EKF :: Puke No'eau

Kala Mossman
Hokuli'a, Kona, Hawai'i
VII/02

Wa&_macron; ‘Elua

Moano
Ke Keiki

Ha&_macron;nau ka Mano&_macron;,

ha&_macron;nau ka Moano i ke kai la&_macron; holo

Second Epic

Moano
The Child

The Mano&_macron; gives birth,

the Moano gives birth in the sea swimming

No ka Moanonuikalehua

Na Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds

Ma ke&_macron;ia ‘a&_macron;ina nei, ma kai na‘e o na&_macron; pali o Ha&_macron;ma&_macron;kua i noho ai na&_macron; Moano o ke kai. Holo aku holo mai ka Moano i ‘o&_macron; a i ‘ane‘i ma lalo o ia mau pali. He mau i‘a ma‘amau ia koe wale ka ikaika ‘ula‘ula o ka Moano o ia wahi. A hele ‘oe a puni ka ‘a&_macron;ina ‘a‘ole e like ana ka ikaika o ka ‘ula‘ula me ke&_macron;ia mau i‘a.

I kekahi la&_macron; ia&_macron; Kalehua e lawai‘a ana i kai ‘ike ‘o ia i ka wena ‘ula ma kai a mana‘o ihola ‘o ia, he aha ia wena ma lalo o ke kai? Kiola aku ‘o ia i ke aho i ke kai, a pa&_macron; maila ka ‘a‘aki o ka i‘a, huki a‘ela ‘o ia i ke aho a pa‘a ka i‘a i ka makau. A ho‘omaka ‘o ia e huki a‘e i ke aho, ‘ike ‘ia ka ulu nui o ka ikaika o ka ‘ula‘ula e pi‘i ana mai lalo mai o ke kai. A puka a‘e ka Moano i ke kai pa&_macron; ikaika mai ka ‘ula o ka i‘a a ha&_macron;‘ule ihola ‘o Kalehua i ka wa‘a. “He aha ho‘i ke&_macron;la&_macron;?” i ni&_macron;nau ai ‘o Kalehua.

A pa‘a ku&_macron;pono ka no‘ono‘o, ‘ike ‘o ia i ka Moanonuikalehua e ka&_macron;pekupeku ana i ke wa‘a. Ho&_macron; ka ‘ula‘ula o ke&_macron;ia i‘a. Ho‘i ‘o ia i uka a mo&_macron;hai aku i ke&_macron;ia Moano i ke ku&_macron;‘ula. Ho‘i ‘o ia i ka hale a ‘ai i ka i‘a me ka poi. Noho ‘o ia ma ka moena a no‘ono‘o, “pehea i ‘ula‘ula ai ka Moano?” I ke kakahiaka nui, iho ‘o ia i kai a noho i lalo ma ka po&_macron;haku. Noho ‘o ia a po&_macron; ke ao a ao ka po&_macron; e maka‘ala ana i na&_macron; mea i hana ‘ia ma kai.

Ho‘oma&_macron;kaukau a‘ela ‘o ia e ho‘i i ua wahi pupupu hale ona, ‘ike ‘o ia i ka helele‘i maila o ka lehua ‘ula‘ula i ke kai. Na&_macron;na&_macron; aku ‘o ia i ka lehua e lana ana ma ka lihi kai a ‘ike ‘o ia i ka wena ‘ula‘ula like e pi‘i ana mai lalo o ke kai a nanahu i ka lehua ‘ula‘ula. Pe&_macron;la&_macron; ho‘i! ‘O ia ke kumu i ‘ula‘ula ikaika ai ka Moanonuikalehua. No ia kumu i loa‘a ai kona inoa ia&_macron; ia. A ma muli o ka noho ho‘omanawanui ‘o Kalehua i kai ua ‘ike ‘o ia i ke kumu i ‘ula‘ula ai ka Moano.

For The Moanonuikalehua

By Keonaona Kapuni-Reynolds

On this land, seaward of the cliffs of Ha&_macron;ma&_macron;kua lived a lot of Moano. They swam all over below those cliffs. They were regular fish except that they had a bright red glow about them. You could go around the island but you wouldn’t see the striking red glow of these fish anywhere else.

One day as Kalehua was fishing at sea he saw a red glow underwater and thought to himself, what is that red glow in the ocean? He threw out his line into the sea, until he felt something nibbling at his hook. He pulled at the line until the fish was hooked onto the line. He started to pull in the line, he saw the brightness increase as he pulled it up from the sea. As the Moano broke the surface the redness of the fish shocked Kalehua and he fell back into the canoe. “What was that?” asked Kalehua.

When he was once again able to think straight, he saw the Moanonuikalehua splashing in the canoe. This fish was incredibly red. As he returned to land he offered the Moano at the ku&_macron;‘ula. He returned to the house and ate his fish and poi. He sat on the mat and thought, “Why is the Moano so red?” In the early morning he went down to sea and sat on a rock. He sat there until sunset and sunrise watching everything that happened at sea.

As he prepared to return to his little shack, he saw a red lehua fall into the sea. He watched as the lehua floated on the surface of the sea and he saw that same familiar red glow in the water rising from the bottom until it ate the red lehua. That’s how it was done! The reason why the fish was so red is because he ate the lehua! That is how the Moanonuikalehua got its name. And because Kalehua patiently sat at sea, he was able to see how the Moano became so red.

‘O ke kani a ka ‘o&_macron;‘u&_macron;

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

‘O ke kani a ka ‘O&_macron;‘u&_macron;, ‘o‘oloma‘o,
‘O ke kani a ka ‘Elepaio i ka wao,
‘Ono ka i‘a e&_macron;! ‘Ono ka i‘a!
‘Ono‘ono wale maila no&_macron; ka i‘a,
He Moano kai lena,
‘Ono ka i‘a—he aha ka pa&_macron;na‘i?
E Kauhi e&_macron;! I aha ka uku o ko i‘a?

‘O ke kani a ka ‘o&_macron;‘u&_macron;

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

The chirping of the ‘O&_macron;‘u&_macron; bird, ‘o‘oloma‘o,
The chirping of the ‘Elepaio in the forest,
They say, fish is tasty! Fish is tasty
Fish is tasty!
A Moano fish of the yellow sea,
Fish is tasty—what will be reciprocated?
Kauhi! What will be the reward for your fish?