Kahoʻolawe - Words by Mary Heanu, music by John Noble

Kaulana ka inoa o Kahoʻolawe lā
Lei ana i ka pua o ka hinahina
 
ʻOlelo kauoha no kuʻu aloha
Hina wau ika hewa mamuli oʻu
 
Mahea eke ala hiki aku ai
Ko ae eke au i Kahoʻolawe
 
Ike ana ika nani oʻia ʻāina
Meke kai hone mai maka paia
 
Noho aku hoi wau la hoʻolono
I kani hone mai leo o ka manu
 
Heaku no wau e ō mai ʻoe
Lei ana i ka pua o ka hinahina
Famous is the name of Kahoʻolawe
And the lei of hinahina flowers
 
It commands my love
For you, engulfing me everafter
 
From whence comes this fragrance
It comes to me from Kahoʻolawe
 
I see the beauty of this land
Encompassed by sweetness from the surrounding sea
 
I will go to sit and listen
To the pleasant chirping of the birds
 
When I call to you, please answer
Lei of the hinahina flowers


Source: Miriam Kekaulouhi, premier under Kamehameha III, established a penal colony for men on Kahoʻolawe in 1839. Women convicts were banished to Lanaʻi. Government supplies of food did not always arrive and nā paʻahao (prisoners) suffered from hunger and many died of starvation. In March,1841, 15 men decided to swim to Maui for food. They prayed at Aikupau and when the tide ran towards Maui, they set out on their journey across the Maui channel, landing at Puʻuolai near Makena. They raided the coast line and loaded stolen canoes with provisions for their return to Kahoʻolawe. The canoes were then sent to Lanaʻi to bring the female paʻahao to Kahoʻolawe. The penal colony was closed in 1857. Copyright 1934, 62 Miller Music Corp