by Natalie Mahina and Lucia Terallo, copyright 2019
KEA
{Kauikeaouli}
Canto V
Mele Inoa no Kauikeaouli
Name Chant for Kauikeaouli
The Echo of our Song
[Puku’i/Korn pp. 14-28]
So, who is Kea in the chant? Is it Kauikeaouli? Is it Wākea? It seems to me that Wākea is amply defined…and separate from Kea—there is also the possibility that it could also be a double entendre, applying itself to Kauikeaouli, since it is his name chant. However, I believe the Kea spoken of in this first section is an Aspect of Haumea, the Earth Mother {Kea…Keakea… Keakealani; alluding to Nu’a-kea, the patron of lactation}, in which case, then the canto would make perfect sense, for you have the Loina Wahine giving birth and not the Loina Kāne {Nā Pule Kahiko, June Gutmanis, p. 11}. It is the Earth Mother that gives birth to everything upon it, including mountains. Not one and the same, Papahānumoku gives birth to the islands…Haumea gives birth to all that emanates from them.
So, is it…?
O hānau ka Mauna a Kea!
To Kea {Haumea} was born the Mountain!
‘Ōpu’u a’e ka Mauna a Kea!
From Kea {Haumea} the Mauna was thrust upward!
Back to the classical pairing. In this portion we have the Loina Kane and Loina Wahine clearly defined, for somewhere in the poetry of this chant, there is not one without the other.
‘O Wākea ke kāne, ‘o Papa-o-wali-nu’u ka wahine!
Wākea the kāne, Papa-swelling-and-pliant, the wahine!
Hānau Ho’ohoku he wahine! {Ho’ohoku-o-ka-lani}
Came forth Ho’ohoku-producer-of-progeny, a wahine!
Hānau Hāloa he Ali’i!
Came forth Hāloa an Ali’i!
Hānau ka Mauna he keiki Mauna na Kea.
The Mauna brought forth a child, the Mauna emanating from Kea {Haumea}!
O ka līlī ‘o Wākea, o ka hai i ka hala,
Wākea shuddered—its emissions placed,
O ke kū kukū lā’au ana me Kāne,
Alongside Kāne, the shuddering of his rising hardness was satiated,I ho’ouka ai iloko ‘o Kahikikū
Conveyed there within the sky above the horizon,
He’e Wākea, kālewa kona ‘ōhua,
Wākea flowed—his offspring moving with the wind,
Kuamū ‘ia e Kāne, ku’awa {‘awa’a} ‘ia e Kāne,
By means of Kāne, the rain-laden wind, by means of Kāne the many hills and vales,
Ho’i mau Wākea a loko o lani momoe,
Wākea returning time and time again to mate within the confines of the sky,
Moe Wākea, moe ‘ia Papa,
Wākea sleeping alongside Papa,
And here is the third break. Wākea brings forth the Sun, both being Loina Kāne. But who is the Sun in this section? Is it perhaps a metaphor for Kauikeaouli?
Hānau ka Lā na Wākea,
For Wākea, the Sun came forth,
He keiki kapu na Wākea,
For Wākea, the sacred child,
O ka uluna a Wākea—no Kea no,
An offshoot of Wākea—resulting from Kea {Haumea} indeed,
‘Oia ho’i hao ka Mauna—hānau ka Mauna,
So it was that the Mauna came forth with great force!
And since this is part of a lengthy Mele Inoa…it is only one segment of the whole of nature that is witness to the birth of Kauikeaouli, for Keauikeaouli is not only likened to the Mauna, but also the Sun.
O ka Mauna {or māuna} auane’i ko lalo nei,
Hereafter, the Mauna shall be below,
‘O wai auane’i ko luna lā?
Who shall be there above?
‘O ka Lā, ‘oia ho’i hā
It is the Sun after all!
The chant itself is a Mele Inoa to Kauikeaouli…there is no question about that…the chant has 7 stanzas…this particular stanza is number 5…although Wakea is mentioned in the canto, along with “his,” mate Papa…there is actually nothing that alludes him to Maunakea or that the mountain mentioned is Maunakea…I believe the poet intended the term Mauna, to be just that…”Mountain,” a collective, rather than a singular. The Kea mentioned at the opening of this canto and sprinkled throughout I also believe references Haumea, for she is also recognized as Kea…it was from the womb of Haumea that the Mauna {collective} is born. This entire epic has a classic signature in that you are taken through elemental signatures…the earth…the night…the island…the clouds…the mountain…the sun…and the ocean…the metaphor being that Kauikeaouli is recognized as part of the whole of nature…part of the birthing, sprouting, growing, flourishing.
Natalie Mahina and Lucia Tarallo are historians and artists specializing in pre-European-contact Hawaiian culture.