Pūpū ʻo Niʻihau ʻauhea ʻoe
Hoʻike aʻe ʻoe i kou nani
He nani hiehie ʻoi kelakela
Ka ʻiʻini nui ia o kuʻu puʻuwai
Ho mai kou aloha a pili me aʻu
I koʻolua noho kahi mehameha
I luna māua aʻo Haʻupu
ʻUpu aʻe ke aloha nou e ka ipo
Ka moena pawahe heʻe ikō ili
I pumehana like aʻi hoʻi kāua
Ka ua Naulu noho i ka uka
Hoʻopulu ana ʻoe I ka palai
E ka wai huna hoʻi aka Paoʻo
O ka wai kaulana ana kūpuna
E kanalu hai mai ʻao ʻōhiʻa
Me na ulu hua noho i ka Hāpapa
Aia ia ku hai moana kau aloha
Me ka paepae kapu a Hiʻiaka
He aku no wau e o mai ʻoe
Pupu o Niʻihau ʻauhea ʻoe
Haʻina ʻia mai ana kapuana
Pupu ʻo Niʻihau ʻauhea ʻoe |
Shells of Niʻihau, where are you?
Display your beauty
An elegant beauty held supreme
It's the greatest desire of my heart
Your love is drawn here, cling to me
Just to be alone in each other's presence
We two were in the heights of Haʻupu
Love surges only for you
The fine woven mats resemble the skin of the
squid
Come, it will warm the two of
us
The Naulu rain of the uplands
Drenches the palai fern
Go to the hidden water of Paoʻo
Of the famous cavern of the ancestors
The priest brings offerings of ʻōhiʻa buds
With breadfruit from Hāpapa
There the offerings are placed in the ocean with love
And stacked and consecrated to Hiʻiaka
When I call you must answer
Shells of Niʻihau, where are you?
Tell the story about
The shells of Niihau, where are you?
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Source: This old love song may have been
taken from a mele by Kauanuaulu Wailiʻula. The pupu lei of
Niʻihau is the most prized shell lei of Hawaii. The true
Niʻihau shell is the small Kahelelani named for the
benevolent chief of this island. The Kahelelani comes in
brown, yellow, white, spreckled, red and pink; red and pink
being the rarest and most valuable. The larger shells
Momiokai (white), Lenalena (yellow), Onikiniki (spreckled),
Laiki (rice shell), Uliuli (blue), Kahakaha (golden striped)
are also used for leis. They are strung into lei styles
called tutu, kaneliʻi (man's lei), poepoe, poleholeho, hale,
pololei (sweetheart or wedding) and pīkake. Verse
5-10 from Ea Collection. ©
Mileka Kanahele
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