Wā ‘Akahi

Wī
Ka Makua

Hānau ka Wī,
‘o ke Kiki kāna keiki, puka

First Epic

Wī
The Parent

The Wī gives birth,
the Kiki emerges

No ka ‘Opihi ‘Awa‘awa

Ha‘i hou ‘ia e Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds

‘O Kukaohialaka ka makua kāne, noho iā Hinaulu‘ōhi‘a ka makuahine, hānau maila he ‘ekolu keiki ‘o Ka‘eha ka mua, ‘o Kamanō ka muli iho a ‘o Kaulu ka muli loa. No Kailua i ko‘olau ko lākou one hānau. Pili kēia mo‘olelo iā Kaulu lāua ‘o kona kaikua‘ana, ‘o Kaeha a me ko lāua hana ma ka ‘āina ‘o Lewanu‘u a me Lewalani, ka ‘āina o nā ‘uhane. Ma hope o ko Kaulu ho‘omake ‘ana i ka manō a me kona hō‘awa‘awa ‘ana i ke kai, ua ho‘i hou lāua i uka i kahi o nā ‘uhane. I ka manawa i ‘ike ai nā ‘uhane i ka make ‘ole o Ka‘eha, ua ho‘oholo lākou a pau e ho‘ā‘o hou a i kēia manawa e ho‘omake ana lākou iā ia.
Ua ho‘owalewale hou ‘ia ‘o Ka‘eha e nā ‘uhane e huaka‘i me lākou i ke kahawai. ‘A‘ole na‘e ‘o Ka‘eha i komo i ka wai, ho‘omake ‘ē ‘ia a‘ela ‘o ia e nā ‘uhane. Ua ho‘okomo ‘ia kona kino i loko o ka ‘opihi ‘awa. He ‘opihi kupaianaha nō kēia no ka mea pa‘a ‘o ia i kona kino ma nā pōhaku pālahalaha. Ua hala ka manawa a ‘ike ihola ‘o Kaulu ‘a‘ohe kaikua‘ana, no laila huli ‘o Kaulu i kona kaikua‘ana ma Kahikikū a Kahikimoe a ‘ike ‘ia ko Ka‘eha kino ma loko o ka ‘opihi ‘awa.

Ho‘ā‘o a ho‘ā‘o hou ‘o ia e ku‘i i ka ‘opihi, akā ua pa‘a loa ka ‘opihi ma ka pōhaku. ‘O kona mimi a‘ela nō ia ma luna o ka ‘opihi i hā‘ule mai ka pōhaku pālahalaha. ‘Awa‘awa ka ‘ai ‘ana o kēia ‘ano ‘opihi mai kēlā mua aku. Ma hope o ka ho‘ōla ‘ia ‘ana o Kaeha e Kaulu ua ho‘i hou lāua i O‘ahu, a ma laila lākou i ho‘omau aku i ko lāua hana pīhoihoi!

The Bitter ‘Opihi

Retold by Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds

Kūka‘ōhi‘alaka is the father, Hinauluohia is the mother, three children were born, Ka‘eha the eldest, Kamanō the second, and Kaulu the youngest. Kailua in Koolau was their birthplace. This story is about Kaulu and his brother Kaeha and their adventures in Lewanu‘u and Lewalani, the land of the spirits. After Kaulu killed the shark and gave the sea its saltiness, they returned to the mountains where the spirits were. When the spirits saw that Ka‘eha didn’t die, they all decided to try again and this time they were going to kill him.

Ka‘eha was again tempted by the spirits to go with them to the stream. Ka‘eha didn’t even get to enter the water when the spirits killed him. His body was put in the sour ‘opihi. This is an amazing ‘opihi because it can attach itself to the flat rocks. After some time had passed Kaulu noticed that he wasn’t with his brother, so Kaulu went in search of his brother in all four corners until Ka‘eha’s body was found inside the bitter ‘opihi.
He tried again and again to dig out the ‘opihi but it was stuck to the rock. He immediately urinated on the ‘opihi so that it fell off the smooth rock. From that moment on that type of ‘opihi are bitter when eaten. After Kaulu brought Ka‘eha to life, they returned to O‘ahu where they continued their adventures.

He Aloha Nihoa

Mai loko mai ‘o Nā Mele Hula, na Nona Beamer

He aloha Nihoa i ke kai, Ēhā ēhā
I ke kapa ‘ehu kai o Ka‘ulakāhi, Ēhā ēhā
Ho‘olono i ka leo o ka ‘ohe, Ēhā ēhā
I ke kani mai a kani ka wī, Ēhā ēhā
A ka uka o Pihanakalani, Ēhā ēhā
Lohe e kai a‘o Wailua, Ēhā ēhā
‘A‘ole au ma ke komohana, Ēhā ēhā
Eia au ma ka hikina, Ēhā ēhā
He aha e ka wai e ‘ono ai, Ēhā ēhā
‘O ka wai kau mai o Maleka, Ēhā ēhā
Hā‘ina ka inoa i lohe ia, Ēhā ēhā
Ke kuini ‘Emalani he inoa, Ēhā ēhā
He inoa nō Emalani

He Aloha Nihoa

Mai loko mai ‘o Nā Mele Hula, na Nona Beamer

Beloved is Nihoa in the sea, tra-la
In the robe of sea spray of Ka‘ulakahi, tra-la
Listen to the song of the bamboo, tra-la
And the sounds coming from the wī, tra-la
In the upland of Pihanakalani, tra-la
The sea of Wailua can be heard, tra-la
I am not in the east, tra-la
Here I am in the east, tra-la
What makes the water so delicious? tra-la
The water from America, tra-la
The name is sung let it be heard, tra-la
Queen Emma is her name, tra-la
In the name of Queen Emma.