Rain Tuahine O Mānoa - by Julia Walanika Paka

Wehiwehi nei pua naʻu e kui
Ke kipona ʻia me ka maʻo
A he pua kapu ʻia nā ka manu
Nā ka ʻiʻiwi polena o ka uka

Hui:
Kaulana e ka ua i Waʻahila
I ka hehi i ke oho o ke pili
Hoʻokahi no ʻoe o laila
Me ka rain Tuahine o Mānoa

These flowers I'll string as an adornment
Combined with the yellow flowers of the cotton shrub
A blossom sacred to the birds
The honeycreepers of the uplands

Chorus:
Famous is the rain at Waʻahila
Falling upon the pili grass
You are the only one there
With the Tuahine rain of Mānoa



Source: R. Teves, great-grand niece of the composer, Julia Walanika Paka - This mele describes the valley of Mānoa and Tuahine, the name of its gentle rain. The lover is likened to the ʻiʻiwi or honeycreeper. Waʻahila is the ridge between Mānoa and Pālolo Valleys. In the 1950's, Mānoa Elementary School received permission to use the song, 1st verse and hui with slight revisions, as their alma mater. Translation by Kamehameha HSI. Recorded by Leo Nahenahe Singers "Folk Songs of Hawai`i" CD