Kaulana Kawaihae - by Kailihune Alama Naai

 
Kaulana o Kawaihae
I ke kai hāwanawana

Hui:
E ʻōlelo mai kahiko mai
O Puakaʻilima 

E kilohi iā Mauna Kea
Kuahiwi kū kilakila

Hui:
E ʻōlelo mai kahiko mai
O Puakaʻilima  

Haʻina mai ka puana
Kuahiwi kū kilakila

Hui:
E ʻōlelo mai kahiko mai
O Puakaʻilima  
Restful Kawaihae
In the whispering sea

Chorus:
Telling from olden times
Of Puakaʻilima

Gaze at Mauna Kea
Mountain standing majestic

Chorus:
Telling from olden times
Of Puakaʻilima

Tell the refrain
Mountain standing majestic

Chorus:
Telling from olden times
Of Puakaʻilima

Source: Recorded by Hoʻokena - Puakaʻilima (the ilima blossom) was a low islet off the shore of Kawaihae (water of wrath) in the south Kohala district of Hawaiʻi. Hawaiians of old maintained a garden of ʻilima, specifically, to make leis for the chiefs. The tsunami of 1946, took back the island when it subsided into the reef. The surf that broke on this reef was also called Puakaʻilima, for it resembled ʻilima leis. This reef was dredged out for the construction of Kawaihae Harbor and is now only a memory. The composer was born in Waipiʻo Valley and moved to Kawaihae when she married a Waimea man.