Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds
Ma‘alaea, Maui, Hawai‘i
20/X/01

Wā ‘Akahi

Uku Ko‘ako‘a
Ka Makua

Hānau ka Uku ko‘ako‘a, hānau kāna,
he ‘Āko‘ako‘a, puka

First Epic

Uku Ko‘ako‘a
The Parent

The Uku ko‘ako‘a gives birth to an offspring,
the ‘Āko‘ako‘a emerges

Ka Pō‘aiapuni Ola

1. I kekahi pō ke mākaukau ka ‘Āko‘ako‘a e hānau, e ho‘oku‘u ana nā ko‘ako‘a a pau i ka hua a me ke keakea. Inā hui kēia mau mea ‘elua, e hānau ‘ia ana kekahi uku ko‘ako‘a. Lana kēia uku ko‘ako‘a ma ke kai a hiki aku ‘o ia i kekahi wahi ‘olu‘olu e ho‘opili ai iā ia iho.
   
   
2. ‘O nā ko‘a kahiko a me nā ko‘a make kahi maika‘i e noho ai no ka mea nui ka mea‘ai ma ia mau wahi. Ke pa‘a maika‘i ka uku ko‘ako‘a, ho‘omaka ‘o ia e ola a nui.
   
   
3. ‘O ka mea hoihoi o kēia mau mea kanu ‘o ia ke ‘ano o ko lākou ola ‘ana. ‘A‘ole lākou ola a nui e like me ke keiki akā, ho‘ohapa ‘ia kona kino i ola ‘elua manamana.
   
   
4. Ola a ola hou ke ko‘a mai ‘elua manamana a ‘ehā a pēlā wale aku. I ka hapanui o ka manawa ‘a‘ole nā ko‘a keiki ho‘omaka i kēia ola ‘ana no ka mea, ‘ai ‘ia lākou e nā i‘a a i ‘ole ho‘opilikia ‘ia ko lākou wahi noho.

The Life Cycle

1. One night when the Corals are ready to create life they will release eggs and sperm. If these two things combine, a coral polyp will be formed. This polyp will float in the ocean until it reaches a good habitat to attach itself.
   
   
2. Old coral or dead coral are the best places to live because there are a lot of nutrients in these places. Once the polyp is attached it starts to grow.
   
   
3. An interesting fact of the coral is how they grow. They don’t grow in length like a human child, but they split themselves in two so that there are two branches.
   
   
4. The coral polyp will grow from two branches, to four branches and so forth. Coral polyps may not reach this stage because other organisms either eat them or a change affects their habitat.