"Kaulana Nā Pua" ("Famous are the flowers") is a
Hawaiian patriotic song written by Eleanor Kekoaohiwaikalani Wright Prendergast (April 12, 1865 – December 5, 1902) in 1893 for members of the
Royal Hawaiian Band
who protested the overthrow of
Queen Liliʻuokalani and the Hawaiian Kingdom. The song is also known under the title of Mele ʻAi Pōhaku, the "Stone-Eating Song", or Mele Aloha ʻĀina, the "Patriot's Song". It is still popular in
Hawaiʻi today, although it is not clear how many non-Hawaiian speaking listeners are aware of the song's historical significance or the profound antipathy to U.S. annexation in its lyrics.
According to Elbert and Mahoe (1970), "The song was considered sacred and not for dancing." However, today
hālau hula perform Kaulana Nā Pua as a hula ʻauana for makuahine (a graceful dance for mature women).
The Hawaiian lyrics,
with one English translation of them, are:
Kaulana nā pua aʻo Hawaiʻi Kūpaʻa mahope o ka ʻāina Hiki mai ka ʻelele o ka loko ʻino Palapala ʻānunu me ka pākaha
Famous are the children of Hawaiʻi
Ever loyal to the land
When the evil-hearted messenger comes
With his greedy document of extortion
Pane mai Hawaiʻi moku o Keawe Kōkua nā Hono aʻo Piʻilani Kākoʻo mai Kauaʻi o Mano Paʻapū me ke one Kākuhihewa
Hawaiʻi, land of
Keawe answers
The bays of
Piʻilani help
Kauaʻi of Mano lends support
All are united by the sands of Kākuhihewa
ʻAʻole aʻe kau i ka pūlima Maluna o ka pepa o ka ʻenemi Hoʻohui ʻāina kūʻai hewa I ka pono sivila aʻo ke kanaka
Do not fix a signature
To the paper of the enemy
With its sin of annexation
And sale of the civil rights of the people
ʻAʻole mākou aʻe minamina I ka puʻukālā a ke aupuni Ua lawa mākou i ka pōhaku I ka ʻai kamahaʻo o ka ʻāina
We do not value
The government's hills of money
We are satisfied with the rocks
The wondrous food of the land
Mahope mākou o Liliʻulani A loaʻa e ka pono o ka ʻāina
[alternate stanza: A kau hou ʻia e ke kalaunu] Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana Ka poʻe i aloha i ka ʻāina
We support Liliʻuokalani
Who has won the rights of the land
[alternate stanza:
She will be crowned again]
The story is told
Of the people who love the land
… had just walked out on their jobs after the bandmaster demanded they sign an oath of loyalty to the Provisional Government. The bandmaster said they had to sign or they would be eating rocks. It is obvious that they meant it was not right to sell one's loyalty to their country for money. If we hold on to the land, the land will always feed us. … [L]and endures.
[1]
—
Noenoe Silva, assistant professor in political science, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, in Honolulu Weekly
The
Hawaiian Renaissance has lent the song Kaulana Nā Pua renewed significance in recent years. Its words are often cited in the context of the
Hawaiian sovereignty movement as an expression of opposition to U.S. rule.
References
Elbert, Samuel H. and Noelani Mahoe, "Nā Mele o Hawaiʻi Nei, 101 Hawaiian Songs", University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu, 1970,
ISBN0-87022-219-8
Nordyke, Eleanor C.; Noyes, Martha H. (1993). "Kaulana Na Pua: A Voice for Sovereignty". The Hawaiian Journal of History. 27. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society: 27–42.
hdl:
10524/172.
OCLC60626541.
Liliuokalani, "Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen", Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, 1964