Na `Ono O Ka `Aina (Delicacies Of The Land) - Traditional

 

Na `ono o ka`aina
Hali`alia` wale mai no
`O ka ma`i`i`i me ke kole
Ma ka onaona o na Kona
Mai apakau i ka ha`i
O nahu pu me ka unahi
`Ai no na ke kino pono`i
Lawe a`e no a `ike i ka `ono
 
 
Ka ono i`a a na kupuna
I`a kaulana o ka `aina
He `ono i ka `ai maka i ka lomilomi
He `ono no i ka nahunahu pu
Mai kali a pau na niho
O hala `e ka Pu`u`lena
`O ka wa keia `o ka `ono la
A i `ike i ke kuhikuhinia
 
 
`O ka maikoiko ke pala
`O ka `ina me ke ka`ukama kai
`O ka `opelu me ke akule
A he nui wale aku na `ono
Mai apakau na`e i ka ha`i
O nahu pu me ka unahi
`Ai no na ke kino pono`i
Lawe a`e no a `ike i ka `ono
Delicacies of the land
Remembered fondly
Ma`i`i`i and kole fish
The fragrance of the Konas
Don't grab someone else's
Or bite the scales
Eat the true flesh
Take and taste the delicacy
 
 
Fish delicacies of the ancients
Famous fish of the land
Delicious to eat raw or lomilomi
Delicious to chew
Don't wait until teeth are gone
Or the Pu`ulena wind has passed by
Now is the delicious time
To savor rich fat
 
 
The maikoiko fish slightly mellow
Sea urchins and sea cucumbers
Opelu and akule
My, how delicious
Don't grab someone else`s
Or bite the scales
Eat the true flesh
Take and taste the delicacy

 

Source: Instructions on eating fish from Lana`i, this mele may have been composed by Abraham Kaulia, a Lana`i cowboy. Translator unknown