Moanalua (two encampments) - Traditional

 

Moanalua haʻi ke ʻau
Kahauiki hemo ka ʻumoki
 
Ke kula loa hoʻi o Kalihi
Kaiwiʻula kikiʻi pau
  
Kapālama loʻi laiki
Keoneʻula malu ke kiawe 
 
Leleo a he loko wai
Haʻalilia manu honi kāua
 
Kapuʻukolo i Kanēkina
Holo lio lä`au me ka ulua
  
Kamanuwai moa liʻiliʻi
Hauna ke kai ʻeha ʻoe iaʻu
  
He aha ē ke kumu o ka ʻeha ʻana
'Ōnoʻonou ʻia i ka hua noni
 
Auwe ʻeha 'ino i ku'u kīkala
Pehea lā ia e lewa hou ai
  
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Moanalua haʻi ke ʻau

 

 

Noni
Moanalua, the shaft breaks
Kahauiki, pull the cork
 
The long plain of Kalihi
At Kaiwiʻula, tilt
  
Kapālama rice paddies
Keoneʻula algaroba shade
  
Leleo, a pond
Haʻalilia manu, we kiss
  
Kapuʻukolo and Kanēkina
Ride a merry-go-round with the boyfriend
 
Kamanuwai, little chicks
Strong-smelling soup and I hurt you
 
What's the reason for the pain
A noni fruit forced in
  
Oh, how my hips hurt
How then to wander anew
  
Tell the story
Moanalua, the shaft breaks

 

Source: Nā Mele O Hawaiʻi Nei by Sam Elbert & Noelani Mahoe - A pleasure trip on Oʻahu starts at Moanalua where the transportation breaks down. Kahauiki, town side of Fort Shafter, is where thirst is quenched by uncorking the bottle and continuing on to Kalihi. Feeling a little tipsy at Kaiwiʻula, where Bishop Museum is now located, they continue on to Kapālama and Keoneʻula, the present site of Kaumakapili Church. Leleo and Kapuʻukolo are place names in this area. The wahine rides a merry-go-round with her sweetheart or ulua at Kanēkina, where Hotel Street meets Nuʻuanu stream. She flirts with some young men and they experience pain. Verse 7 stanza 2. Noni (morinda citrofolia) is bitter and used for medicinal purposes.
Moanalua Gardens was the home of Kamehameha V (Lot Kamehameha), known for his grand luaus. Upon his death, Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who was born there, inherited the property. She deeded the property to Samuel Mills Damon, her husband's business partner, who built the beautiful Moanalua Gardens after her death in 1884. There was a Chinese Hall, made in China, shipped to Hawaiʻi and re-assembled by a pond and a two-story Japanese Tea Garden. A railroad sidetrack was built for his guests and is memorialized in the chant "Lanakila Ke Ka Ahi Aliʻi (Lanakila, The Royal Train)". Today, Moanalua Gardens is the site of the Prince Lot Hula Festival in July, that honors Kamehameha V, who encouraged hula when it was repressed by the missionaries.