Hulu Manu - Dickie Kamai

ʻAuhea wale ʻoe
E ka Hulu Manu
E hula mai ʻoe
E kō leo nahenahe

Hiehie nō ʻoe
Ke ʻike aku
I koni koni ahe
I ka puʻuwai

He aloha lā, he aloha
I mili mili aʻe
E pakika e paheʻe
I ka poli pumehana

Haʻina ʻia mai
Ana ka puana
E hula mai ʻoe
E ka Hulu Manu
Where are you,
O Hulu Manu
Dance to me with
Your sweet voice

You are a dignified person,
I can see
And are giving
Stinging pain to my heart

This is a love, a love
To be cherished
So smooth as it slides
Into this warm bosom

Tell
The refrain
Sing to me,
O Hulu Manu


Source: L. Lee Collection - Kauikeouli, Kamehameha III, was deprived of his culture, his religion, his power and his sister, the great love of his life. The kapu system was abolished in 1819, when he was 5 or 6 years old, and his power was neutralized by the office of Kuhina Nui held by Queen Kaʻahumanu and later, his half-sister Kinau. He was forbidden by the missionaries to marry his sister, Princess Nahiʻenaʻena, who was banished to Lahaina in the hopes of keeping the pair apart. Their genuine love, physical, spiritual and enduring, horrified the missionaries, although any children born of this arched union would have produced aliʻi of the highest rank. The king finally rebelled and by 1833, had slipped into a life of debauchery, drunken parties, gambling, horse racing, women and lawlessness. His companions or court favorites in this decadent lifestyle were given the name Hulu Manu or bird feather. Just as a feather could be easily "plucked" the name inferred that any of the young men could be removed at the whim of the king. June, 1834 the king attempted suicide after Princess Nahiʻenaʻena refused to join him at Puʻuloa. Troubled by her brother's dissolute life, and in defiance of the missionaries, Kauikeouli and Nahiʻenaʻena married in the ancient Hawaiian way, July, 1834. An heir to the throne was born Sept 17, 1836, but lived only a few hours. The princess became seriously ill, her condition worsened and on December 30, 1836, she passed away. The shock of her death put an end to his hedonistic life. Hulu Manu was disbanded and he resolved to improve himself and be a good king. He remained in seclusion in Lahaina for 8 years and built a mausoleum for his sister/wife, her child and their mother, Queen Keopulani.
Translated by Joseph Kahaulelio