Kaulana Kawaihae - by Kailihune Alama Naai

 
Kaulana o Kawaihae
I ke kai hâwanawana

Hui:

E `ôlelo mai kahiko mai
O Puaka`ilima
 
 
E kilohi iâ Mauna Kea
Kuahiwi kû kilakila
E `ôlelo mai kahiko mai
O Puaka`ilima
 
 
Ha`ina mai ka puana
Kuahiwi kû kilakila
E `ôlelo mai kahiko mai
O Puaka`ilima

 

Restful Kawaihae
In the whispering sea

Chorus:

Telling from olden times
Of Puaka`ilima
 
 
Gaze at Mauna Kea
Mountain standing majestic
Telling from olden times
Of Puaka`ilima
 
 
Tell the refrain
Mountain standing majestic
Telling from olden times
Of Puaka`ilima

 

Source: Recorded by Ho`okena - Puaka`ilima (the ilima blossom) was a low islet off the shore of Kawaihae (water of wrath) in the south Kona district of Hawai`i. Hawaiians of old, maintained a garden of ilima, specifically, to make leis for the chiefs. The tsunami of 1946 took back the island, when it subsided into the reef. The surf that broke on this reef was also called Puakailima, for it resembled ilima leis. This reef was dredged out for the construction of Kawaihae Harbor and is now only a memory. The composer was born in Waipio Valley and moved to Kawaihae when she married a Waimea man.