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He Hali‘a no Kīna‘u Boyd Kamali‘i
Manu Boyd, hoahānau
Kīna‘u Boyd Kamaliʻi—state lawmaker, OHA Trustee, and champion of Native Hawaiian causes—died at her Honolulu home on Friday, October 28. She was 75. Charles Manuʻaikohana Boyd composed the following haliʻa for his cousin Kīna‘u, for this "proud adornment of our people." Indeed, her love lives on.
Iā Kūlanihāko‘i e ho‘olana mālie iho nei
E kū mai ka ‘ōpua hiwa i ka pohu la‘i
‘O ka pi‘i a‘ela nō ia o ke ao pōpolohua mea a Kāne
Ea mai ka wai kapu lani, lokuloku ihola a puni Hawai‘i
He hānini kuluwaimaka ia o nā kūpuna
E ho‘ōla mai i nā kupukupu a uluwehi
Aia ku‘u hoahānau i ke ala o ka ho‘i ‘ole mai
He moe loa ia i ka ‘olu o Niolopua
Ua maha mau nō i ka poli o ke Akua
Me nā kini ‘aumākua mai ka hikina a ke komohana ē
He wahine hana nui ‘o Kīna‘u Boyd Kamali‘i
Mau loa ka mahalo no ia lei ha‘aheo o ka lāhui
Auē ho‘i ē, ola ke aloha ē!
As the heavenly pool of Kūlanihāko‘i is stilled
Dark clouds stand in the calm
The purple clouds of Kāne amass high above
Sacred waters rise, Hawai‘i experiences a downpour
These are tears of the ancestors
That give life to new sprouts, green and verdant
My cousin now travels the path of no return
Asleep in the comfort of Niolopua
At rest in the embrace of Akua
And the ancestral guides from east to west
Kīna‘u Boyd Kamali‘i is a woman of great accomplishment
Endless is our admiration for this proud adornment of our people
Alas, her love lives on!
© Manu Boyd, 2005
Kīna‘u Boyd Kamali‘i served in the Hawai‘i State Legislature representing the Ala Moana-Waikīkī district from 1974 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1986. She was honored as the outstanding Hawaiian of the year by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in 1985. She was chairwoman of the Native Hawaiian Study Commission from 1981 to 1983. And she served as an at-large trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs from 1992 to 1996. Kīna‘u was feisty and capable and "always exuded confidence," said former State Rep. "Andy" Poepoe, who served in the Legislature with her. "Because we were in the minority in the House, you had to be able to stand up and speak your piece. She was able to do that. She gave great support to the [Republican] caucus but she goes beyond any kind of party."