|
Ahe ʻāina nani o Honokahua
Ka hono kaulana a o Piʻilani
Me nā puʻu one ku i ka mālie
Haliʻi mau ana nā ʻiwi kupuna
Ua ʻike makou i nā waiwai nui
O na moʻolelo a ke au kahiko
Mai hoʻoniʻoni i ka nohona lā
I ka lahui e a o Amelika
Hui pu mei kakou no nā kupuna
E malama pono i ke one hānau
E hui hou kakou a haliʻaliʻa
I ke one kaulana o Honokahua
E malama e ka ʻehu kai
Me ka ahe makani kupa o ka ʻāina
Hui pu mei kakou no nā kupuna
E malama pono i ke one hānau
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
E Honokahua ʻāina nani maoli
Na Hono kaulana a o Piʻilani
ʻIa wahi kapu nā kupuna e
ʻIa wahi kapu nā kupuna e
ʻIa wahi kapu nā kupuna e
|
This beautiful land of Honokahua
The famous bay of Maui`s King Piʻilani
With its peaceful sand hills
That covers the bones of our kupuna
We have always known
This place contains the history of our people
It shall not be disturbed
By the people of America
People of Maui, unite for our kupuna
Protect our history, the place of my birth
May all unite in recalling
Famous sand of Honokahua
Drenched with sea spray
That fetches the wind of the land
People of Maui, unite for our kupuna
Protect our history, the place of my birth
Tell the story, give praise to
The beautiful land of Honokahua
With its famous bay of Piʻilani
It shall not be distrubed,
this place where our ancestors sleep
It shall not be distrubed,
this place where our ancestors sleep
It shall not be distrubed,
this place where our ancestors sleep
|
|
Source: Pandanus Club CD "Ho`ike" Copyright Pandanus Club, Written January 4, 1987, verse 3, stanza 2 & verse 4, stanza 4 refer to the composer's birthplace of Napili, 1 mile from the Honokahua Burial Grounds. Hawaiians are lovingly connected to their keiki or future generations and also to their kupuna through their ancestors ʻiwi (bones, remains, life). This forms the Hawaiian circle of life. Honokahua was being developed when ancient bones and gravesites were uncovered. The people of Maui united to stop the digging at the site. Reports of the find were constantly denied by the developer and the Maui Planning Commission, who gave the developers permission to remove the ʻiwi, with every assurance that the sacred ʻiwi would not be disturbed. A photograph of the construction site was released to the media showing the ʻiwi curled up in a grave. Hawaiians throughout the state gathered at Honokahua and the State Capitol in protest. John Waihee, then governor of Hawaiʻi, after several days of negotiating with the composer and others, immmediately stopped the digging. 800 bodies were removed. A ceremony was held at the lab where the sacred ʻiwi was housed with Papa Kawika Kaalakea officiating. Before the pule, Papa Kaalakea announced, "who knows their song, this people have been dead over 15 hundred years? Who knows their song? Pua Kanahele chanted, Papa Kaalakea prayed and 7 were selected, including the composer, to re-wrap the remains of more than 1200 articulated ʻiwi. There were over a thousand still in the ground, untouched. That night , as Charles Maxwell watched the news about Honokahua, he increduously called out to his wife and proclaimed, "I have their song , I wrote their song a year ago"! He went to his computer, called Ken Makuakane and faxed him the song. Makuakane asked Malia Craver to put the Olelo Noeau to the translation. Charles Maxwell and his wife, Auntie Nina, journeyed to Kona to attend the Keiki Hula festival. There, Kihei De Silva presented the Hawaiian lyrics to the composer. Overwhelmed with emotion, tears were shed; the song was perfect. Two weeks later, Ken Makuakane called Charles Maxwell at 1:00 A.M. and played the song while Roddy Lopez of Pandanus Club sang it to the answering machine. The Ritz Carleton was moved away from the burial site and there was a celebration. Many witnesses will verify the lightning and thunder when the Pandanus Club performed this song at the dedication of the Ritz Carleton Hotel. Federal and State laws have since been enacted to protect Hawaiian burial sites and theʻ iwi of nā kupuna. Visit Charles K. Maxwell, Sr. at http://www.moolelo.com
|