Aloha everyone,
I thought I would begin a thread to ask everyone what they are currently working on----or what kind of things folks are interested in translating. I've been working on translating kanikau [grief chants] from the newspapers for a few years now, and translating pieces that relate to my research/teaching classes. I'm interested in working on my translation skill because I'm teaching introductory Hawaiian history courses, and want to include more writings by Hawaiian people. Many of these sources are currently inaccessible to my students because they don't have the requisite knowledge in Hawaiian language needed to be able to read the texts themselves.
Mahalo,
Noelani
Wow, it looks like we can actually attach files to our posts---I'm looking forward to hanging with you folks on this website---I really need hoa unuhi!!!
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Most recently I translated a pule hooipoipo that had been transcribed phonetically by a botanist in the early 1900s, working with a patient kahuna from Maui who repeated it over and over for him until he had written it all down. Because it was rendered phonetically, it was broken into two or three syllable units that had to be read aloud in order to be sensible. If not for oli training I had gained from Kumu John Lake, it would have been unintellible. Now it will be rendered into english for the first time in nearly one hundred years in an upcoming edition of an online ethnobotanical journal.
This is kinda like how I did my current interpretation of Aua too. Since it was published in the newspaper in the mid1800s, spelling back then isn't the spelling we're ma'a to now (which is not a bad thing, it's just our limitation in being standardized).
We should base our interpretations on sound and feeling because that's how it was composed and meant to be chanted - not limited to only what is written.
I have three versions of Aua so far that I've been comparing and trying to get a feel of. I'm such a nerd, it's totally hoihoi ;)
Say, can you post those three versions, so we can better catch up to you and work from the same base? I would enjoy seeing how similar or different the three versions are to each other...
So I wonder how many times it worked? All that repetition...haha...i ka 'olelo no ke ola, i ka 'olelo no ka ho'oipoipo....kala mai, kala mai, I couldn't help myself....
Noe
I will try to find the oli part and post it here, so maybe somebody else can try their hand at it...
Ah, here it is, I give the whole entry for the plant Ni'oi, so you get the context:
Nioi — Eugenia rariflora. Now a very rare plant in Hawai‘i peculiar to the dry regions. A plant used in Hawaiian courtship, the following chant was said (in one breath) with the nioi flowers hidden near one's bosom and while walking up and down before the house wherein the maiden dweller whose love was to be awakened, and captured.
"Ia oe malu aiu kamalu aikai, malu aina hale, a kau amalu. Ia oe hono alele, elele oea iaia, iaia oe ku ko ai, eli a ai, e maka ha liai, emoe ole aikou po, he hiake aloha o kaua ikei kaika houpu make kua, make alo, paa ke aloha o(a?) kaua ole pau, a mama, ua noa, ua lele wale."
It is suggested that Mr. Joseph Emerson append a translation of this interesting prayer which word for word was carefully recited to the writer by an old Hawaiian named Kikei, while encamped on the southern slopes of Haleakalā, Auahi on the land of Kahikinui, Maui, in 1910. Kikei has since also passed on into the great beyond.
and here is the rearrangement of syllables that I worked while translating:
Iā ‘oe malu ai uka,
malu ai kai
malu ai nahele a kāua a malu
iā ‘oe Honoalele
e lele ‘oe a iā ia
iā ia ‘oe e kuko ai
e li‘a ai, e maka hali‘a ai
e moe ‘ole ai kou pō
he hia ke aloha a kāua
ikaika i ka houpu
ma ke kua
ma ke alo
pa‘a ke aloha a kāua, a‘ole pau
‘Āmama, ua noa, ua lele wale
and the translation:
To you, cherished in the uplands
Protected seaward
Shaded forest hiding us two
To you, Honoalele [a god of love]
You fly to her
In her you create desire
Yearning, recalling fondly
Sleepless are your nights
Delightful love of us two
So strong in the heart
At the back
At the front
Firm is our love, endless
Done, freed, (the prayer) has flown]
Aloha everyone,
Um, my name is Kamaoli Kuwada and I'm currently working on a collaborative translation of the 1905-1906 moolelo about Kamehameha, written by Joseph Poepoe. We've been working on it for about a year now and we've still got quite a ways to go, but it's been fun and interesting.
I've also been studying translation theory and using it to help me write my M. A. project, which is on the problematic history of translation in Hawaii and how groups like Awaiaulu are trying to engage with these issues, mitigate the problems of translation, and conduct translation in an "ethical" and "responsible" fashion. Anyway, too many "I"s in this comment, so thanks for inviting me to this group and hopefull we can do some fun stuff with/about translation:)
I'm currently working on interpreting Aua Ia for a CIA that I'm doing. The amazing thing is that I've danced this dance for decades and only now beginning to unravel its layers!
like you, i've danced this a thousand times over & have even drummed it a hundred times. part of the drumming required me to delve into the deeper layers of the mele which i found very hitting the core of my soul. yes, it'll be a real eye-opener.
So how do you folks go about translating such a familiar chant? I'd be interested in seeing folks comparisons on this chant because like you both said, many people recognize it---but may not know all the layers of meaning..Aloha!
Noe
I basically look up every single word, even if I think I know the definition of the word, and a picture starts to form, and different layers and meanings will reveal themselves.
Its also all about interpretation. Sometimes you can translate a piece one way, and in a few years, go back and see a whole new layer of meaning - everything depends on what you've experienced and where you are at the moment.
Replies
We should base our interpretations on sound and feeling because that's how it was composed and meant to be chanted - not limited to only what is written.
I have three versions of Aua so far that I've been comparing and trying to get a feel of. I'm such a nerd, it's totally hoihoi ;)
Noe
Ah, here it is, I give the whole entry for the plant Ni'oi, so you get the context:
Nioi — Eugenia rariflora. Now a very rare plant in Hawai‘i peculiar to the dry regions. A plant used in Hawaiian courtship, the following chant was said (in one breath) with the nioi flowers hidden near one's bosom and while walking up and down before the house wherein the maiden dweller whose love was to be awakened, and captured.
"Ia oe malu aiu kamalu aikai, malu aina hale, a kau amalu. Ia oe hono alele, elele oea iaia, iaia oe ku ko ai, eli a ai, e maka ha liai, emoe ole aikou po, he hiake aloha o kaua ikei kaika houpu make kua, make alo, paa ke aloha o(a?) kaua ole pau, a mama, ua noa, ua lele wale."
It is suggested that Mr. Joseph Emerson append a translation of this interesting prayer which word for word was carefully recited to the writer by an old Hawaiian named Kikei, while encamped on the southern slopes of Haleakalā, Auahi on the land of Kahikinui, Maui, in 1910. Kikei has since also passed on into the great beyond.
and here is the rearrangement of syllables that I worked while translating:
Iā ‘oe malu ai uka,
malu ai kai
malu ai nahele a kāua a malu
iā ‘oe Honoalele
e lele ‘oe a iā ia
iā ia ‘oe e kuko ai
e li‘a ai, e maka hali‘a ai
e moe ‘ole ai kou pō
he hia ke aloha a kāua
ikaika i ka houpu
ma ke kua
ma ke alo
pa‘a ke aloha a kāua, a‘ole pau
‘Āmama, ua noa, ua lele wale
and the translation:
To you, cherished in the uplands
Protected seaward
Shaded forest hiding us two
To you, Honoalele [a god of love]
You fly to her
In her you create desire
Yearning, recalling fondly
Sleepless are your nights
Delightful love of us two
So strong in the heart
At the back
At the front
Firm is our love, endless
Done, freed, (the prayer) has flown]
--------------------
I ka olelo ka hooipoipo no ho'i!
'Ohu
Um, my name is Kamaoli Kuwada and I'm currently working on a collaborative translation of the 1905-1906 moolelo about Kamehameha, written by Joseph Poepoe. We've been working on it for about a year now and we've still got quite a ways to go, but it's been fun and interesting.
I've also been studying translation theory and using it to help me write my M. A. project, which is on the problematic history of translation in Hawaii and how groups like Awaiaulu are trying to engage with these issues, mitigate the problems of translation, and conduct translation in an "ethical" and "responsible" fashion. Anyway, too many "I"s in this comment, so thanks for inviting me to this group and hopefull we can do some fun stuff with/about translation:)
me ke aloha,
kamaoli
aloha!
Noe
Its also all about interpretation. Sometimes you can translate a piece one way, and in a few years, go back and see a whole new layer of meaning - everything depends on what you've experienced and where you are at the moment.
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