Ua Lohe Au Manu Kani Time for Sovereignty Kahikinui O Pu u Mähoe U i Läna i City Ike Au iä Kaho olawe always Hawaiian walaka Walaka Kanamu Walaka Kanamu Walaka Kanamu Walaka Kanamu Today we trample over native plants just because our shoes don t know the difference. We fail to experience the soft cushion under our feet that the native understory affords us. We never notice the cooling sensation of soft mud that s oozing up between our toes as we pass near a gentle stream of fresh water. We never take time to walk the forests and enjoy the playful game of the i iwi and apapane as they battle over ownership of a certain öhi a lehua tree. We never notice the tiny droplets that form and run down the koa tree as the thick, moisture-filled clouds pass the trees. We never work the lo i of the kalo lehua during harvest and witness the blood that flows from the hä when the lä alo is cut or broken off. We never sit in the surf and call the waves that take us sliding along with them and give us pleasure. We never take time to lie alone in a lava tube and wonder who was there before and listen to their voices. We never stop under a kiawe tree with the full moon above us and notice the leaves and branches like arteries and veins of the heart pumping life through the tree and returning it back to the äina. We never give our mana to those we touch so they feel and experience our essence. Yet we call ourselves HAWAIIAN. Well, it s time to kick off the shoes and walk the äina. Live each step and feel with all that surrounds you. Hear what you ve always seen. Touch what you ve always heard. IF WE DO NOT SEE LIFE IN EVERY- THING AROUND US BESIDES OUR- SELVES, WE ARE NOT HAWAIIAN. 38
Ua Lohe Au Ua lohe au i nä leo o nä küpuna Kähea läkou ia u E ho i oe i Kahikinui Ka äina o kou kupuna E ho i oe i Kahikinui Ka äina o ke aloha a ke Akua. Makemake au e nänä i kou maka Makemake au e pili aku me oe A ike i kou mana Makemake au e lohe I kou pu uwai e kähea ana ia u. Manu Kani In search of the meaning I found myself on top the pu u o Manu Kani All alone I sat and waited The reward for waiting was the sound of a thousand birds singing, chirping, and screeching Only, there were no birds and no trees The Hawaiians call it Manu Kani Looking out into the sea The birds begin to sing to me. Ma ane i, eia au, i këia lä! Ma ane i, eia au, i këia lä! E mälama wau iä oe A mälama mai oe ia u Ma ane i, eia au, ua hiki mai! (1998) At first I m sitting all alone It feels like there s nobody home The Kona winds come from the sea The clouds are all surrounding me. I feel a chill run through my bones It seems to say I m not alone And as the clouds fly over me I hear the song of Manu Kani I hear the birds of Manu Kani The Hawaiians call it Manu Kani. Looking out into the sea The amakihi screeches from the tree The i iwi sings to me The chirping apapane in the tree...oh yeah. (1997) 39
Time for Sovereignty Well everybody thinks it s funny Say we re the laugh of the town Well keep on laughing, yes, keep on laughing You re going to take us all down. Well everybody, STILL THINK IT S FUNNY? HAWAIIANS ONLY WANT TO BE FREE! GET BACK THE LAND, DO WHAT YOU CAN! IT S TIME TO HELP YOURSELF BE FREE! IT S TIME FOR SOVEREIGNTY, IT S TIME FOR SOVEREIGNTY! Well all the soldiers on the land And all the sailors at the seashore And all the fighters in the sky Tell me, Is there going to be...war? Kaho olawe, Pöhakuloa, Käne ohe, and Ni ihau Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Bellows Field, and Kahuku Schofield Barracks, Moanalua, Barbers Point, and Mäkua Wheeler Field, Fort Shafter, Punchbowl, and Hickam Mokulë ia, Haleakalä House of the Sun or The House of Star Wars? Do you want any more? We cannot give you any more! It s time for action to STOP THE FACTION! The desecration of our LAND! We re just like magnets in the ocean Attracting missiles from all foreign lands. In the middle of the deep blue sea. Just set your sites on me. Do you want any more? We cannot give you any more! 40
Kahikinui Once a thriving community of 10,000 Hawaiians, the moku of Kahikinui sits on the south slopes of Haleakalä. When the early trading of sandalwood began, the decline of the Hawaiian settlement and the complete abandonment of the äina followed. Through the efforts of many Hawaiians and non-hawaiians, the moku of Kahikinui was given over to Ka Ohana o Kahikinui when the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands approved the resettlement of Hawaiians in Kahikinui utilizing a newly established kuleana system of self-sufficiency. The land will be the way it used to be, Kahikinui. On the south side of Maui is a moku on the slopes of Haleakalä, Kahikinui Some folks come from miles and miles away, to the place that used to be, Kahikinui Oh, they come from miles and miles away, they work all the night and all the day To bring back the land that used to be, Kahikinui. When you come around the mountain you ve reached your destiny From the cloud tops down to the sea, Kahikinui, Kahikinui The pastures are green below the forest, The lava is hard, as hard as it can be, Kahikinui, Kahikinui The old goat that lies upon the land, The wind that blows his hair as white as sand, Can you bring it back the way it used to be, Kahikinui, Kahikinui. Well, the old man that lies upon the land Will rise up again to take his stand The nation will have its sovereignty The land will be the way it used to be, Kahikinui, Kahikinui, Kahikinui. O Pu u Mähoe U i Pu u Mähoe, located in Kanaio, Maui, was selected as the site for the ahu and regreening ceremony to call for the näulu to return to Kaho olawe. My mother told me of how the women of the area would notice the growing breasts of a younger girl u i pu u mähoe: the breasts that would eventually nurture a newborn infant, Kaho olawe. As in the old days, the clouds would form a lei over the islands of Maui, Kaho olawe, Läna i, and Moloka i, causing adequate rainfall for all. E ho öla iä Kaho olawe. E nänä oe i ka pu u O Pu u Mähoe u i Kü ana i ka uhiwai I luna a e o ke kai Äkoakoa mai käkou E kähea aku i ka ua E ho öla iä Kaho olawe Aloha au i ka uhiwai He aloha nö ke Akua Uhaele mai käkou e pule No ke kilikili noe I luna o Kaho olawe. E nänä oe i ka pu u O Moa ula a me Möiwi Kü ana i ka uhiwai I luna a e o ke kai Mahalo ke Akua Ha ina ia mai Ana ka puana E ho öla iä Kaho olawe Aloha au iä Kaho iwai. 41
Läna i City There is a place not too far from me, Läna i, Läna i City. Not too long ago they came to taste and see the pineapples of Läna i City. Big and juicy as sweet as can be, like the aku swimming in the sea And the deer as free as free can be in Läna i City, Läna i City. Oh the BOSS MAN he says I m coming, you will see progress in Läna i City We ll build you homes affordable, they say, until the day when you cannot pay! In the name of progress I offer you new life, in the name of progress I will employ your wife. In the name of progress I ll take you from the fields this is real from the fields. People of Läna i open up your eyes, in Mänele tell me what you see The ROCK RESORT overlooking the bay where the deer and the children used to play. Oh if the tourist do not pay Oh if the tourist do not stay Oh if the tourist run away HOW WILL I PAY? HOW WILL I PAY??? Known for pineapples and aku in the sea The axis deers underneath the trees Now people come from all around to see What s going DOWN in Läna i City, What s going down in Läna i City. Ike Au iä Kaho olawe Similar to the plight of the Hawaiians Kaho olawe is now experiencing a new life. Ike au iä Kaho olawe Aia i ke kai Külia ho okahi wale nö E kähea ana ia u. A no Kaho olawe Makemake au i ke ea Külia ho okahi wale nö Kü oko a! Kü oko a! O këia ka manawa O ke ola pono Ola hou ko käkou äina E ho iho i ia mai ka äina I ko käkou lima.. THERE WAS A PLACE NOT TOO FAR FROM ME LÄNA I, LÄNA I CITY... (1996) 42