He ho`oheno ke `ike aku
Such a delight it is to see

Ke kai moana nui la
The great big ocean

Nui ke aloha e hi`ipoi nei
So familiar and very cherished

Me ke `ala o ka lîpoa
With the fragrance of the lîpoa

He lîpoa i pae i ke one
It is lîpoa which washes ashore

Ke one hinuhinu la
Onto the shiny white sand

Wela i ka lâ ke hehi `a`e
Hot from the heating sun as you step on it

Mai mana`o he pono kêia!
Don't think that this is fun!

Ho`okohukohu e ka limu kohu
How enticing is the display of limu kohu

Ke kau i luna ô nâ moku la
Atop the rocks in the ocean

`O la maku `ula la e hô
Enticing one to pick them

`Oni ana i `ôi `anei
As they sway to and fro

Ha`ina mai puana
Let the story be told

Ka lîpoa me ka limu kohu
If the lîpoa and the limu kohu

Hoapili `oe me ka pâhe`e
Close companions of the pâhe`e

`Ânoni me ke lîpalu
Intermingled with the lîpalu

kaona
[kao' nah]

The inclusion of "Ka Uluwehi o ke Kai" was prompted by messages about its kaona on the alt.music.hawaii newsgroup. Mahalo to those who contributed to this fascinating thread. Here are excerpts of messages on this song:

...The Best Part! THE Special Guest was KEKUHI KANAHELE!!! * (Ho, those Brothers Caz--they care enough to get the very best for May Day, yeah?) Kekuhi danced the most no-holds-barred hula, no doubt about the kaona version of "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai." (With Robert commenting, "Now THAT's a HILO GIRL!") The crowd went nuts. Then she sang 3 songs, "Pua Milo," "Don't Cry'Oe," and a new one, whose kaona about small things making a big impact was thoroughly discussed. (Ouch, cheeks in pain again!) That is one awesome woman! ...

*Kekuhi Kanahele is the granddaughter of the composer of this song, Aunty Edith Kanaka`ole.

Date: 4 May
From: BW

Help the naive haole (Caucasian) guy: I've been singin' this song for years... Have never seen the hula... And have no idea what the kaona in this song could possibly be. (I'm rummaging through the lyrics in my head as I write this, and I am again at a loss.)

Date: 04 May
From: JB

The surface story is about how wonderful it is to go to the ocean to pick all different kinds of limu (seaweed). There are mentions of the fragrance of a mound of brown limu on the sand, how hot it is, how the thoughts are not exactly pono (proper) about another kind of limu, red kine, above the islands, transferring from one place to another, moving and swaying. The haina has to do with mixing a slippery green limu with a grey-black, slimy, fuzzy one.

Date: 04 May
From: AM

<blush!>
Where's my lauhala fan (a plaited fan made from leaves from the hala tree) when I really need it??????? <g>

Date: 4 May
From: BW

Date: 04 May
From: JB

Date: 04 May
From: LMH

Here's Aunty Edith's own translation of that verse (surface level only, you're on your own for the kaona) from her LP "Hi'ipoi I Ka 'Âina Aloha" (Like a Child, Tend, Feed, Cherish the Beloved Land):

Mâlama pono (Take care).

Date: 04 May
From: JB

The translations are also on the first Hapa (Part) CD.

Someone told me that "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai" was written by Aunty Edith in 1978, only 20 years ago.
Is this true?

"Hi'ipoi I Ka 'Aina Aloha" was recorded in '78, and "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai" was written in the studio when they told Aunty that she had running time left on the record.

Date: 07 May
From: PC

I love this kolohe (naughty) song! I was told that the picking of limu (seaweed) is compared to the picking of a lover. Very, very delicate and teasing like. Lotta eye brow lifting in this routine! `Auê!

Mâlama pono (Take care), P

Date: 07 May
From: JB

Uh---Kekuhi was lifting more than her eyebrows!
`Auê noho'i ! <g>

• Ka (The)
• Uluwehi (Lush and beautiful verdure; a place where beautiful plants thrive; festively adorned. Lit., decorative growth)
• o ke (of the) Kai (sea, sea water; area near the sea, seaside, lowlands, tide, current in the sea)

He (a) ho`oheno (cherishing, love, caressing; affection, demonstration of affection; expression of affection, as a song

• ke `ike aku (the recognition of one another)

• Ke (The) kai (sea, salt water) moana (broad, wide, expansive, spread out) nui (big, large, abundant)
• la (common refrain in songs)

• nui ke aloha (great is the aloha)
• e hi`ipoi ( to tend, feed, cherish, as a child) nei (here)

• Me ke (With the) `ala ( fragrance) o ka (of the)
• lîpoa (bladelike, branched, brown seaweed with conspicuous midrib on blade, unique aroma and flavor)

• He (a) lîpoa
• i pae (to land, come ashore, wash or drift ashore)
• i ke one (to the sand)

• Ke (the) one (sand) hinuhunu (shiny)

• Wela (Hot) i ka (in the) lâ (sun)
• ke (the) hehi (tread, step) `a`e (get on top of)

• Mai (Don't) mana`o (think)
• he (a) pono (uprightness, virtuousness, moral) kêia (this)!

• Ho`okohukohu (To pretend, impersonate, disguise, pose, affectation)
• e ka limu kohu (a soft, succulent small seaweed, with densely branched furry tops that are tan, pink, or dark red, arising from a creeping stem-like portion; one of the best-liked edible seaweeds, prepared in balls for markets.)

• Ke (the) kau (placing) i luna (on top)
• o (of) nâ (the) moku (island, islet; pounded mound of poi)

• `O la mâkû (firm, hard, thick, hardened) `ula (red, scarlet, brown-red) la e hô (to give, transfer, go)

• `Oni ana (moving, stirring, fidgeting, squirming, wiggling)
• i oi (motion of leisurely swaying) `anei (anei= isn't it? or `ane`i = here)

• (Tell the summary refrain.)
• This line followed by the refrain is at the end of many songs or precedes the name of the person in whose honor the song was composed.

• (The lîpoa with the limu kohu)

• Hoapili (Intimate, close, personal friend) `oe (you) o ka (of the) pâhe`e (slippery place; a green cushion-shaped solid seaweed)

• `Ânoni (to mix, interweave, intertwined, mixed) me ke (with the) lîpalu (a seaweed with edible, green, slippery tufts).

Source:
Pukui, Mary Kawena & Elbert, Samuel H., Hawaiian Dictionary, Revised and Enlarged Edition, University Of Hawai`i Press, Honolulu, 1986.

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