Wahiikaʻahuʻula - Mekia Kealakai


Kilakila kilohana i ka mālie
Uluwehi i ka maka ka ʻōpua
Pua maila i ka wekiu
ʻOiwi nani o ʻAhuʻula

Hui:
He nui ʻoe naʻu
I kui lima ia e Hauola
E ola ʻoe e ka lani
Kuʻu lei hiehie

Majestic Kilohana in the calm
Beautiful before the face of the clouds
Blooming high at the very top
Is a person of ʻAhuʻula

Chorus:
An important person are you
Like a lei strung by the hand of Hauola
Long may you live, O heavenly one
My lovely lei

Source: Hines Collection - This mele was dedicated to Princess Wahiikaʻahu`ula (wrapped in a feathered cape) Kawananakoa, wife of Prince David Kawananakoa. Verse 1, Kilohana ia a peak at the head of Kalihi Valley, Oʻahu. Chorus, Hauola (dew life) was the name of an ancient goddess and an ancestor of Piʻikea (Umi's wife) from the legend of Umi-a-Liloa. It is also the name of one of the sacred stones that guard the Nuʻuanu trail. Mothers buried the umbilical cords of their babies beneath this stone. Translation by Mary Pukui