- Kaulana mai nei `o Hilo `eâ
- Ka ua Kanilehua `eâ
- Ka ua ho`opulu `ili `eâ
- Ka `ili o ka malihini `eâ
-
-
- Nani wale ho`i ka `ikena `eâ
- Ka nani o Waiâkea `eâ
- Ka wai o Waiolama `eâ
- Mâlamalama Hawai`i `eâ
-
-
- Kaulana ho`i Mokuola `eâ
- He moku au i ke kai `eâ
- E ho`opulu `ili nei `eâ
- Ka hunehune kai `eâ
-
-
- Lei ana i ka lei nani `eâ
- Ka pua o ka lehua `eâ
- Ha`ina mai ka puana `eâ
- No ka ua Kanilehua `eâ
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- Famous is Hilo
- And it's rain called
Kanilehua
- Rain that wets one's
skin
- Especially those of the
newcomers
-
-
- Lovely is the scenery
- And beauty of Waiakea
- The water of Waiolama
- Brightens Hawai`i (the
island)
-
-
- Situated here is Mokuola
- An island set apart in the
sea
- Drenching the skin
- The mist of the sea
-
-
- Wear the lei of
loveliness
- The blossom of the red
lehua
- Tell the refrain
- The rain called
Kanilehua
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Source: Kanilehua is the misty rain of
Hilo that gives drink to the lehua blossoms. Verse #2,
Waiâkea or broad waters, was the home of `Ulu, a
legendary man who died of starvation and was buried near a
spring. The next morning, an `ulu (breadfruit) tree, laden
with fruit, marked his grave and put an end to the famine.
Verse #3. Mokuola was the son of `Ulu and the name of an
island in Hilo bay. There was a spring on the island with
water that had healing qualities. The old Hawaiians would
swim to the island and hide the umbilical cords of infants
in the crevices of a flat stone called Papa o Hina. Many
Hawaiians today honor this tradition of hiding umbilical
cords from rodents, believing it saves the child from
becoming a thief. Translator unknown
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