A Hilo Au (I Was At Hilo) - Chant for Liholiho, Kamehameha II
A Hilo au e lā Hoʻolulu ka lehua lā A Wailuku e lā I ka lua kanaka lā A Haili e lā I ke kula manu lā A Panaʻewa e lā I ka moku lehua lā A Leleʻiwi e lā ʻAuʻau i ke kai lā A Molokaʻi e lā ʻIke ala kāhi lā A Mauna Loa au lā I ka lua koʻi hala lā Haʻina mai ka puana lā No ka lani nō he inoa lā He inoa nō Liholiho	At Hilo I gather the lehua At Wailuku The man-destroying pit At Haili Is a plain inhabited by birds At Panaʻewa With its groves of lehua trees At Leleʻiwi I swim in the sea At Molokaʻi I see one road At Mauna Loa Is the adze quarry Tell the refrain In the name of the chief The name-song for Liholiho
Source: - This paʻi umauma or chest slapping chant was composed for Liholiho who ruled the Hawaiian kingdom as Kamehameha II from 1819 to 1824. Verse 1 is in reference to Hilo, his birthplace, and his departure from Hilo to Kona. The lehua is symbolic of a young girl. Verse 2, the man-destroying hole is a cave for prisoners who committed misdemeanors. Verse 5, Leleʻiwi heiau and the surrounding area was named after a despotic chief whose bones were desecrated by throwing them into the sea at this point of land, north of Hilo. The name immortalized this event. The heiau is where people were blessed and protected from harm in the water, for the sea had healing qualities for Hawaiians. Verse 6, Molokaʻi is a reference to:1) a sea outside of the Hilo coastline and 2) an ancient path on Molokaʻi. This is the poetic kaona for the chief travelling. Verse 7, Maunaloa is a place where adze makers gathered their stone called ʻalā to make stone adzes, another poetic kaona reference. Told to M. Gay by Iolani Luahine and Edith Kanakaʻole. Edited by Dr. Barbara Price	Liholiho, Kamehameha II