako
I ka pua o ka ʻawapuhi
I laila nō ka malihini
Naʻu ia a e honihoni
Naʻu ia a e honihoniHaʻina ʻia mai ka puana
I kahi wailele ʻo ʻAkaka
Kau maila i luna
Lele hunehune maila i nā pali
Lele hunehune maila i nā paliAs a stranger, I saw
The waterfall of ʻAkaka
From high above
The water flows gently down the cliff
The water flows gently down the cliffOne great thought arises
Of being overcome by the beauty
Of the sweet-smelling uplands
Fragrant and lovely
Fragrant and lovelyAlluring also are the uplands
Continually one with the misty rain
Whose overwhelming scent
Is welcomed into my heart
Is welcomed into my heartIt is for the Almighty
To guide and protect
The precious people
Of my beloved land
Of my beloved landAs I continue, I stop to pluck
The flower of the wild ginger
There it is a rarity
Mine to be smelled and kissed
Mine to be smelled and kissedTell the refrain
The waterfall of ʻAkaka
From high above
The water flows genly down the cliff
The water flows genly down the cliff
Sunday 06.16.19
‘uwā: To shout, cry out, yell, sound loud, shout, racket.
Saturday 06.15.19
kāohi: To hold back, retain, restrain, prevent, repress, withhold, check, try to hold back, control. Style of chanting in which prolonged vowels are cut off with glottal stops. The chant thus.
Friday 06.14.19
papakū: Foundation or surface, as of the earth. Floor, as of ocean. Bed, as or stream. Bottom. Upright (said in answer to the question pehea ‘oe? and means I’m fine). A disease with severe constipation or accompanied by vomiting, back pain, belching, red eyes.
Thursday 06.13.19
pū’ali: Warrior, soldier, so called because Hawaiian fighters tied (pū’ali) their malos at the waist so that no flap would dangle for a foe to seize. Army, host, multitude. Various types of military formations. To gird tightly about the waist, as of malo-clad warriors, or as corseted women. Compressed, constricted in the middle. Grooved, notched. Irregularly shaped, as taro. Notch. Tight belt. Isthmus. Slender abdominal stalk of a wasp’s body. In music, a decrescendo followed by a crescendo. Irregularly shaped ravine. A vague term for an adopted man or boy who had no servants.
Wednesday 06.12.19
‘āwala: To throw a knife or stock with a back flip. To throw back the head so as to grab dangling food with an open mouth. To pull back steadily, as a line. To throw oneself into work.
Tuesday 06.11.19
pōniho: To bare, as the teeth. To expose, as the sea floor. To bristle, as the sea urchin. Thorny, as cactus.
Monday 06.10.19
kuhi: To point, gesture, as in speaking, directing an orchestra, or dancing the hula. Gesture, pointing. To suppose, think, infer, presume, assume, expect, surmise, imagine.
hoʻokuhi: To teach the art of gesturing in the hula. To point.
Sunday 06.09.19
pa’apū: Covered with, solid with, teeming with, crowded, congested, as people, fog, or clouds. Dense, impervious, nonporous. Stifling, stuffy, as a room. Thick or coarse, of banana fruit peeling.
Saturday 06.08.19.
manene: Shuddery sensation of fear, as on looking over a precipice or if confronted by sudden danger. Sensation of disgust, revulsion, or repugnance. Sensation of inner quaking accompanying sexual desire. To shudder, quake.
Friday 06.07.19.
lima: Arm, hand. Sleeve. Finger. The number five. Fifth.
Thursday 06.06.19.
‘ōhea: Drowsy, apathetic, as after eating a big meal. Weak, ineffective. Warm, tasteless as water exposed to the sun.
Wednesday 06.05.19
kumu: Bottom, base, foundation, basis, title (as to land), main stalk of a tree, trunk, handle, root (in arithmetic). Basic. Hereditary, fundamental. Teacher, tutor, manual, primer, model, pattern. Beginning, source, origin. Starting point of plaiting. Reason, cause, goal, justification, motive, grounds, purpose, object, why. An article bought, sold, or exchanged. Price. Herd, flock. Biblical “tenon” in Revised Standard version, “socket” in King James version.
Tuesday 06.04.19
nīnau: Question. To ask a question, inquire, interrogate. Interrogation, query.
Monday 06.03.19.
pālau: To tell tall tales, exaggerate, talk. War club. Wooden implement with convex cutting edges, for cutting off ends of taro corm for planting. Mat, wrapper.
Sunday 06.02.19.
mano: Many, numerous, four thousand. Thick. To throw, as a stone. To aim at and hit.
Kaulana Nā Pua
Quoted from the site http://www.huapala.org
(Famous Are The Flowers) – by Ellen Kehoʻohiwaokalani Wright Prendergast
Kaulana nā pua aʻo Hawaiʻi
Kūpaʻa ma hope o ka ʻāina
Hiki mai ka ʻelele o ka loko ʻino
Palapala ʻānunu me ka pākaha
Pane mai Hawaiʻi moku o Keawe
Kōkua nā Hono aʻo Piʻilani
Kākoʻo mai Kauaʻi o Mano
Paʻapū me ke one Kākuhihewa
ʻAʻole aʻe kau i ka pūlima
Ma luna o ka pepa o ka ʻēnemi
Hoʻohui ʻāina kūʻai hewa
I ka pono sivila aʻo ke kanaka
ʻAʻole mākou aʻe minamina
I ka puʻu kālā o ke aupuni
Ua lawa mākou i ka pōhaku
I ka ʻai kamahaʻo o ka āina
Ma hope mākou o Liliʻulani
A loaʻa ē ka pono o ka ʻāina
(A kau hou ʻia e ke kalaunu)
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Ka poʻe i aloha i ka ʻāina
Famous are the children of Hawai`i
Ever loyal to the land
When the evil-hearted messenger comes
With his greedy document of extortion
Hawaiʻi, land of Keawe answers
Piʻilani’s bays help
Mano’s Kauaʻi lends support
And so do the sands of Kākuhihewa
No one will fix a signature
To the paper of the enemy
With its sin of annexation
And sale of native civil rights
We do not value
The government’s sums of money
We are satisfied with the stones
Astonishing food of the land
We back Liliʻulani
Who has won the rights of the land
(She will be crowned again)
Tell the story
Of the people who love their land
Source: Na Mele o Hawaiʻi Nei by Elbert & Mahoe – Written Jan. 1893, published in 1895, this himeni opposed the annexation of Hawaiʻi to the United States. The original title was Mele ʻAi Pohaku or The Stone-eating Song, and was also known as Mele Aloha ʻĀina or the Patriot’s Song. This song was composed as Ellen Wright Prendergast was sitting in the garden of her father’s house in Kapālama. Members of the Royal Hawaiian Band visited her and voiced their unhappiness at the takeover of the Hawaiian Kingdom. They begged her to put their feelings of rebellion to music.
Saturday 06.01.19.
liʻu: Slow, tardy, taking a long time. A long time. Well-salted, salty, seasoned. Deep, profound, as of skill or knowledge.
Aloha Friday 05.31.19.
moʻolelo: Story, tale, myth, history, tradition, literature, legend, journal, log, yarn, fable, essay, chronicle, record, article. Minutes, as of a meeting.
Thursday 05.30.19
‘ahahui: Society, club, association, organization, company, convention.
Wednesday 05.29.19.
wāwae: Leg, foot, paw. Upper leg of a crab. Foot of a rainbow. Trousers. Afoot, on foot. To walk. Hula step (general name).
Tuesday 05.28.19.
pūʻā: Flock, herd, drove. To flock. Sheaf, bundle as of full or grain that is not wrapped. Binder, bunch, package. Clump, as of sugar cane. To feed by passing directly from mouth to mouth, of masticated food such as fish or poi. infants and the aged were fed thus. To cut crosswise. To besiege.
Monday 05.27.19.
mole: Tap root, main root. Bottom, as of a pit or of a glass. Ancestral root. Foundation, course, cause. Smooth, round, bald. Name of the smooth, uncarved side of a tapa beater, as used at the end of the beating to smooth out the cloth. To linger, loiter, lag. Backward. Mole.
Sunday 05.26.19.
hawāwā: Unskilled, awkward, clumsy, incompetent, blundering. Blunder, incompetence.
Satahday 05.25.19.
‘ōhu: Swelling, as of the sea, especially a small comber that rises without breaking, but of sufficient strength to speed a surfboard. Protuberance, bump on the head. Hillock, knoll, elevation. To swell, rise in a lump, protrude. To rise, of a wave before it breaks.
Aloha Friday 05.24.19.
popohe: Round, shapely. Neat and trim, as flowers. Roundness, a round or clean-cut object.
Thursday 05.23.19.
hūpō: Ignorant, foolish, unintelligent, stupid. Fool, foolishness.
Wednesday 05.22.19.
nanea: Of absorbing interest, interesting. Fascinating, enjoyable. Repose, leisure, tranquility. Relaxed, at ease, at leisure, amused, engaged with, busy with. To have a good time. A vine. A seaweed.
Kimo Hula — Words & music by Helen D. Beamer
Aia i ka u ka o Piʻihonua
Ke kîhāpai pua ulumāhiehie
I laila au la ʻike i ka nani
O nā pua ʻala a he nui wale
Hoʻohihi nā manu o ke kuahiwi
Nā ʻiʻiwi ma ka pōlena
I ka ʻono i ka wai o nā pua
O Moanikeʻala i ka uluwehiwehi
Mahalo iā ʻoe e ka hoa aloha
I ka hoʻokipa e nā malihini
Eia kō lei poina ʻole
ʻO Leimakani, Leionaona
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Moanikeʻala i ka uluwehiwehi
Hea aku mākou e ō mai ʻoe
Kimo o ka uka ʻiuʻiu he inoa
In the uplands of Piʻihonua
A flower garden in beautiful array
There I see the beauty
Of the flowers, fragrant, in great profusion
The birds of the forest are attracted here
The yellow eyed ʻiʻiwi
At the sweet nectar of the flowers
Of Moanikeʻala’s beautiful gardens
Thank you dear friend
For gracious hospitality to visitors
Here is your unforgettable beloved
Leimakani, Leionaona
The story is told
Moanikeʻala, beautifully verdant
We call, you answer
Kimo of the highlands, your namesong
Note: Moanikeʻala is the name of the Henderson home in Piʻihonua
Two versions here. The first singer is George Helm, a famous figure in Hawaiian history. I’ll tell that story sometime. He gives a nice introductory explanation of the song in his rendition.
The second, Riatea Helm, a singer of the latest generation to command the Hawaiian music scene, is George Helm’s niece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK0Zw9_hVoU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGrKjs3Wui4
Monday 05.20.19.
ulu: To grow, increase, spread. Growth. Increase or rising of the wind. To protect. Possessed by a god. Inspired by a spirit, god, ideal, person, as for artistic creation. Stirred, excited. To enter in and inspire. Grove. Stick used in spreading hot oven stones. To spread the stones. Kind of tapa made at Waipiʻo, Hawaiʻi. Name of a quilt design. Center, as of a canoe or net. A name used repeatedly in Fornander 5:703-9 for Kawelo’s warriors whose names begin with Kaulu.
Sunday 05.19.19.
maiau: Neat and careful in work. Skillful, ingenious, expert. Correct, careful, as in speech. Thorough, meticulous, tidy, dainty.
Saturday 05.18.19.
‘oā, ʻowā: Split, cracked, burst, grooved. To split, crack. Figuratively, bereaved, forsaken.
Friday 05.17.19.
kope: Rake, shovel, dredge. To rake, scratch. Scoop, as of a canoe paddle. Figuratively, to dislike, disregard. Coffee, coffee beans. Copy, duplicate. To copy or duplicate.
Thursday 05.16.19.
amo: To carry a burden on the shoulders, to lift weights. A burden. Figuratively, responsibility.
(Victoria Kawēkiu Kaʻiulani Lunalilo Kalaninuiahilapalapa Cleghorn)
10.16.1875 – 03.06.1899
Wednesday 05.15.19.
‘uhene: To play a merry tune, converse quietly and romantically, tease coquettishly. Exclamation of exultation, as in songs. Happy or joyous sound.
Tuesday 05.14.19.
makaliʻi: Tiny, very small, fine, wee, small-meshed. Narrow wefts. Capitalized: Pleiades. Castor and Pollux. Capitalized: Hawaiian month name, October. The six summer months collectively.
Monday 05.13.19.
manuheʻu: Bruised, injured, damaged, dented. In bad condition, as an old building. To bruise, damage, injure, deface. To bite with the teeth and peel off, as bark.
Sunday 05.12.19.
‘iliki: To strike suddenly, pour down, as rain. Onset, striking, downpour. A varnish, as made of candlenut bark, ti root, banana stump, and other plants.
This is another song about the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The Kalapana area has been overrun by volcanic activity on numerous occasions, the most devastating over the past few years.
Hōlei – Traditional
ʻO Kalapana, kai leo nui,
Ua lono ka uka o Hōlei,
He uwā lā Kalapana, ē,
Kuli wale, kuli wale i ka leo,
He leo no ke kai, ē.
It is Kalapana, the great-voiced sea,
The uplands of Hōlei listened,
Roaring is Kalapana,
Deafened, deafened indeed by the voice,
It is the voice of the sea
I get goosebumps every time I listen to this young man’s version of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV8Vn5QTGPA
And here is the legendary Denis Pavao, one of the heroes of the Hawaiian music renaissance of the 1970s:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_vQX7pX7Dg
Saturday 05.11.19
lalau: Mistake, blunder, going astray. To go astray, wander, blunder, err, gad about, have sexual affairs, miss the way.
Friday 05.10.19.
‘aha: Meeting, assembly, gathering, convention, court, party. Sennit. Cord braided of coconut husk, human hair, intestines of animals. String for a musical instrument. To stretch the ʻaha cord for the outline of a house so that the posts may be properly placed. Measurement of an edge or border. A prayer or service whose efficacy depended on recitation under taboo and without interruption. The priest was said to carry a cord. Millepede, so called because it coils itself up like a string. Any of the needlefishes of the family Belonidae. The young are called ʻahaʻaha. Design supposed to resemble the continuing track of a duck, carved on tapa beaters.
Thursday 05.09.19
lewa: Sky, atmosphere, space, air, upper heavens, aerial. To float, dangle, swing, hang, oscillate. Swinging, dangling, pendulous, afloat, unstable. Limber-jointed, said of admired hula dancers. Homeless vagabond, wanderer. Landless, homeless. To know thoroughly, as a type of work. To be thoroughly familiar with, as a place. Capitalized, name of a star.
Wednesday 05.08.19
kimo: A game similar to jacks where a stone is tossed into the air by a player, who quickly picks another off the ground before he catches the other. Jackstones. To play Kimo — the players often chanted. To bob, as the head in watching the kimo stone. To bend or fall forward, nod with drowsiness. To go headlong, plunge, To dip, as a kite. Capitalized, it is the name James.
http://www.kimopix.com
Tuesday 05.07.19
‘Ihi: Sacred, holy, majestic, dignified. Treated with reverence or respect.
Monday 05.06.19
lou: Hook. To hook, to fasten with a hook. To hook off, as with the lou pole. Very long fruit-plucking pole, with short sticks fashioned obliquely near the end for plucking, as for breadfruit. To pluck. Tache, clasp.
Hilo Hula is one of the most well-known songs about the town of Hilo, located on the east side of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi
Hilo Hula
by Joe Kalima
translated by Mary Pukui
Kaulana mai nei ʻo Hilo ʻeā
Ka ua Kanilehua ʻeā
Ka ua hoʻopulu ʻili ʻeā
Ka ʻili o ka malihini ʻeā
Nani wale hoʻi ka ʻikena ʻeā
Ka nani o Waiākea ʻeā
Ka wai o Waiolama ʻeā
Mālamalama Hawaiʻi ʻeā
Kaulana hoʻi Mokuola ʻeā
He moku au i ke kai ʻeā
E hoʻopulu ʻili nei ʻeā
Ka hunehune kai ʻeā
Lei ana i ka lei nani ʻeā
Ka pua o ka lehua ʻeā
Haʻina mai ka puana ʻeā
No ka ua Kanilehua ʻeā
Famous is Hilo
And it’s rain called Kanilehua
Rain that wets one’s skin
Especially those of the newcomers
Lovely is the scenery
And beauty of Waiākea
The water of Waiolama
Brightens Hawaiʻi (the island)
Situated here is Mokuola
An island set apart in the sea
Drenching the skin
The mist of the sea
Wear the lei of loveliness
The blossom of the red lehua
Tell the refrain
The rain called Kanilehua
Sunday 05.05.19
koʻikoʻi: Weight, responsibility. Stress, accent. Heavy, weighty. Prominent, prime, urgent, serious, influential. Emphatic, stressed. Harsh, severe.
Saturday 05.04.19.
āewa: Thin, tall, spindly. To weave to and fro, as seaweed. To sway, as a branch or sea eddy. Possessing a family or lineage.
Friday 05.03.19.
waipahē: Courteous, gentlemanly, polite, modest, gentle, good-natured, easygoing, agreeable, complacent, gracious. This word is usually used in a favorable sense, but occasionally pejoratively, e.g., complacent in the ways of sin.
Thursday 05.02.19.
lāhui: Nation, race, tribe, people, nationality. Great company of people. Species, as of animal or fish, breed. Company of soldiers. To assemble, gather together. To prohibit, forbid, lay a taboo, proclaim a law.
This gentleman signing, Jesse Tinsley, performs probably my favorite version of this song about the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Written by Keola Nauma, “Hilo Hanakahi” tells about various places on the Island of Hawaiʻi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INApWnbF3lg
Hilo Hanakahi I ka ua Kanilehua Puna paia ʻala I ka paia ʻala i ka hala Kaʻū i ka makani I ka makani puwehuwehu Kona i ke kai I ke kai māʻokiʻoki Kawaihae i ke kai I ke kai hāwanawana Kohala i ka makani I ka makani ʻĀpaʻapaʻa Waimea i ka ua I ka ua Kīpuʻupuʻu Hāmākua i ka pali I ka pali l koaʻe Haʻina ka puana I ka ua kani lehua – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – Hilo of Hanakahi (a much loved chief of the Hilo district) Where the rain is in the lehua forest Puna of the fragrant bowers Fragrant with the blossoms of the hala Kaʻū , a windy district Wind that scatters the dust Kona, land of calm seas Sea marked with sea lanes Kawaihae has a sea A sea that whispers Kohala has a wind A gusty wind Waimea has the rain A cold pelting rain Hāmākua cliffs Cliffs where the bird soars This is the end of my song Of the rain in the lehua forest |
Tuesday 04.30.19
koa: Brave, bold, fearless, valiant. Bravery, courage. Soldier, warrior, fighter. Military, hero, martial. The largest of native forest trees (Acacia koa), with light gray bark, crescent-shaped leaves, and white lowers in small, round heads. A legume with fine, red wood, a valuable lumber tree, formerly used for canoes, surfboards, calabashes, now for furniture and `ukuleles. A small koa was sometimes added to the hula altar to Laka, goddess of the hula, to make the dancer fearless. Capitalized, the name of a wind, at Mālei, Moloka`i.
Monday 04.29.19
‘ukulele: Literally, leaping flea, probably from the Hawaiian nickname of Edward Purvis, who was small and quick and who popularized the instrument brought to Hawai’i by the Portuguese in 1879.
Sunday 04.28.19
ikaika: Strong, powerful, sturdy, stalwart, potent. Strength, force, energy, might, vigor, determination. A name reported for Jupiter.
Saturday 04.27.19
pakī: To splash, spatter, squirt, spurt. Splashing, spattering, squirting.
Friday 04.26.19
laule’a: Peace, happiness, friendship. Restoration of a disrupted friendship. Happy, glad, genial, courteous, peaceful.
Thursday 04.25.19
lole: Cloth, clothes, costume, dress, gown. To wear clothes. To unfold, turn inside out, reverse. To strip or peel off, as bark. To skin, flay. Depigmentation, as of palm, or hand, or soles of feet.
Wednesday 04.24.19
honua: Land, earth, world. Background, as of quilt designs. Basic, at the foundation, fundamental. Suddenly, abruptly and without reason. Middle section of a canoe. Central section of a canoe fleet, as fishing iheihe fish. Main section, as of an army.
Tuesday 04.23.19
huali: Bright, polished, clean, pure, white, glittering, gleaming. Morally pure.
Monday 04.22.19
lelepā: one who jumps over a fence. To fence jump. Figuratively, a non-conformer. One who cannot be restrained, especially regarding the opposite sex. Wanton. To hurdle.
Sunday 04.21.19
heia: Piece of hair, tooth, fingernail, small bone, or the like of a deceased beloved, kept and offered food in order to please the spirit of the deceased.
Saturday 04.20.19
iwikuamo`o: Spine, backbone. Near and trusted relative of a chief who attended to his personal needs and possessions, and executed private orders.
