Na ʻOno O Ka ʻĀina (Delicacies Of The Land) - Traditional

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Na ʻono o ka ʻāina
Haliʻaliʻa wale mai no
ʻO ka maʻiʻiʻi me ke kole
Ma ka onaona o nā Kona
Mai apakau i ka haʻi
O nahu pu me ka unahi
ʻAi no na ke kino ponoʻi
Lawe aʻe no a ʻike i ka ʻono

Ka ono iʻa a nā kūpuna
Iʻa kaulana o ka ʻāina
He ʻono i ka ʻai maka i ka lomilomi
He ʻono nō i ka nahunahu pū
Mai kali a pau nā niho
O hala ʻe ka Puʻulena
ʻO ka wā kēia ʻo ka ʻono la
A i ʻike i ke kuhikuhinia

ʻO ka maikoiko ke pala
ʻO ka ʻina me ke kaʻukama kai
ʻO ka ʻōpelu me ke akule
A he nui wale aku nā ʻono
Mai apakau naʻe i ka haʻi
O nahu pū me ka unahi
ʻAi no na ke kino pono
**(Aʻole ʻo ka hana na ke kino ponoʻi iho lā)
Lawe aʻe no a ʻike i ka ʻono

** (alternate stanza)

Delicacies of the land
Remembered fondly
Maʻiʻiʻi and kole fish
The fragrance of the Konas
Don't grab someone else's
Or bite the scales
Eat the true flesh
Take and taste the delicacy

Fish delicacies of the ancients
Famous fish of the land
Delicious to eat raw or lomilomi
Delicious to chew
Don't wait until teeth are gone
Or the Puʻulena wind has passed by
Now is the delicious time
To savor rich fat

The maikoiko fish slightly mellow
Sea urchins and sea cucumbers
Ōpelu and akule
My, how delicious
Don't grab someone else`s
Or bite the scales
Eat the true flesh
** This action does not only nourish the body
Take and taste the delicacy

** (alternate translation


Source: Kealiʻi Reichel CD "Keʻalaokamaile - Instructions on eating fish from Lānaʻi, this mele may have been composed by Abraham Kaulia, a Lānaʻi cowboy. Translator unknown
Music clip by Gippy Cooke