Hilo Hula - Joe Kalima

 
Kaulana mai nei ʻo Hilo ʻeā
Ka ua Kanilehua ʻeā
Ka ua hoʻopulu ʻili ʻeā
Ka ʻili o ka malihini ʻeā

Nani wale hoʻi ka ʻikena ʻeā
Ka nani o Waiākea ʻeā
Ka wai o Waiolama ʻeā
Mālamalama Hawaiʻi ʻeā

Kaulana hoʻi Mokuola ʻeā
He moku au i ke kai ʻeā
E hoʻopulu ʻili nei ʻeā
Ka hunehune kai ʻeā

Lei ana i ka lei nani ʻeā
Ka pua o ka lehua ʻeā
Haʻina mai ka puana ʻeā
No ka ua Kanilehua ʻeā
Famous is Hilo
And it's rain called Kanilehua
Rain that wets one's skin
Especially those of the newcomers

Lovely is the scenery
And beauty of Waiākea
The water of Waiolama
Brightens Hawaiʻi (the island)

Situated here is Mokuola
An island set apart in the sea
Drenching the skin
The mist of the sea

Wear the lei of loveliness
The blossom of the red lehua
Tell the refrain
The rain called Kanilehua

 

Source: Kanilehua is the misty rain of Hilo that gives drink to the lehua blossoms. Verse #2, Waiākea or broad waters, was the home of ʻUlu, a legendary man who died of starvation and was buried near a spring. The next morning, an ʻulu (breadfruit) tree, laden with fruit, marked his grave and put an end to the famine. Verse #3. Mokuola was the son of ʻUlu and the name of an island in Hilo bay. There was a spring on the island with water that had healing qualities. The old Hawaiians would swim to the island and hide the umbilical cords of infants in the crevices of a flat stone called Papa o Hina. Many Hawaiians today honor this tradition of hiding umbilical cords from rodents, believing it saves the child from becoming a thief. Translated by Mary Pukui