Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 7, Number 2, 1 February 1990 — He Mau Nīnau Ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

He Mau Nīnau Ola

.•-•.•■• i r*' ••*".. by Kekuni Blaisdell, M.D.

More on na piko 'ekolu (the three centers)

Ninau: Mahalo for answering my ninau about the three piko. Howev/er, I did not understand your second to the last paragraph about metaphors in modern times. Did you, perhaps, leave out a verb from that sentence?

Pane: Auē, e kaia mai ia'u (I apologize). An 11word clause was inadvertently omitted from my penultimate paragraph, whieh should have read as follows: "Pēlā (thus), ke kino kanaka (the human body) and terms and beliefs concerning anatomieal parts and functions. as in ancient times, continue to convey powerful metaphors in modern times regardless of the dominant ha<3le culture and our mulhple subcultures in Hawai'i nei." With ka 'ōlelo Hawai'i (the Hawaiian language) of course, this is true only if we understand our mother tongue. And we cannot be maoli (true) Kānaka Maoli unless we do know and use our native language. Ninau: Minamina (regretfully) your eolumn did not refer to one of my favorite songs with the line: "Ka piko 'ekolu i ke 'ala lipoa." What is your translation? Pane: Mahalo for recalling the hui (chorus) of "Ua Kea O Hana" (White Rain of Hana), an oldtime waltz composed by Edward Pu'ukea in 1924: Noenoe ua kea o Hāna Hoapili o ka Malualua 'Elua māua i ka piko 'Ekolu i ke 'ala lipoa.

White with misty rain is Hāna Oompanion of the Malualua wind T wo of us stand on the summit Amid the fragrance of seaweed. Kēia unuhina (this translation) is by Mary Kawena Puku'i as printed on thejacket of the 1972 phonograph disc album recorded by Bill Kaiwa entitled "Kama'aina Songs." Nā po'e heluhelu (readers)familiar with ka'ōlelo Hawai'i w'll observe that Tutu Kawena's gracious translation is not entirely strictly literal and that some kaona (subtle metaphorical interpretation) may be inferred. 'O ia ho'i (for example), since "lipoa" is also a eommon metaphor for pubic hair, may the piko in this song be referring to the female ma'i? (See Fig. 1). Ninau: Why didn't you translate that last word in your eolumn on nā piko: "ko'i'i?" I know at least two songs with that word. What is your meaning for ko'i'i? Pane: As with many hua'ōlelo ma ka 'ōlelo makuahine (Hawaiian words), ko'i'i has several meanings, such as: "fresh, as in plants; erection of the penis; desire." from the 1986 Puku'i-Elbert dictionarv. Pēlā, the term ean mean newly developed, aroused, stimulated, eager and ready for action, and satisfying desire. Such meanings are reflected in the romantic poetry from the following two island songs that may match the two compositions you had in mind:

Mai poina o'e ia'u E ka'u mea e li'a nei E ho'omaumau ka 'ikena I mau ai ke ko'i'i a loko. Do not forget me 0 my one ' yearn for Let your visits be frequent. That love may remain fresh within. ( Composed by Lizzie Doiron) Ku'u pua malihini, my darling 1 ko'i'i i ka ua Kanilehua Kuko loko a hō'okō Just you and I. My strangerflower, my darling Who freshens in the Kanilehua rain (of Hilo) To fulfill desire within Just you and I. (Composed by Helen Desha Beamer)

Nā hua'ōlelo (the words) and nā unuhina (translations) are also from the jackets of commercially available recordings. In prehaole times, mele in the form of chants were the pnneipal method of conveying information from generation to generation. I kēia wā (today), Hawaiian songs in Western melodic form also convey the special feelings of these same metaphors, but, of course, only to those who understand the words. Nā po'e heluhelu may be aware that this eolumn has long taken the position that one of the main reasons for the grave health plight of our Kānaka Maoli is the loss of nā mea pono Hawai'i (our indigenous culture) commercial degradation of what remains of nā mea pono Hawai'i, conflict between nā mea pono Hawai'i and the dominant Western culture, with resulting loss of self-worthiness, despair, and too-ready acquisition of unwholesome lifestyle behavior. No laila (therefore), one of the major ways to improve our health is to revitalize our culture, discard harmful foreign ways and return to the healthful ways of our ancestors — E ho'o Hawai'i kākou (Let us be Hawaiian). _I kēia mahina a'e (next month), we will pane ninau about sex education in prehaole Hawai'i compared to the modern fast-paced, high-tech age. 'Oiai, e ho'omau e ha'awi mai nei i kou mau ninau ola.

Fig. 1. Petroglyph of Nā Piko 'Ekolu at Pohue Bay, Hawai'i. From J. H. Cox and E. Stasack, Bishop Museum, 1970.