Kaulana Nâ Pua (Famous Are The Flowers) - Ellen Keho`ohiwaokalani Wright Prendergast

 

Kaulana nâ pua a`o Hawai`i
Kûpa`a ma hope o ka `âina
Hiki mai ka `elele o ka loko `ino
Palapala `ânunu me ka pâkaha
 
Pane mai Hawai`i moku o Keawe
Kôkua nâ Hono a`o Pi`ilani
Kâko`o mai Kaua`i o Mano
Pa`apû me ke one Kâkuhihewa
 
`A`ole a`e kau i ka pûlima
Ma luna o ka pepa o ka `ênemi
Ho`ohui `âina kû`ai hewa
I ka pono sivila a`o ke kanaka
 
`A`ole mâkou a`e minamina
I ka pu`u kâlâ o ke aupuni
Ua lawa mâkou i ka pôhaku
I ka `ai kamaha`o o ka `âina
 
Ma hope mâkou o Lili`ulani
A loa`a ê ka pono o ka `âina
*(A kau hou `ia e ke kalaunu)
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
Ka po`e i aloha i ka `âina
*Alternate Stanza

 

Famous are the children of Hawai`i
Ever loyal to the land
When the evil-hearted messenger comes
With his greedy document of extortion
 
Hawai`i, land of Keawe answers
Pi`ilani's bays help
Mano's Kaua`i lends support
And so do the sands of Kakuhihewa
 
No one will fix a signature
To the paper of the enemy
With its sin of annexation
And sale of native civil rights
 
We do not value
The government's sums of money
We are satisfied with the stones
Astonishing food of the land

We back Lili`ulani
Who has won the rights of the land
*(She will be crowned again)
Tell the story
Of the people who love their land
*Alternate Stanza

 

Source: Na Mele o Hawai`i Nei by Elbert & Mahoe - Written Jan. 1893, published in 1895, this himeni opposed the annexation of Hawai`i to the United States. The original title was Mele `Ai Pohaku or The Stone-eating Song, and was also known as Mele Aloha `Aina or the Patriot's Song. This song was composed as Ellen Wright Prendergast was sitting in the garden of her father's house in Kapalama. Members of the Royal Hawaiian Band visited her and voiced their unhappiness at the takeover of the Hawaiian Kingdom. They begged her to put their feelings of rebellion to music.

 

 Ellen Keho`ohiwaokalani Wright Prendergast