'ŌLELO MAOLINATIVE LANGUAGE'Ōlelo 'alalā kahiko a'o 'Ewanoho po'ohiwi, noi kahuname ka leo huna kani oeoe o uka'Ōlelo a'e pū, kani pūpū kuahiwiKūpaianaha wale i ka lehulehu'A'apo wale i ke akeakamai - eAncient crow talk of 'Ewasitting [on the] shoulder, inquiring intentlywith the secret whistling voice of the uplandsTalking together, song of the mountain snailSo bewildering to the massesComprehensible only to the wise--------------------------Na wai na'e ka 'ole akamaii ke alanui ma'a i ka hele?Ma'a 'ia e o'u mau mākuaPāheahea i ka mea hele, he leoMe he leo hinihini ke kani ko'oNa Kahaukani e alaka'i maima ke alahula lōloa kai o KonaHo'oloa a'e i Kalaeloa uka - eBut who would not be wiseon the broad trails so familiar?Well-travelled by my ancestorsCalling as in welcome to the traveller, a voicelike a faint beckoning voice, the tapping of the caneIt is for the Kahaukani wind to guidealong the long familiar ocean trail of Kona (O'ahu)Extending to the uplands of Kalaeloa (Barber's Pt)-------------------------------------He lau lonomea ko HonouliuliHa'ilono i Nāpepeiao'ōleloHe lohe pepeiao, he 'ike maka nōE pu'ulau nā pūnana pueoHo'omāhuahua nā hulu pueoE hulu mākuaE hulu kūpunaE hulu maka'āinana - eSo many lonomea trees has HonouliuliSo the news spreads to Nāpepeiao'ōleloA thing heard, a thing seen indeed.May the nests of pueo proliferateGrowing in number the pueo's precious onesO beloved parentsO beloved eldersO most precious of the citizenry---------------------------------------Mai Pololū i Waipi'okani ka leo hanohano o ka 'ioMū ka mūkīkī o nā manuMaka'u i ke anu o ka wao lipoWao akua, wao kapu i ka waiolaMai ho'opani i ka wai holomoku - eFrom Pololü to Waipi'o[is heard] the proud voice of the hawkSilenced is the sipping of the honeycreepersFrightened in the cold of the deep forestRealm of akua, sacred realm of the water of lifeDon't attempt to block that torrent!---------------------------------------Hohonu wale ka hua kūpala'Ōilo Naulu Moa'ulanuiOla ka maka pehu o ka 'āinaHānai 'ia e nā kahu maopopo'Eia ke ola, ka wai ola, wai kupuKupu i ka uka o HālauaolaE ola e ka 'ōlelo maoli e!Deep lies the tuber of the kūpalaAwakened by the Naulu rain from Moa'ulanuiLife [comes to] the starving of the landNurtured by the care-takers who knowHere is life, the life-giving water, sprouting waterSprouting in the uplands of HālauaolaLong live the native language!-------------------------------------NOTES: I was on Lāna'i sitting in the leaf litter under olopua and lama trees. It was a good place to think about composing chant on the subject of 'ōlelo Hawai'i. Pieces of the following came then, and I jotted down the thoughts in my notepad. At the Lāna'i airport I tried to put together some of those thoughts, with the above result. Here are footnotes:The kahuna of 'Ewa, O'ahu, kept crows ('alalā) as helpers. They would converse with them to gain knowledge. This theme of language extending to all living things around us in the natural world continues with the voice of the native land snail, then later with the cry of the hawk, silencing the voices of the more common birds in the forest. The chant relies heavily on native plants and animals to convey its messages. The hawk symbolizes ali'i, and in this case, Kohala place names suggests Kamehameha, or pulling from earlier in history, Liloa and 'Umi. The water symbols evoke a call for sustenance and life, and an admonition is given not to block those waters. The dry lowland vine kūpala is used to symbolize Hawaiian language; once buried deep and nearly forgotten, like the underground tubers of the kūpala vines in the dry season. This plays on the 'ōlelo: "Kaho'olawe 'ai kūpala," and, like awakening sovereignty for Kaho'olawe (and the rest of the pae 'āina), the kūpala awakens with the Naulu rains of the wet season coming to Kaho'olawe (at Moa'ulanui), a source of sustenance for kanaka maoli, as 'ōlelo sustains our culture. "Ola ka makapehu o ka 'āina" pulls from the chant for the waters of Kāne as well as 'ōlelo no'eau. The language may endure only if cared for by those who realize that the language is life for Hawaiian culture. The place name Hālauaola was chosen because of the 'ōlelo no'eau: "Loa'a ke ola i Hālau-a-ola."Thanks to our group discussion, many images and ideas were offerred: trails, winds, sounds, listening, pueo, voices, sayings, guidance. This is what came out after sleeping on it (and a lot of lomilomi with the help of 'Ōlelo No'eau and the dictionary.) There is a paraphrase of Liholiho's response on a praise of his wisdom: "Na wai ho'i ka 'ole o ke akamai, he alanui i ma'a i ka hele 'ia e o'u mau mākua?" That path indeed lends the greatest familiarity in our endeavors. On that path one can hear the calling of those that preceded us, the distant voices, the tapping of the canes of the old ones on the well-travelled trail, guiding us as the Kahaukani wind guides those of the uplands of Mānoa down to the trails of the leeward side of O'ahu, that run along the coast to Kalaeloa. The second pauku begins in the uplands above Kalaeloa at Honouliuli, where grow the groves of native lonomea trees, [one can hear of them, or go and see them, as the saying "He lohe pepeiao" ("An item of hearsay") suggests], and in the gulches of Honouliuli, such as Nāpepeiao'ōlelo gulch, pueo build their nests. Pueo are used here in honor of Kumu Lake's family 'aumakua, while the nests evoke the growing Pūnana Leo, and the result, children who speak Hawaiian, are the link of continuity to parents, kūpuna and the citizenry (hulu mākua, hulu kūpuna, and hulu maka'āinana are all traditional poetic terms referring to these beloved subsets of the community).Other minor allusions: kūpaianaha -- so much of ancient Hawaiian thought is bewildering to modern people. kani ko'o -- (the sound of the cane) from chants asking for long life, until a cane is needed for walking. alahula -- (familiar path) as in "alahula Pu'uloa a 'o Ka'ahupāhau" (a famous saying for 'Ewa). maka'u i ke anu -- (frightened in the cold) out of a chant dedicated to Kāne. All of the minor allusions are meant to evoke familiarity to those who recognize them, and to introduce the phrases to those less familiar, so that when they hear similar phrasing later, it will come more readily.
Comments
Hu....kupaianaha keia oli! E ola mau ka olelo hawaii!
Posted by Hikiauola on Saturday, September 16, 2006 - 5:26 AM
Maika'i maoli no keia me ka wehewehena kekahi!
Posted by David on Saturday, September 16, 2006 - 6:53 PM