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This mele was originally published in the Hawaiian language newspaper Ka Nupepa Kuokoa on April 4, 1863. Each of its 7 paukū was carefully crafted by a different composer, but all use a shared first and last line to extoll their collective love and energy upon the subject of their mele: ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
He inoa no Kekāmakahala.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kauakea nō he makua lā,
Aia ke aloha i Kaʻuiki lā,
I ke kai hone o Mokuhano lā,
One laʻi o Kapueokahi lā,
I ka wai ʻolu o Punahoa lā,
ʻO koʻu hoa luhi kēia lā,
ʻO ke kikina mua i hala aku lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
NĀPUA.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kauaolīhau he makua lā,
I Wailehua paha ke aloha lā,
Ka malu ʻulu o Waineʻe lā,
Mai noho ʻoe a neʻe aku lā,
Eia mai nō ʻo Huelo lā,
Lāʻau a Kawelo i pahu ai lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
KAHOʻOILIWALE.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kalaʻiolele he makua lā,
Wai o Kapōʻulu ke aloha lā,
Ua Paʻūpili o Lahaina lā,
E pili au me Puʻunoa lā,
Kāua i ka hale pahupahu lā,
Ma luna au e pahu ai lā,
ʻO ke akalawe aʻe kā iala lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
KAHELE.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kananiohāʻupu he makua lā,
I Maunaloa paha ke aloha lā,
Kuahiwi laʻi o Molokaʻi lā,
Ka lehua o Kūkaliʻa lā,
Ke mōhala maila i Kaʻana lā,
Kuhi au ʻo Māʻili kēlā lā,
Ka wahine i ka ʻiu o Kapaʻa lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
KAʻAWA.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kauakuahine he makua lā,
Nani wale ka noho a Mānoa lā,
ʻO ka ua nihi mai i nā pali lā,
E hoʻomolale ana i ke kino lā,
Lāʻau kauila a ia nei lā,
E hoʻomaikaʻi ana iā ʻoe lā,
Puka ʻē ka makani kuehu lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
KUAPOʻI.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kawaiokemamo he makua lā,
Aia ka laʻi i Haleʻohu lā,
I ka hale lau ʻai a ka Nāulu lā,
Ke laʻi maila i nā moku pani lā,
ʻO ke ala huli i Koʻolau lā,
E ake nō wau e ʻike lā,
I ka ulu hala ʻau o Naue lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
HELELĀ.
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā,
ʻO Kauanihipali he makua lā,
Noho ana ka nani i Maʻemaʻe lā,
Wai ʻolu hoʻi o Waipiula lā,
Ke hoʻohua aʻela i ke kaona lā,
Maʻū akula i Honolulu lā,
Ola kai o ʻĀinahou lā,
Haʻina ka inoa ua laʻi lā,
ʻO Kekāmakahala he inoa lā.
KALIMAKUHI.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kauakea is a parent,
Love is there at Kaʻuiki,
In the sweet sounding sea of Mokuhano,
The tranquil sands of Kapueokahi,
And in the refreshing waters of Punahoa,
This is my child-rearing companion,
Having first insisted some time ago,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
NĀPUA.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kauaolīhau is a parent,
Perhaps the love is at Wailehua,
In the breadfruit shade of Waineʻe,
Don’t you dare move away,
For here is Huelo,
The club that Kawelo thrust,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
KAHOʻOILIWALE.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kalaʻiolele is a parent,
The water of Kapōʻulu is what I love,
And the Paʻūpili rain of Lahaina,
I shall draw close to Puʻunoa,
The two of us in the billiards hall,
Where I will strike above,
And that one will slowly carry it away,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
KAHELE.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kananiohāʻupu is a parent,
Perhaps the love is at Maunaloa,
That peaceful mountain of Molokaʻi,
The lehua of Kūkaliʻa,
Blooming at Kaʻana,
I thought it was Māʻili,
The woman in the heights of Kapaʻa,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
KAʻAWA.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kauakuahine is a parent,
Mānoa exhibits such splendor,
With rain that creeps along the cliffs,
It is exposing its physique,
To this one belongs the kauila branch,
Blessing you with prosperity,
As the driving wind has already emerged,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
KUAPOʻI.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kawaiokemamo is a parent,
Solace is there at Haleʻohu,
In the garden shelter of the Nāulu breeze,
Finding contentment in the substitute districts,
The path turns towards Koʻolau,
I have such a longing to see,
The hala grove of Naue that juts out,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
HELELĀ.
A name chant for Kekāmakahala,
Kauanihipali is a parent,
Beauty resides at Maʻemaʻe,
In the cool waters of Waipiula,
Causing the town to swell,
Leaving Honolulu refreshed,
And healing the lowlands of ʻĀinahou,
Tell the refrain as all is calm,
A name chant for Kekāmakahala.
KALIMAKUHI.
courtesy of: David Eickhoff
Kāmakahala (Labordia waiolani). Kaʻala, Oʻahu, 2015
courtesy of: wikimediacommons
Kaʻuiki and Kapueokahi. Hāna, Maui, 2019
courtesy of: Forest and Kim Starr
Lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha). Kahikinui, Maui, 2018
courtesy of: Forest and Kim Starr
Pūhala (Pandanus tectorius). Kauaʻi coast, 2013