Kuulei Higashi
Laehala, Keaukaha, Hawai'i
18/IX/00

Wā ‘Akahi

‘Ina
Ka Makua

Hānau ka ‘Ina, ka ‘Ina
Hānau kāna he Hālula, puka

First Epic

‘Ina
The Parent

The ‘Ina, the ‘Ina gives birth,
Producing an offspring, a Hālula emerges

Ka Ulu Lehua ‘o Hōpoe

Mai loko mai ‘o ka Mo‘olelo Ka‘ao o Hi‘iakaikapoliopele,
na Joseph M. Poepoe

[Na Hi‘iakaikapoliopele e ha‘i mo‘olelo ana.]
“I kekahi lā, iho malihini maila au i kai o Kea‘au i wahi lau limu, wahi hua ‘opihi, wahi he‘e pali me ona mau wahi hua ‘ina a me ka wana. A ‘oiai au e kū ana i ka makalae e nānā ana i wahi no‘u e iho ai, aia ho‘i pi‘i mai ana nei kaikamahine u‘i ‘ōpiopio mai lalo mai me kāna ‘eke lau hala. Ua hele nō ho‘i a piha i ka ‘opihi kō‘ele, ka he‘e pali, ka limu, ka ‘ina a me ka wana. A kau maila kēlā ma kahi a‘e e kū ana, pane maila ‘o ia ia‘u i ka ‘ī ‘ana mai: “Kā, maka malihini?”

‘Ae akula nō ho‘i au me ko‘u ‘ōlelo ‘ana aku iā ia: “‘Ae, he malihini au, mai kēlā kuahiwi au i iho mai nei. Noho mai nei kō ā uka a ‘ono mai nei i nā wahi mea makamaka hou o kahakai nei.”
I ko‘u ho‘opuka ‘ana aku i kēia mau hua‘ōlelo, ‘o ko ia lā pane maila i ka hua o ke ola: “Inā pēlā, ‘eā, eia ka ‘i‘a. E lawe ‘oe e like me ka nui me kāu i makemake ai, a koe iho ke koena, ‘o ka‘u ho‘i ia. Inā lawe aku ‘oe i kēia ‘eke lau hala ‘oko‘a, ‘o ka ‘oi loa aku ia o ka maika‘i.”

‘O ko‘u ‘ae akula nō ho‘i ia i kā ia lā mau ‘ōlelo o ke ola, a ‘o ko‘u lālau akula nō ia i ke ‘eke lau hala a ua kaikamahine nei. Ia wā nīnau akula au i ua kaikamahine nei i kona inoa. A laila, hō‘ike maila ‘o ia ia‘u i kona inoa me ka ‘ōlelo ‘ana mai: ‘‘O ko‘u inoa, ‘o Nānāhuki nō ia. Akā, kāhea kekahi po‘e ia‘u, ‘o Hōpoe ko‘u inoa ma muli o ko‘u pi‘i mau i ka ‘ako lehua i kēlā ulu lehua e ulu maila. ‘O ka inoa o kēlā ulu lehua, ‘o ia nō ‘o Hōpoe.’

Ia wā ‘ōlelo akula au iā ia i ka ‘ī ‘ana aku: “E lawe au iā ‘oe i aikāne ‘oe na‘u, a he mau loa aku ho‘i kou inoa ‘o Hōpoe.” Ua ‘ae maila nō ho‘i kēlā i ka‘u nonoi ‘ana aku iā ia i aikāne ‘o ia na‘u, a lawe nō ho‘i ‘o ia i ka inoa a‘u i ‘ōlelo aku ai iā ia, ‘o kona inoa ia.”

Hōpoe, The Lehua Grove

From Ka Mo‘olelo Ka‘ao o Hi‘iakaikapoliopele,
by Joseph M. Poepoe

[Narrated by Hi‘iakaikapoliopele to Wahine‘ōma‘o]
“One day I visited Kea‘au to gather limu, ‘opihi, he‘e pali, ‘ina, and wana. While standing on the point looking for a place to go down to the beach, a beautiful girl walked toward me carrying a lau hala bag filled with ‘opihi kō‘ele, he‘e pali, limu, ‘ina, and wana. She asked me: “Are you a visitor?”

I nodded and said: “Yes, I am a visitor from those mountains. I became hungry for fresh seafood.”

When I said this, she answered: “If that’s so, here’s some seafood. Take as much as you want and I’ll keep the leftovers. However, nothing would please me more than if you would take the entire lau hala bag.”

I agreed and took her bag, that’s when I asked her for her name. She told me: “My name is Nānāhuki, but some people call me Hōpoe because I am always gathering lehua from the Hōpoe ‘ōhi‘a lehua forest.”

I told her: “Let’s be friends and your name will forever be Hōpoe.” She agreed to my request that she become my friend and she took the name that I called her until this day.’”

He Nane ‘Ina

Mai loko mai ‘o ka Mo‘olelo Hawai‘i o Kalapana, na Moses Nakuina

‘O ka i‘a ka‘a poepoe o Kaimū ē,
‘Īna‘i ‘ai aku o Kalapana,
‘O ka i‘a i ‘ōhiki ‘ia me ka lā‘au,
I lālau ‘ia me ka lā‘au,
I ‘oki‘oki ‘ia me ka lā‘au,
I unahi ‘ia me ka lā‘au,
I kū‘olo ‘ia i ka pōhaku,
I nahua ‘ia iho e ka niho,
A ‘ike ‘oe i ku‘u i‘a momona ē,
Lele ‘ē ka huna o ka pa‘akai,
Ke ha‘a lā ka welelau o ka manamana lima lā ē,
Ku‘u i‘a, ku‘u i‘a momona,
He ‘ina momona.

He Nane Ina

From the Mo‘olelo Hawai‘i o Kalapana, by Moses Nakuina

The boring fish of Kaimū,
Seasoning eaten in Kalapana,
The fish that was probed with a stick,
That was grabbed with the stick,
That was cut with the stick,
That was scaled with a stick,
That was scoured by the rock,
That was bitten by teeth,
And you see my fat fish,
The grains of salt fly all over the place,
The tips of the fingers are very short,
My fish, my fat fish,
A fat ‘ina.