Mekila e nā ‘Iwa e Kaka‘i Ana

Robert Lokomaika‘iokalani Snakenberg

Lokomaikaʻi Snakenberg, a paionia (“pioneer”) Hawaiian language teacher at Kailua High School in the 1970s and 80s, composed “Mekila e nā ʻIwa” as a mele hula hoʻi (an “exit dance”) for a Kailua-based hālau to use in the 1984 Merrie Monarch Festival. His mele describes the gathering of ʻiwa above Kawainui pond, their drinking of water there, and their return "to the sea at full tide." It is readily apparent that the mele was written after careful study of the imagery, movement pattern, and meaning of the traditional entrance and exit hula "Hoʻopuka e ka Lā ma ka Hikina" and "Hoʻi ē, Hoʻi lā." The arrival of “Mekila’s” ʻiwa, like those in "Hoʻopuka," captivates our attention and wraps us in wonder; their association with life-sustaining Kawainui echoes the "let there be life for all" sentiments of "Hoʻopuka," and their return to the sea by way of Mahinui’s updrafts echoes the return, in "Hoʻi ē," of the beloved mists to their upland home. Both traditional compositions emphasize bird and mist as messengers of a higher love whose presence serves to lift us out of our petty lives and inspire us to dwell always "where love sprouts and grows." "Mekila e nā ʻIwa" concludes with a similar emphasis: the ʻiwa of Kawainui are not caught up in lesser emotions; they are one at Waialoha. The mele’s kaona rests in these last two lines: don’t dance to compete, dance for love. Loko has since passed away; his mele is published here, for the first time, with the permission of those for whom it was written.

© Robert Lokomaikaʻiokalani Snakenberg, 1984