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Welina O‘ahu

Kaʻiwakīloumoku Mele Hoʻoheno Series
Kauwela 2021

Kumu hula and award-winning musician Manu Boyd shares some of his favorite mele Hawaiʻi in our new series, Mele Hoʻoheno – Cherished Songs. We invite you to join him (and some very special guests) as he explores the meaning and significance of each song while offering personal memories, reflections, and anecdotes that help bring the story to life. E nanea mai!
 



Welina Oʻahu
na Robert Uluwehi Cazimero, Wayne Keahi Chang, & Leināʻala Kalama Heine

Welina Oʻahu me ka lei ʻilima
Pua lihi ʻalani ka heke o nā pua
 

Holoholo ma ke ala i Maunalua
Uluwehi nā pua sweet tubarose

Aia lā ka pua kenikeni
E māpu mai ana no Koʻolaupoko
 

Kuʻi ana ka lāʻau i ke kōnane
Auē hiki nō inu ke ʻala pīkake

I luna kaulana o Pūowaina
Melia mau loa ka waihoʻoluʻu
 

I kēia ahiahi i haku mai ai
ʻO ʻoe kaʻu i hāʻupu aʻe nei

Greetings to Oʻahu and its beautiful lei ʻilima
With bright orange petals, it is the choicest of flowers

Traveling along the road to Maunalua
The sweet tuberose blossoms grow beautifully

Behold the pua kenikeni blossoms
That permeate through the windward district of Koʻolaupoko

Strike the branches in the bright moonlight
Alas, drink in the fragrance of pīkake

Above, see the well-known heights of Pūowaina
Where plumeria of many hues seem to always bloom

Tonight we weave this song
You are mine to fondly remember