I Maui Aku Nei Au

Hi‘ilei Mano‘i-Hyde

‘O Maui a‘o Kama nō e ka ‘oi.
Maui, island of Kama, is indeed the best.

Hi‘ilei Mano‘i-Hyde is an eighth grader at Ke Kula Kaiapuni ‘o Ānuenue, the Hawaiian-language immersion school in Pālolo, O‘ahu. Over Labor Day weekend 2005, she traveled to Maui o Kama with her hālau hula in order to visit those places for which her hula class has been learning songs and dances. She kept a puke ho‘omana‘o—a journal—of her three-day trip, and she has kindly allowed us to publish her writing below. If we were to offer, for readers not versed in our mother tongue, a summary of Hi‘ilei’s Maui experiences, this summary might best be conveyed in her final paragraph: “The most important aspect of hula is the story that goes with it. There is no hula if there is no story. Also important to me is seeing, first-hand, the places that we dance for. I am filled with joy because of what I have learned; this is a trip that I will always remember.” 

3 Kepakemapa 2005

Akahi ho‘i au a ‘ike maka / I ka wai hu‘ihu‘i a‘o ‘Īao

Ua piha maoli kēia lā me ka le‘ale‘a. Ua hele mua mākou i ke awāwa ‘o ‘Īao a nui ka lauwili ‘ana o ku‘u mana‘o e pili ana i kēia wahi. I ko ‘Anakala K. wehewehe ‘ana i nā mo‘olelo like ‘ole pili i ia wahi nei ua ho‘ā‘o au e kahaki‘i i kahi ki‘i ma ko‘u po‘o pili i ke kaua me Kamehameha, ‘o ia ‘o Kepaniwaio‘īao, a kona kīpū ‘ana iā Lopaka a hā‘ule wale nā kino kānaka o ko Maui i loko o kēiā wai kaulana. 

I kā mākou hīmeni a hula ‘ana iā "Nā Ali‘i Puolani" a me "Maui o Kama," ua hiki ia‘u ke maopopo aia nō nā ali‘i o Maui me mākou a ha‘aheo lākou i kā mākou hana ma o ka a‘o ‘ana pili i kā lākou mau hana kaulana a ma o ka ho‘ohanohano ‘ana iā lākou ma waho o nā mele a me nā hula.

Ua hiki nō ho‘i iā mākou ke kau i kā mākou mau wāwae i ke kahawai hu‘ihu‘i ‘o ‘Īao. Ua nui nō ho‘i ka le‘ale‘a ma kēlā hana no ka mea nui nā mele a mākou e hula ai pili i kēlā wai hu‘i koni i ka ‘ili a he mea maika‘i i hiki iā mākou ke ‘ike le‘a a ho‘opā i ia wai. 

I kā mākou kalaiwa ‘ana i Kā‘anapali ua ‘ike mākou i nā wahi pana nui ma Maui e like me Ma‘alaea, Launiupoko, a me Lahaina. ‘O kekahi o ia mau wahi pana ‘o ia ‘o Olowalu. He wahi punahele kēia no‘u no ka mea ua hānau ‘ia ko‘u kupunawahine ma laila a ua ho‘omana‘o au iā ia ke ‘ike ‘ia kona ‘āina kulāiwi.

I ko‘u mana‘o ‘o ia nā mea kiko‘ī a kūpono a‘u e makemake ai e ho‘omapopo mai i kēia huaka‘i. Pau kēia lā akā, mau no nā mea nui a‘e a mākou e a‘o ana.

4 Kepakemaka 2005

‘O ka nehe a ke kai i Pua Mana / Kahi o nā hana le‘a a‘o Kananaka

I kēia lā, ka lā ‘elua o kā mākou noho ‘ana ma ka mokupuni ‘o Maui, ua hele mua mākou i Pua Mana. Ma kēia wahi nei ‘o Pua Mana ua kupu a‘e nā mana‘o like ‘ole ma ko‘u na‘au. ‘O ka mea mua ua hau‘oli loa au e hele a ‘ike i kēia wahi makamae ‘o Pua Mana. I nā manawa a pau a‘u e hula ai i neia mele ‘o "Pua Mana" no‘ono‘o au i ka home, nā ulu niu, ka mahina, ke kai, a pēlā wale aku. 

Akā i kā mākou hele a nāna ‘ana i ka wahi o ko ka ‘ohana Farden, ua pau ka home. He kauhale hōkele i loa‘a ‘ole i ke aloha i ko‘u nānā aku. ‘A‘ole like ka wahi i kēia lā a ua huikau ko‘u na‘au a kaumaha kekahi i ia wahi.

No laila, ia‘u he mea nui ko‘u a‘o ‘ana a hula pili i kēia wahi. I ko‘u mana‘o ma o kā mākou hana ‘ana i kēia ho‘iho‘i hou mākou i ke ola a me ka mana o kēia wahi ‘o Pua Mana a maopopo ia‘u hau‘oli nō ka ‘ohana Farden iā mākou.

Ma hope o ka wā poina ‘ole ma Pua Mana, ua kalaiwa mākou i ke kuahiwi ‘o Haleakalā. Ma laila mākou i ‘ike ai i nā ‘ano ulu lā‘au a mea kanu like ‘ole, ‘o ka pūkiawe ‘oe, ‘o ka māmane ‘oe, ‘o ke ‘a‘ali‘i ‘oe, ‘o ke āhinahina ‘oe. He pilina nui kā kēia mau mea kanu iā kākou ka po‘e Hawai‘i a nui ko‘u makemake i ka a‘o ‘ana a kahaki‘i pili i kēlā. 

I kā mākou hele a noho ‘ana ma loko o ka lua pele o Haleakalā, ua puni ko‘u mau mana‘o i ka maluhia. Hiki ke lohe i ka makani hu‘ihu‘i e pā aheahe mai nei, nā manu chukar, a ua nui ka maika‘i. Ua ho‘omaka au e uē no ka nui o ka maluhia o neia wahi. Ua no‘ono‘o nō ho‘i au i nā mo‘olelo a ko‘u kupunawahine kuakahi i ha‘i mai ai ia‘u. A ua keu a ka maika‘i.

5 Kepakemapa 2005

Mehana ho‘i i ka Malu-a‘o-Lele / Pio ‘ole ke kukui i ka Ua ‘Ula

Ua hiki mai ka lā hope o kā mākou huaka‘i poina ‘ole ma Maui. I kēia lā, ua a‘o mākou i nā mea pili i ka wahi o Lahaina (‘o Lele kona inoa kahiko). Ua nui nā mea kūpono a mākou i a‘o ai a pono e ho‘omaopopo ma o ko mākou ulu ‘ana a‘e. Ua a‘o mākou pili i ka wahi ‘o Moku‘ula a me kona lilo ‘ana i kahua pā‘ani i kēia lā. Ua no‘ono‘o au ma ko‘u po‘o i ka nānā ‘ana i ia wahi i kēia lā, nui nā mea i lilo ai mai ka wā kahiko. Ua nalowale ka loko wai ‘o Mokuhinia a ua nalowale pū kekahi ka ‘ailana kapu ‘o Moku‘ula. Akā, he mea nui ko kēlā hui [‘o ia ho‘i ‘o Ka Friends of Moku‘ula] e ho‘ūlu ana i ke ola o ia wahi.

Ua hele nō ho‘i mākou i ka Hale Pa‘ahao a ua nui ka le‘ale‘a o ko kēlā e ‘ike maka i ka wahi i waiho ‘ia ai nā po‘e kelamoku maika‘i ‘ole. Inā ‘o au kahi po‘e maika‘i ‘ole, ‘a‘ole au makemake e noho i laila!

‘O ka pōhaku hoihoi a mākou i ‘ike ai i kēia lā ‘o ia ‘o Hauola. Ua hoihoi kēia pōhaku no ka mea he pōhaku ia i ho‘ōla ai i nā kānaka a kōkua ai i nā wāhine e hānau i kā lākou mau keiki. Ua no‘ono‘o au he mea kupanaha kēlā. 

Ua a‘o au i nā mea he nui ‘ino mai kēia huaka‘i a he mea nui kēlā ia‘u. Ma o nā wahi like ‘ole a mākou i hele ai—ke awāwa ‘o ‘Īao, Pua Mana, Haleakalā, Kā‘anapali, a me Lahaina—ua maopopo ia‘u ‘a‘ohe hula inā ‘a‘ohe mo‘olelo. ‘O ka mea nui o ka hula, ‘o ia ka mo‘olelo. Eia kekahi, he mea nui ia‘u ka ‘ike maka ‘ana i nā wahi āu e hula nei. Piha ka hau‘oli ma ko‘u na‘au; he huaka‘i kēia āu e ho‘omana‘o mau ai.