Kuʻu Hawaiʻi
Miner & Watanabe — combined Papa Mele notes from OOVC-MH1-S1 and OOVC-MH1-S2, 2026-06-18
Mele Structure Terms
- hui
- chorus
- uapo
- bridge
- paukū
- verse
Title
Kuʻu Hawaiʻi
- kuʻu
- my w/affection; my w/love
- Hawaiʻi
- Hawaiʻi
- Pronunciation notes listed in class: /havaiʻi/, /hawaiʻi/, /havaʻi/, /hawaʻi/.
Hui — Chorus
ʻO Hawaiʻi kuʻu haʻaheo ē
Hawaiʻi is my beloved pride.
- ʻO
- Pepeke ʻAike ʻO marker; “something is the something.”
- Hawaiʻi
- place
- kuʻu
- kaʻi my beloved; my w/love
- haʻaheo
- kikino pride
- ʻaʻano proud
- ē
- vocative particle; extending the meaning; carrying the sound/message out
Ka ʻāina aloha o kuʻu kupuna ē
The beloved land of my dear ancestors.
The beloved land of my wonderful ancestors.
- ka ʻāina
- the land; especially populated / inhabited places
- aloha
- ʻaʻano well-loved, beloved, loved
- o
- of-belonging to
- kuʻu kupuna
- my beloved ancestor(s); my dear ancestors
- my beloved grandparent(s); dear grandparents
- ē
- vocative particle; carrying the sound/message out
Ua ulu aʻe au
I grew up.
- ua
- māka painu past tense
- ulu
- to grow, increase in size; hamani to grow in size
- aʻe
- directional: up / diagonal
- au
- I
I ka malu o ka ʻāina
In the protection of the land.
In the shelter of the land.
- i
- ʻami in / on / at
- ʻami henua in / on / at
- ka malu
- the protection; the shelter
- o ka ʻāina
- of the land
- fig., extends to the people themselves; fig., includes people
Ma ʻaneʻi nō au
I am here indeed.
Here I am indeed.
- ma ʻaneʻi
- here
- nō
- indeed; intensifier
- au
- I
E noho papa ai
It is here that I do live for generations.
It is here that I live with/for many generations.
- e — ai
- māka painu wrapper; internal
- noho
- to sit; to dwell; to live somewhere
- papa
- cf., papa moʻokūʻauhau, a genealogy / family genealogy
- noho papa
- to live in a place for generations; being in one place for many generations
- Pattern note
- Pepeke Painu Kālele Kūlana / Kālele Kūlana pattern — emphasizing place / location.
- kulāiwi / kulaiwi
- the ancestral / family homeland
Additional S2 note: “Ma ʻaneʻi nō lākou / I noho papa ai.”
1 — Paukū
Kū kilakila ʻo Hualalai ē
Hualalai stands majestically.
- kū kilakila
- standing majestically; stands/standing majestically
- ʻo
- marker of a name coming next; marking the name in the piko
- Hualalai / Hualālai
- mountain which makes up most of northern Kona district
- mountain in Kona, makes up most of terrain in north Kona district
- approx. 10k feet
- ē
- vocative particle; carrying the sound/message out
Kiʻei i lalo iā Kealakehe
Peering down at Kealakehe.
Looking down at/to Kealakehe.
- kiʻei
- to peer; to look at something; to peer or look across/down at
- cf., ʻalawa
- i lalo
- down
- iā
- ʻami showing proper noun as direct object
- ʻami lauka direct object marker
- Kealakehe
- a neighborhood in Kona; also an ahupuaʻa
- a place in north Kona, ahupuaʻa
Piʻi mai ka nalu o Kohanaiki
The wave(s) of Kohanaiki rise.
The waves of Kohanaiki break.
- piʻi
- to come up; to rise
- mai
- directional: towards viewpoint
- ka nalu
- the wave; the surf, the waves
- o
- of-belonging to
- Kohanaiki
- place name, Kona; ahupuaʻa
- south of the airport at Keāhole by the sea; ahupuaʻa from sea to around 7k feet up to Kaʻupulehu
- kohana — naked; iki — a little bit
I ka wehena o kaiao
At the breaking of dawn.
At the break of day.
- i
- ʻami at the; at the time
- ka wehena
- the opening
- o
- of-belonging to
- kaiao
- the dawn; breaking of dawn
- Class note
- Poetic license.
2 — Paukū
A Honokaʻa, kau ma ka lio ē
And when at Honokaʻa, perched upon the horse.
And when at Honokaʻa, riding a horse.
- a
- poetic: “and at,” “and when at”
- Class comparison: “A ka luna o Kīlauea.”
- Honokaʻa
- above the cliffs of Hāmākua
- a place east Hawaiʻi island, Hāmākua
- where Tex Drive-In / Tex’s Drive-In is
- kau
- mounted upon, sitting upon
- to mount, to be on top of something, to sit upon
- ma ka lio
- on the horse
- ē
- vocative particle; carrying the sound/message out
Holo i uka i Mauna Kea ē
Riding upland to Mauna Kea.
Riding upland to/on Mauna Kea.
- holo
- to travel, to ride; to go on some kind of transport
- i
- ʻami kuhilana showing destination
- (1) in the direction, destination; to destination
- (2) in / on / at
- uka
- the upland area; upland
- i Mauna Kea
- (1) to Mauna Kea
- (2) on Mauna Kea
- ē
- vocative particle; carrying the sound/message out
Kani mai ka leo
The voice sounds in my direction.
- kani
- to make a sound; making a sound
- mai
- directional: towards viewpoint
- ka leo
- the voice
O ka palila
- o ka palila
- of the palila bird
ʻElua māua
We were/are two.
- ʻelua
- two
- māua
- he/she and I; us, he/she and I
Ma ke mele
In the song.
In the singing of a song.
- ma ke mele
- the song
- the act of singing
- mele
- kikino song
- hamani to sing a song
- Class note
- ma ke mele ʻana i ke mele
Uapo — Bridge
E lei nō au
I surely wear as a lei.
I should wear.
- e
- māka painu should / do
- lei
- hamani to wear a lei
- nō
- indeed
- au
- I
I ka lei hiʻi kupuna
The lei honoring the ancestors/grandparents.
The lei which honors my ancestors.
The lei of ancestral love.
The lei of ancestors close to my heart.
- i
- ʻami showing direct object
- ka lei
- kikino the lei
- hiʻi
- to hold close to the bosom; to carry close to the bosom
- cf., Hiʻiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele
- kupuna
- grandparent / ancestor(s); the ancestors
E lei nō au
(See above.)
I ka lei o Hawaiʻi
The lei of-belonging to Hawaiʻi.
The lei of Hawaiʻi.
- lei
- fig. child
- Class notes
- Hawaiʻi is her ancestors.
- kuʻu Hawaiʻi — kuʻu kupuna
Combined from the supplied HTML/text contents for: “Kuu Hawaii (Miner & Watanabe) (HA).html,” “OOVC-MH1-S1-2026-06-18.html,” and “OOVC-MH1-S2-2026-06-18.html.”