Ka Makika Li`i (The Little Mosquito) - Words & Music by Nancy M. Gustafsson and Victor Rittenband


He aha kau hana e makika li`i
Mûkîkî ana i ko`u koko momona
Maika po`o a ka hi`u na koko `ohi `oe
`Oia ka hana kolohe a ka makika li`i

He aha kau mele ia`u e ipo li`i?
Kou leo kieki`i muhi ana i ka po`o
Kou `ano`i au o pâ`ina nui?
`Oia ka hana kolohe a ka makika li`i

Nu nui nâ koho no ka makika li`i?
Ka po`e wîwî me ka po`e momona
Eia noi loko o na pilikia
`Oia ka hana kolohe a ka makika li`i

He nui nâ wahi e minoi `ai i ke kino
Nâ pepeiao me nâ lima nâ wâwae
Ke pi`i mai nei. Auwê! Ko`u mane`o!
`Oia ka hana kolohe a ka makika li`i

Ha`ina ka puana e makika li`i?
Mûkîkî ana i ko`u koko momona
Maika po`o a ka hi`u na koko `ohi `oe
`Oia ka hana kolohe a ka makika li`i

`Oia ka hana kolohe a ka makika li`i


So what are you doing, you little mosquito?
Sipping and sucking the sweet blood from my body
From my head to my toes, you're looking to bite me
That's all you can think of, you naughty mosquito!

And what are you singing to me, little sweetheart?
Your tiny voice keeps on buzzing around me
Am I your lover, or your biggest dinner?
That's all you can think of, you naughty mosquito!

You have many choices, you little mosquito
You sting skinny people and also the fat ones
No matter our sizes, we all are in trouble
That's all you can think of, you naughty mosquito!

So many places you can feed on my body
Two ears and two arms and also my two legs
I know where you "got me". Oh, ouch! I am itching!
That's all you can think of, you naughty mosquito!

Now that is the story of the little mosquito
Sipping and sucking the sweet blood from my body
From my head to my toes, you're looking to bite me
That's all you can think of, you naughty mosquito!

That's all you can think of, you naughty mosquito!


Source: This mele was the prize winning song in the local Search for Songs" contest in 1991. The hula was performed at the 1993 Merrie Monarch Festival by Hâlau Hula `O Ka Ua Kilihune, Al Bacarse Makahinu's Hâlau (kane). Transcription to Hawaiian is not a literal translation. Copyright 1990 Nancy Gustafsson & Victor Rittenband