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Hi'ilawe
Written by Sam Li'a Kalainaina, Sr.

 

Lyrics and Translation:

 

Kûmaka ka `ikena iâ Hi`ilawe
All eyes are on Hi'ilawe
Ka papa lohi mai a`o Maukele
In the sparkling lowlands of Maukele

Pakele mai au i ka nui manu
I have not been trapped by the gossip
Hau wala`au nei puni Waipi`o
Chattering everywhere in Waipi'o

`A`ole nô wau e loa`a mai
I am not caught
A he uhiwai au no ke kuahiwi
For I am the mist of the mountains

He hiwahiwa au na ka makua
I am the darling of the parents
A he lei `â`î na ke kupuna
And a lei for the necks of the grandparents

No Puna ke `ala i hali `ia mai
The fragrance is wafted from Puna
Noho i ka wailele a`o Hi`ilawe
And lives at Hi'ilawe waterfall

Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
Tell the refrain 
Kûmaka ka `ikena iâ Hi`ilawe
All eyes are on Hi'ilawe

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 ʻOle (Unforgettable Love), but was written by Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Sr.

This information was given to Larry Kimura by Sam Liʻa Kalainaina, Jr. and contributed by Keola Donaghy.

 

This mele is about a love affair at Hiʻilawe (highest waterfall in Hawaiʻi) and Waioʻulu, two waterfalls in Waipiʻo 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. Lālākea and Hakalaoa are streams at the top of Waipʻio Valley that flow over the cliff forming the twin waterfalls of Hiʻilawe and Hakalaoa. They merge into the Hiʻilawe stream that is one of two main waterways in Waipiʻo Valley. 

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