Hiʻilawe - Sam Li`a Kalainaina, Sr

Click Title to Access Melody

Kūmaka ka ʻikena iā Hiʻilawe
Ka papa lohi mai aʻo Maukele
 
Pakele mai au i ka nui manu
Hau walaʻau nei puni Waipiʻo
 
ʻAʻole nō wau e loaʻa mai
A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwi
 
He hiwahiwa au na ka makua
A he lei ʻāʻī na ke kupuna
*(A he milimili hoʻi na ka makua)
 
No Puna ke ʻala i hali ʻia mai
Noho i ka wailele aʻo Hiʻilawe
 
I ka poli nō au o Haʻi wahine
I ka poli aloha o Haʻinakolo
 
Hoʻokolo ʻia aku i ka nui manu
I like ke ka ʻina meka uahoa
 
He hoa ʻoe no ka lā leʻaleʻa
Na ka nui manu iho haunaele
 
E ʻole koʻu nui piha akamai
Hala aʻe nā ʻale o ka moana
 
Hao mai ka moana kau e ka weli
Mea ʻole naʻe ia no ia hoʻokele
 
Hoʻokele o ʻuleu pili i ka uapo
Honi malihini au me kuʻu aloha
 
He aloha ia pua ua lei ʻia
Kuʻu pua miulana poina ʻole
 
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Kūmaka ka ʻikena iā Hiʻilawe
*(No Puna ke `ala i hali `ia mai)
*Alternate Stanzas
All eyes are on Hiʻilawe
In the sparkling lowlands of Maukele
 
I have not been trapped by the gossip
Chattering everywhere in Waipiʻo
 
I am not caught
For I am the mist of the mountains
 
I am the darling of the parents
And a lei for the necks of grandparents
*Beloved of my parents
 
The fragrance is wafted from Puna
And lives at Hiʻilawe waterfall
 
I was at the bosom of Haʻi, the woman
At the beloved bosom of Haʻinakolo
 
Annoyed at the many birds
They were indifferent to the distress they caused
 
You are my companion in the day of joy
The many birds there caused a commotion
 
It is my great skill
The waves of the ocean overwhelm us
 
The ocean rages fearfully
But my steering is skillfull
 
Hurry, let us go close to the wharf
I am your new love to be kissed
 
My flower, my lei, my love for you
Is unforgettable like the muilan flower
 
Tell the refrain
All eyes are on Hiʻilawe
*The fragrance is wafted from Puna
 

Source: 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 Hiʻilawe stream that is one of two main waterways in Waipiʻo Valley. Music clip by Lani Lee