Skip to main content

He Inoa no Mānoanoa

This mele was originally published in the Hawaiian language newspaper Ka Nupepa Kuokoa on June 14, 1862. 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: Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.


He inoa no Mānoanoa.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Kahualūkini nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i Kekaʻa lā,
I ka palena ʻāina o Papa lā,
I ka ua Līlīlehua lā,
Laʻi ai, laʻi ai ka wahine lā,
Ka maka o ka lehua i ka pali lā,
Ke kiko ʻia aʻela e ka manu lā,
ʻIʻiwi pōlena o ka uka lā,
I pulu i ka hau o ka nahele lā,
I luna wale o Kahuli lā,
Ua ilihia au iā iala lā,
Ka hākoʻi aʻe a loko lā,
ʻO loko hana nui kēia lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i ka laʻi lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     LĀHELA MĀʻELE.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Puaʻena nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i ʻĀpua lā,
I ke alo hāliu i ke kai lā,
No Honuakaha ke aloha lā,
Laʻi ai ke kula o Kahua lā,
Huli aku ke alo i Mānoa lā,
I mehana i ka ua Kuahine lā,
I ka wai wale o Kahoʻiwai lā,
Ka hau anu ko Līhuʻe lā,
Pilia mai e Kaʻala lā,
E laʻa wale nō ʻo iala lā,
ʻO Mākālei nō ʻoe lā,
Ka lāʻau ona ʻia e ka iʻa lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i lohe lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     MELE LĪHAU.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Leialoha nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i Līhau lā,
I ka ʻōpua paʻa mai i ka uka lā,
Hāliʻi maila i ke pili lā,
Pili aloha me pua ʻoliva lā,
ʻAkahi nō a laʻi ke kaona lā,
Ka malu o ka niu o Māla lā,
Noho ana kō kino i Lahaina lā,
Ka malu o ka ʻUlu o Lele lā,
Hele ana nō ʻoe i ka laʻi lā,
Ka huikau a nā poki lā,
I ka laʻi wale o Beretane lā,
I ke kai wale o Keawaiki lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i ka laʻi lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     KAUPAI.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Kapuaokaniu nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i Luaʻehu lā,
I ka [n]alu haʻi muku o Leo lā,
Kau mai nā maka i Hoʻolili lā,
I ka wela a ka hae o Maleka lā,
Huli aku ke alo i Hauola lā,
E ola kuʻu kama i laila lā,
Ka hele a ke ao nāulu lā,
Laʻi ai ka nahele i nā manu lā,
Ke hehi aʻela i nā pali lā,
Pūpū kani oe o ka uka lā,
Pili i ka lau ʻākōlea lā,
Ka malu o ka ʻōpua i ka lewa lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i ka laʻi lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     P. KAʻIMIHAU.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Puakomela nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i Paʻupaʻu lā,
Nānā i ka hono o nā moku lā,
No Lahainaluna ke aloha lā,
I ka uluwehiwehi hiehie lā,
I ka luna wale o Kaʻahalike lā,
Ua like kuʻu kino me ʻoe lā,
ʻO ʻoe kuʻu lei mae ʻole lā,
A ka manaʻo e hana nei lā,
Ka ua nahua i ke pili lā,
Ke hehi maila i ka nahele lā,
I ka uka wale o Waikīkī lā,
I ka malu kukui o Loʻinui lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i ka Laʻi lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     M. KEKAUMEHAMEHA.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Kalaʻiolele nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i Uluwehiwehi lā,
I ka malu hale o Lanikeha lā,
Pehea lā ka uka i Hāʻena lā?
Ke koʻiawe a ka ua i ka nahele lā,
Hāliʻi maila i ka laʻi lā,
I wehi hoʻi no ka wahine lā,
Me kuʻu lei rose i ka uka lā,
No uka ka maile ʻāwili lā,
Me kuʻu pua aloha i Moelana lā,
Ua lana kuʻu kino e naue lā,
I ka lā welawela o Lahaina lā,
I ka huikau o ke kaona lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i ka Laʻi lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     S. D. KAUOHA.

Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā,
Pilahone nō he makua lā,
E hoʻi ka nani i Mokuʻula lā,
I ka uka wale o Waineʻe lā,
Kauaʻula mai ko uka lā,
Kaʻalani mai ko kai lā,
Huli aku ke alo i Lānaʻi lā,
Ma ke kōā iho o Molokaʻi lā,
Ka malu o ka puʻu ʻo Hāʻupu lā,
Kēlā puʻu ʻoniʻoni ʻoi kelakela lā,
I ka lehua o Kaʻana ke aloha lā,
I ka luna wale o Kālaʻe lā,
ʻO Makakena ka makani lā,
I ke kai wale o Mikimiki lā,
Haʻina ka inoa i ka Laʻi lā,
Mānoanoa nō he inoa lā.
     P. H. KEKUAIWA.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Kahualūkini is a parent,
Let splendor return to Kekaʻa,
To the boundary of Papa,
In the Līlīlehua rain,
The woman is at peace, content,
The bud of the lehua on the cliff,
Being pecked at by the bird,
An ʻiʻiwi pōlena of the uplands,
Soaked by the dew of the forest,
In the uppermost heights of Kahuli,
I was overcome by that one,
Causing a stir inside,
That surges within me,
Tell the refrain in the calm,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     LĀHELA MĀʻELE.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Puaʻena is a parent,
Let splendor return to ʻĀpua,
To the lee that looks towards the ocean,
Love abounds for Honuakaha,
As peace descends upon the plain of Kahua,
I turn to face Mānoa,
Warmed by the Kuahine rain,
In the lone waters of Kahoʻiwai,
The cool chill belongs to Līhuʻe,
Held close by Kaʻala,
That one is set apart as special,
For you are Mākālei,
The branch that attracts fish,
Let the refrain be heard,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     MELE LĪHAU.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Leialoha is a parent,
Let splendor return to Līhau,
To the clouds amassing in the uplands,
Blanketing the pili grass,
Beloved companion of the olive blossom,
Stillness has just befallen the town,
In the shade of the coconut trees of Māla,
Your body resides there in Lahaina,
In the shelter of the breadfruit of Lele,
You will indeed go off into the calm,
For the boats are a jumble,
Only in the solace of Pelekane,
Exclusively in the sea of Keawaiki,
Tell the refrain in the calm,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     KAUPAI.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Kapuaokaniu is a parent,
Let splendor return to Luaʻehu,
To the waves of Leo that break along the crest,
The eyes rest upon Hoʻolili,
In the heat of the flag of Maleka,
I turn to face Hauola,
Where my dear child finds life,
The passage of the shower cloud,
Leaves the forest undisturbed by the birds,
Treading along the cliffs,
Are the singing land shells of the upland,
Clinging to the ʻākōlea fronds,
In the shade of the clouds high above,
Tell the refrain in the calm,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     P. KAʻIMIHAU.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Puakomela is a parent,
Let splendor return to Paʻupaʻu,
Looking out at the bays of the islands,
Love swells for Lahainaluna,
In the beautiful verdure,
There atop Kaʻahalike,
My body is your equal,
You are my never-fading lei,
That has engulfed all thought,
The rains beat down upon the pili,
Trampling the vegetation,
In the uplands of Waikīkī alone,
In the kukui shade of Loʻinui,
Tell the refrain in the calm,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     M. KEKAUMEHAMEHA.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Kalaʻiolele is a parent,
Let splendor return to Uluwehiwehi,
To the enclosed shelter of Lanikeha,
And how about the uplands in Hāʻena?
Where the rain moves lightly along the forest,
Spreading forth in the stillness,
As an adornment for the woman,
With my rose garland in the uplands,
To the uplands belong the entwined maile,
With my beloved flower at Moelana,
My body wishes to move there,
To the scorching sun of Lahaina,
To the chaos of town,
Tell the refrain in the calm,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     S. D. KAUOHA.

A name chant for Mānoanoa,
Pilahone is a parent,
Let splendor return to Mokuʻula,
To the inlands of Waineʻe,
The Kauaʻula wind blows from the mountains,
While the Kaʻalani wind blows from the sea,
I turn to face Lānaʻi,
In the channel south of Molokaʻi,
The hill of Hāʻupu offers protection,
That hill that extends out, projecting far beyond,
For the lehua of Kaʻana is my love,
There atop Kālaʻe,
Makakena is the wind,
Just seaside of Mikimiki,
Tell the refrain in the calm,
A name chant for Mānoanoa.
     P. H. KEKŪĀIWA.

Waiokama, Lahaina, Maui, Mei 30, 1862.