Hi`ilawe - Sam Li`a Kalainaina, Sr

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Kûmaka ka `ikena iâ Hi`ilawe
Ka papa lohi mai a`o Maukele
 
Pakele mai au i ka nui manu
Hau wala`au nei puni Waipi`o
 
`A`ole nô wau e loa`a mai
A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwi
 
He hiwahiwa au na ka makua
A he lei `â`î na ke kupuna
*(A he milimili ho`i na ka makua)
 
No Puna ke `ala i hali `ia mai
Noho i ka wailele a`o Hi`ilawe
 
I ka poli nô au o Ha`i wahine
I ka poli aloha o Ha`inakolo
 
Ho`okolo `ia aku i ka nui manu
I like ke ka`ina meka uahoa
 
He hoa `oe no ka lâ le`ale`a
Na ka nui manu iho haunaele
 
E `ole ko`u nui piha akamai
Hala a`e nâ `ale o ka moana
 
Hao mai ka moana kau e ka weli
Mea `ole na`e ia no ia ho`okele
 
Ho`okele o `uleu pili i ka uapo
Honi malihini au me ku`u aloha
 
He aloha ia pua ua lei `ia
Ku`u pua miulana poina `ole
 
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
Kûmaka ka `ikena iâ Hi`ilawe
*(No Puna ke `ala i hali `ia mai)
*Alternate Stanzas
All eyes are on Hi`ilawe
In the sparkling lowlands of Maukele
 
I have not been trapped by the gossip
Chattering everywhere in Waipi`o
 
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 Hi`ilawe waterfall
 
I was at the bosom of Ha`i, the woman
At the beloved bosom of Ha`inakolo
 
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 Hi`ilawe
*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 `Ole (Unforgettable Love), but was written by Sam Li`a Kalainaina, Sr. This information was given to Larry Kimura by Sam Li`a Kalainaina, Jr. and contributed by Keola Donaghy. This mele is about a love affair at Hi`ilawe (highest waterfall in Hawai`i) and Waio`ulu, two waterfalls in Waipi`o 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. Lâlâkea and Hakalaoa are streams at the top of Waip`io Valley that flow over the cliff forming the twin waterfalls of Hi`ilawe and Hakalaoa. They merge into the Hi`ilawe stream that is one of two main waterways in Waip`io Valley. Music clip by Lani Lee