Aloha nā ‘Ohana a‘o Hawai‘i

Josephine "Pine" Kelley

"Aloha nā ‘Ohana" was first published a year ago in the inaugural volume of Kaleinamanu: E Kū i Hoe Uli and is republished below for three reasons. First, we offer it in memory of its haku mele, Pine Kelley, who passed away in July of this year. Second, the mele serves to remind us of two other 8th Festival delegates who have also left us: Kupuna Elizabeth Kauahipaula and Māmā Hāli‘imaile Shintani. We carry all three remarkable women on our "backs" in loving, hi‘ikua fashion. Finally, our republication of "Aloha nā ‘Ohana" returns the mele to its proper place as the panina, the closing piece, in an ‘ohana of eight mele composed for a life-changing journey whose impact still resonates in us today.

Pine explained "Aloha nā ‘Ohana" as a celebration of the ho‘ailona of rain and rainbows that the delegation enjoyed during its stay in the Northern Province of New Caledonia. According to Pine, these signs told of God’s presence and love; they served to bless, in turn, the love that the delegation came to share with the people of a land that was far from home but very much like home.

Aloha nā ‘ohana a‘o Hawai‘i

Kū ha‘aheo kākou me ka lanakila

I ka ho‘ailona i ‘ike maka ‘ia

Mai ke aloha ‘oia‘i‘o o ke Akua.

Hiki aku mākou i Ponokemi

Kau aku i ka hae a‘o Hawai‘i

Ho‘oku‘u mai ka Haku mana nani

I kona wai ua lani aloha iā mākou.

I Poneliwana ‘ike i ke ānuenue

Ko ke Akua berite pa‘a mau loa

‘Ike i loko nā kili wai hune

Ke aloha o nā Kanakī me mākou.

I mua e nā ‘ohana a‘o Hawai‘i

He ala hou, a he ala piha

Mahalo i ka Makua lani kupanaha

No ka mālama mai a kia‘i mai.

Ha‘ina ‘ia mai ana ka puana

Aloha nā ‘ohana a‘o Hawai‘i

Ha‘ina hou ‘ia mai ana ka puana

Ke aloha o nā Kanakī me mākou.

Beloved are the families of Hawai‘i

We stand proudly, in triumph

Because of the signs that have been seen

Of God’s true love.

We arrived at Poindimie

Where the Hawaiian flag was raised

And the divine Lord released

His heavenly rain, showering us with love.

At Ponerihouen we saw the rainbow

God’s eternal covenant

We saw, in the fine misty rain,

The love we share with the Kanakī.

Go forth, families of Hawai‘i

It is a new awakening and full

We thank the heavenly Father

For His care and protection.

Tell the song’s summary:

Beloved are the families of Hawai‘i.

Tell again the song’s summary:

The love we share with the Kanakī.

© Josephine Kelley, 2000