Hole Waimea (Spear-makers of Waimea ) - Chant

 

Hole Waimea i ka ihe a ka makani
Hao mai nä`ale a ke Kïpu`upu`u
He lä`au kala`ihi ia na ke anu
I `ö`ö i ka nahele o Mahiki
 
 
Hui:
Ku aku i ka pahu
Ku a ka `awa`awa
Hanane`e ke kikala o ko Hilo kini
Ho`i lu`ulu`u i ke one o Hanakahi
 
 
Ku aku la `oe i ka Malanai a ke Kïpu`upu`u
Holu ka maka o ka `öhäwai a uli
Niniau `eha ka pua o ke Koai`e
Ua `eha i ka nahele o Waikä
Waimea strips the spears of the wind
Waves tossed in violence by the Kïpu`upu`u rains
Trees brittle in the cold
Are made into spears in Mahiki forest
 
 
Chorus:
Hit by the thrusts
Hit by the cold
The hips of Hilo's throngs sag
Burdened, they return to the sands of Hanakahi
 
 
Smitten with the blows of love
Pelted and bruised by the Kïpu`upu`u rains
Wearied and bruised is the flower of Koai`e
Stung by frost, the herbage of Waikä

 

Source: This is a mele inoa (name chant) for Kamehameha I, that was inherited by his son, Liholiho. This is a tale of the Kïpu`upu`u, a band of runners whose name is taken from the cold wind of Mauna Kea that blows at Waimea on the big island of Hawai`i. They were trained in spear fighting and went to the woods of Mahiki, a woodland in Waimea haunted by demons and spooks, and Waikä to strip the bark of saplings to make spears. Hole means to handle roughly, strip or caress passionately. In the forest they sang of love, not of work or war. Hanakahi is the district on the Hamakua side of Hilo, named for a chief whose name means profound peace. Malanai is the name of gentle wind. Pua o Koai`e is the blossom of the Koai`e tree that grows in the wild, a euphemism for delicate parts. Parts of this old chant, full of double entendre or kaona, was set to music by John Spencer and entitled Waikä.