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Keahiloa
Aloha
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - 08/17/2010 : 5:44:31 PM
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does anyone have the lyrics or mana'o for the mele "Aia i ka Maui"? Uncle Moe Keale as well as The Sons of Ni'ihau recorded this mele written by Soloman Kaopio. mahalo nui!
me ke aloha
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Sarah
`Olu`olu
571 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2010 : 10:57:39 AM
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Aloha e Keahiloa,
I found this online. E kala mai, I am not familiar with the mele. I don't think the transcription is totally accurate (I corrected some obvious typos), but I hope it helps.I heard it was an old Ni'ihau song about a one-masted ship named the Maui -- with double meanings I expect. I added a general mana'o in brackets, which someone more knowledgeable than me can revise or add to. (I may be misunderstanding, but to me it sounds like a woman singing about her sailor man who probably has a pretty nice mast himself.)
You can check out a Merrie Monarch hula performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o_9rYgO6XM
Hope this helps...
aloha,
Sarah
~~~
Aia I Ka Maui
Aia i ka Maui la 'auhea mai
Ku`u lei mokihana i ke kia mua. [On the Maui is my mokihana lei of the single mast]
Ho`opili ka Maui, a pili ka uwapo
`Oni malihini au me ku'u aloha. [The Maui approaches up to the pier, I meet my love]
`A`ole no wau he wahine u`i
Ka mea e like aku me ka mahina. [I am not a beautiful woman of lovely complexion]
`Anai ka makua nui pu'ipu'i
He neia selamoku a i ho`okano. [?? e kala mai, not clear enough on this verse to comment]
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
Ku`u lei mokihana i ke kia mua.
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Edited by - Sarah on 08/18/2010 11:01:13 AM |
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mike2jb
Lokahi
USA
213 Posts |
Posted - 08/18/2010 : 7:37:30 PM
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Hi, Keahiloa and Sarah--
I listened to my copy of Moe Keale's version of this mele and to the YouTube video Sarah referenced. Moe's lyrics are as Sarah listed. The YouTube video seems to begin with two verses from another song. The only other difference is that its third verse begins with the phrase "`A`ohe no wau he wahine..." rather than "`A`ole no wau he wahine...". My grammar knowledge is too poor to understand the difference fully.
Moe Keale describes this mele as referring to a Ni`ihauan man who travels from Kaua`i to Honolulu on the Maui. The man fears that a ship that big "made of metal" could not float.
Sarah, I wonder if the makua in the fourth verse has the sense of a "main stalk of a plant" and also refers to the ship's mast, in this case a "large, stout" metal mast that has to be rubbed or polished. I will leave it to others to explain the meaning of that one.
In the past I have wondered about another "selamoku" who is described as "ho`okano" in the last verse of the mele "Kawaihae". Now I see that he made it to Kaua`i. Like you, I will be interested to hear if anyone else can explain the mele further. |
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markwitz
`Olu`olu
USA
841 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2010 : 10:00:38 AM
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Aloha Keahiloa, hope you and the 'Ohana are well. If this helps any?
I think you know these people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfRfhT-9qDw |
"The music of the Hawaiians, the most fascinating in the world, is still in my ears and
haunts me sleeping and waking."
Mark Twain |
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noeau
Ha`aha`a
USA
1105 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2010 : 10:32:03 AM
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| ʻAʻohe would mean does not have and ʻaʻole nō would mean am not. The verse could mean , if ʻaʻohe is the word, I donʻt have a wife as beautiful as the moon might be the meaning in English.. |
No'eau, eia au he mea pa'ani wale nō. |
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mike2jb
Lokahi
USA
213 Posts |
Posted - 08/19/2010 : 5:58:13 PM
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Thanks, Al. Grammar is hard. That's why I try never to use it in English. |
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Aia i ka Maui
