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Aia i Waipiʻo Pākaʻalana e |
There at Waipiʻo is Pākaʻalana And the sacred platform of Līloa Beloved is the woman who ascended the hill With armfulls of ʻūlei boughs Her food cooked with the branches of the trees She for whom Kawelowelo always longed **Hidden from the stinging Kaiāulu of Waimea And long may Kukeoloʻewa still live |
Source: King's Hawaiian Melodies, Unwritten Literature of Hawaiʻi - This ancient chant, set to music by Charles E. King, may have been a mele inoa for Kamehameha Nui. Waipiʻo is a valley on the windward side of the Big island, the seat of government of Līloa, ancient king of Hawaiʻi, the father of Umi. Pākaʻalana was the temple and residence of King Līloa. Verse 1, stanza 2, paepae was the doorsill of the temple, held in high esteem, for it represented all of the building. Verse 2, wahine piʻi ka pali is from the legend of Hainakolo, a Hawaiian chiefess who married her cousin, a king of Kukulu o Kahiki, was deserted by him, swam back to Hawaiʻi with her small child and arrived at Waipiʻo in a famished state. She climbed the cliffs and ate of the ʻūlei berries without offering the local deity a sacrifice; a great offense. As punishment she became distraught and wandered away into the wilderness. Her husband repented and found her after a long search. With kind treatment, she regained her reason and the family was happily re-united. Verse 4. Kaiāulu is a fierce rain squall that arises suddenly in the uplands of Waimea. For protecton, one crouches (peʻe) behind grass or hastily builds a shelter. Kukeoloʻewa was an evil demon. Translator unknown ©1916, 1943, Charles E. King | |