Ka Haku Mele
Imagine a world without the written word. No books. No texting. No written contracts. No writing of any kind. It is quite difficult to imagine – almost impossible in a time when everything that matters must be written down. Imagining such a world brings us closer to the experience of our kūpuna – Kānaka ʻŌiwi who relied solely on oral traditions to communicate with each other, between generations, and with their beloved environment. It is no wonder why the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, our Lāhui, had one of the highest literacy rates in the world. The written word was a technology we gained, resulting in Oceania’s largest collection of newspapers, and laying the groundwork for a new kind of knowledge system.
But have we considered what technology we may have lost in the process?
Today, we most often document knowledge by writing it down. We store knowledge in an exterior vessel – the written word on a piece of paper. Without the written word, our kūpuna embedded knowledge in a different container: mele. The skilled composers of mele – the Haku Mele – fashioned their composition as mnemonic devices, in which embedded knowledge was stored within the knower and recalled at the tip of the tongue.
As an oral practice, mele represents a technology that shaped the worldview of our kūpuna. Their reliance on spoken/chanted/sung ʻōlelo informed what they knew about themselves, each other, and their surroundings. Through mele, they ensured continuity of knowledge, tradition and practice across generations.
As Haku Mele and mele practitioners, Kainani Kahaunaele, Cody Pueo Pata, Zachary Lum and Kealiʻi Reichel have captured a variety of experiences in mele – from beloved people to unforgettable places. Yet these mele find consonance in the fact that they celebrate what we refuse to lose: our ancestral way of knowing through mele. Just as the revitalization of ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi inspired further quests of knowledge about our people, place, and culture, a critical mass of mele knowledge will surely deliver future generations to renewed heights – elevating Hawaiian worldviews that remind the world of our relatedness to each other, to our environment, and to our future.
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My Dahling
E Kuʻualoha, My Dahling
O ka ua noe o Kōloa
Ko poli ʻala mēlia
Kāhiko i ka nani o ka MalanaiUa hele wale a ʻohu
I nā lei a Kalehuamakanoe
Lei ʻīlima maʻemaʻe o kauhale
ʻAwapuhi anuhea o ka uka
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Lei Pahapaha
Me he ala e ʻī mai ana
Ka wai liʻulā o Mānā
Ka wai ʻula ʻiliahi
Ke one kani o Nohili
NonohiliPehea lā e kuʻu lei pahapaha aʻo Polihale?
I lei papahi no kuʻu kino
I Kaulakahi
KaulakahiHui:
Hoʻi m... -
Kapua: Mele Hoʻoipoipo
Ua pulu i ka hunahuna kai
Kilihune i ka malu o Lēʻahi;
I ke ahe o ka ʻŌlauniu,
Niua i ka hana a ka ipo.Kīpapa ko heʻe i ka lala
I ka ʻapa ihola a ke Kona
Hōʻōhū aʻe ana i ka muku
I ka nuku lā o Kapua.ʻEu aku i ke kō a ko lima,
ʻŌlali i ka ʻili o ke kai;
Hoʻolaʻi mai nō i luna–
Luana i ka pae ... -
Kahalaoweke: Mele Nala Lau Hala
Kaulana Kahaloweke o ka hikina lā,
Hoʻonipo ana me ka hala o Māpuwena–
Pili ana i ka piko o ka hono
ʻO Kapueokahi i ka ulua ka Halemauʻu.Hoʻohaunuʻu Hāna iā Kaihuakalā,
I ka pōʻai puni ʻia e ke Kiu,
I ka haʻi mai a ka nalu o Keʻanini
I ke alo pali o ka wai o Punahoa.Kīkiʻi Mokuhano i ka ʻehu...
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Ipo Kaʻupu: Mele Hoʻālohaloha
ʻAuhea wale ana ʻoe,
E kuʻu ipo kaʻupu?
Aia i ka moana ākea
I ka hehi ʻale mai;
Eia iho nō wau
E kali aku nei
I ko hoʻi mai
A pumehana hou kāua.Mea ʻole ē ka hao mai
A ka makani Ulumano
I kūʻululū iho ai
ʻO Kuaihelani;
Hō mai ko ihu aloha
I ʻolu hoʻi kāua,
A nāueue pū
I ka ulu a ke kīkīao.He ...
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Nani Wale ʻo Piʻiholo
ʻAe, Nani Wale ʻo Piʻiholo
Nani wale ē ʻehehene
ʻO Piʻiholo ʻā ʻahahana
Ka wai huʻi ē ʻehehene
ʻO Kalena ʻā ʻahahana ē
He mea ʻole ē ʻehehene
Ta piʻina ʻā ʻahahana
Ma luna pono ē ʻehehene
O ka lio ʻā ʻahahana ē
E paʻa pono ē ʻehehene
I ta ʻōmuku ʻā ʻa... -
ʻUmaleimakani
ʻAe, He hoʻoheno no ʻUmaleimakani
ʻĒhē, ʻāhāʻO ʻoe ia, ēhē
ʻO ʻUmaleimakani, ʻāhāHe pōhaku, (he) kanaka, ʻēhē
Kūpaʻa i ka ʻāina, ʻāhāE oʻu hoa kīaʻi, ʻēhē
O Hakapueo, ʻāhāE pale aku i ka ʻino, ʻēhē
E pale aku i ka hewa, ʻāhāʻO nā lawakua, ʻēhē
ʻO Maka aʻo Hiwa, ʻāhāUwalo aku ka leo, ʻ...
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Ode to a House
Welo Piʻiholo i ka ʻUlalena
Hālena palaʻehu i ka lehua
Hū aʻe ke aloha ke ʻike aku
I ka nani kau mai i lunaHui
Aloha ē, aloha ʻoe
Kuʻu home ʻalo ehu ē
E ola ē, e ola mau
Kuʻu home kuahiwi ēUa laʻi ka nohona i ke anu
Hānuʻanuʻa i ka haliʻa
A piʻo mau ke ānuenue
I ka maka o ka ʻōpuaE lei ʻoe...
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ʻAʻoe Hoʻolale a Koe Aku: Kahaluʻu
ʻAʻoe hoʻolale a koe aku, ʻĀ!
Hālanalana Kahaluʻu lā ʻahahana
I ta ua nāulu a Kahualoa lā
ʻAʻoe hoʻolale a koe aku, ʻĒ!
Halalē teletele Heʻeia ʻehehene
I ta līpāheʻeheʻe me ka ʻeleʻele
ʻAʻoe hoʻolale a koe aku, ʻĪ!
Ikiiki Puʻu Niki i milia i ka nihi
Ua tilitilihune huʻi koni i ka ʻili
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Me ʻOe Always Kuʻu Aloha
ʻO ʻoe nō kaʻu e hāʻupu mau nei
E kuʻu ipo, e ka liʻa a loko
Ma ʻaneʻi mai ʻoe ʻolu kāua
I ka laʻi lua o ke onaona
Hui
Me ʻoe always kuʻu aloha
E ka haliʻa hiki aumoe
Hiki maila nō hoʻi ʻoe
Maha aʻela nei puʻuwaiʻO ke ʻala anuhea aʻo Pua Rose
Kai hiki mai i oʻu nei
Me he ala e ʻī mai ana
E... -
He Mele Hua Inoa No Kuaola Kamaleiokauhale
K – aulana Koolau, he pali kupaa
U – luwehi i na pua o ka wekiu notice
A – ka ua Poaihale e milikaa ai
O – naona mai nei ka nahele
L – uhiehu ke oho o ka palai
A - ala kupukupu i ka malu la-iK – ilakila Haleakala, kuahiwi nani
A – Maui a Kama e hooheno nei
M – e Na Wai kaulana ok a aina
A – a m...
