Ka Huila Wai - by Alfred Alohikea

Kū wale mai no ka huila wai
ʻAʻohe wai ia`u e niniu ai
 
He aniani kū mau ʻoe no
He hoa kūkā pū me kāua
 
Aloha ʻia nō Mōlīlele
I ka lele ahea i ka moana
 
Aloha ʻia nō o Waiʻōhinu
Ka pali lele wai a ke koaʻe
 
Mai noho ʻoe a hoʻopoina
I kahi pīkake ulu maʻemaʻe
 
Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
ʻAʻohe wai iʻau e niniu ai
The windmill just stands still
No water comes swirling up
 
You are a constant reflection of me
My companion, always conversing with me
 
Beloved indeed is Mōlīlele
When the clouds swirl, the ocean is stormy
 
Beloved is the koaʻe bird from
The waterfall of Waiʻōhinu
 
Just don't you forget
This attractive peacock
 
Tell the refrain
No water comes swirling up


Source: Garza-Maguire Collection
- Verse 3, the cliff Mōlīlele was named for Monilele, a very pretty young girl who caught the eye of a chief that was not well liked. He declared she would become his wife. The day before the wedding, she went to the forest and picked all the maile to adorn herself. She then went down to the cliffs at South Point, and jumped off. If you go to the cliffs at South Point and smell maile, where obviously no maile grows, it is because Monilele likes you. This legend told by a Kaʻū kupuna born near Hilea. When asked about Moaula, it was pronounced in the vernacular (or maybe a dialect) Moula, leaving out the "a". Hence the transition Moanilele, Monilele, Mōlīlele (in song). Edited by Kaʻiʻini Garza-Maguire