HWST 478: Mele Au Hou

This book is a definitive chronicle of the history of Hawaiian music, the people who made it, and the footprints they left in the sands of Hawai'i. Here John Beger finishes what George S. Kanahele started years ago in 1979 and brings closure to his spectacular legacy as a Hawaiian historian, scholar and author.

"The book ""Music Of Ancient A Brief Survey"" by Dorothy M. Kahananui is a comprehensive guide that explores the rich and diverse musical traditions of ancient Hawaii. The author provides a detailed account of the various musical instruments used by the Hawaiians, including the ipu heke, pahu, and uli uli. The book also delves into the various types of chants and songs that were popular in ancient Hawaii, such as mele oli, mele hula, and mele pana. Through this book, readers can gain a deeper understanding of the role that music played in the daily lives of ancient Hawaiians, from religious ceremonies to social gatherings. The author also sheds light on the cultural significance of music in Hawaiian society, including its role in preserving history and passing down cultural traditions from one generation to the next." Available online for UHM patrons via Hathitrust.

A chapter in the book Kanaka ‘Ōiwi Methodologies. In this chapter, Keawe highlights terms from King Kalākaua’s mele “Kaniakapupu Song,” more popularly known today as “Ua Noho Au A Kupa I Ke Alo,” that embody important mannerisms that he considers necessary to investing in lasting relationships with kūpuna, community participants, practitioners, and teachers when conducting research. He refers to them as “mentors,” those who are generally more seasoned in age and responsible for providing counsel, encouragement, support, advice, and correction. Keawe also shares the ingenuity of King Kalākaua’s mele in informing us that incorporating certain mannerisms into relationship building is the necessary protocol to recognizing “ka hi‘ona a ka mana‘o” (the physical manifestation of intentions) and experiencing what he refers to as “ka waihona a ke aloha” (the repository of aloha). Available online for UHM patrons via JSOTR Books.

The last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, Queen Lili'uokalani was also an avid composer of Hawaiian choral music. Her vast output places her as the most influential Native Hawaiian composer of the nineteenth century as well as a crucial figure in the development of Hawaiian choral music. Utilizing the history and repertoire of Lili'uokalani as a framework, this essay presents a guide for conductors of nineteenth century Hawaiian choral music in idiomatic performance issues specific to the repertoire, including diction, choral tone, instrumentation, and Native Hawaiian performance ritual. Because the performance practices of Lili'uokalani’s music continue to evolve as a living practice, this essay synthesizes the Queen's historical writings on these points with current perspectives from four living contemporary conductors and Native Hawaiian scholars. Finally, the essay presents audio examples of these practices, performed by Native Hawaiian choral ensembles. Available online for UHM patrons via ProQuest.

As a resident of Hilo at the foot of Maunakea for the past twenty-seven years, the Mauna's ever-present sense of protection and majesty has deeply influenced how my 'ohana and I interact and live on Hawai'i Moku o Keawe. Living among kanaka who acknowledge this piko, his godly genealogy and who channel the spirits, care for the forest and water resources, deliver mele and hula, and hunt for food, is such an invigorating and connecting force for our 'ohana, community, and lāhui. I often think about how I contribute to these distinct groups, and how my 'ohana will cultivate our kuleana to this ʻāina. Available online for UHM patrons via EBSCO host, JSTOR, and Project Muse.

Purpose-In Decolonizing Methodologies (1999), Linda Tuhiwai Smith asserted that "the master's tools of colonization will not work to decolonize what the master built." Smith challenged Indigenous researchers to fashion "new tools for the purpose of decolonizing and Indigenous tools that can revitalize Indigenous knowledge" (p. 22). A quarter of a century later, this paper reflects on the powerful impact that Smith's call to action has had upon recent generations of bright, politically active and culturally grounded Native Hawaiian researchers, many of whom are innovatively turning to the Native epistemologies embedded in our traditional cultural practices to craft (k)new research tools and methodologies. Design/methodology/approach-This paper features three Native Hawaiian scholars who are simultaneously hula and mele (traditional Hawaiian dance and song) practitioners and who instinctively turned to their hula training to guide and indigenize their research practice. Findings-Each of these three scholars describes how they creatively applied the Hawaiian epistemologies embedded in their hula and mele training to fashion (k)new, Indigenous methodologies to guide (1) their research conduct, (2) their data analyses or interpretations and (3) the presentation of their research findings, respectively. Originality/value-These three Hawaiian scholars and hula practitioners represent a larger groundswell of Native Hawaiian researchers who are bravely and creatively drawing upon the traditional wisdom and sensitivities embedded in our cultural practices to craft and wield (k)new research tools to "dismantle the master's house" (Lorde, 1981) and build an Indigenous hale (house) of our own. Available online for UHM patrons via Emerald Education eJournal.

Through mele our küpuna were able to express themselves spiritually, physically and emotionally. Mele served as a way to memorialize and preserve the thoughts and feelings of the haku mele and were perpetuated and maintained by the stewardship and performance of the ho'opa'a. Although there were many different kinds of mele, the role they played and the reason why they were composed seemed to be for the sole purpose of transmitting information. As a result, haku mele, mele, and ho'opa'a played an important role in a highly sophisticated oral society. They were, if you will, a "Holy Trinity" of successful orality, separately having their own significances and benefits, however, very much interrelated and depended on one another. With the illegal overthrow of our kingdom in 1893, we lost political control of our home and as result, our küpuna became subjects to a foreign imperialistic authority and were then forced to assimilate into a foreign culture with foreign spiritual beliefs and foreign ways of thinking and doing. This assimilation prompted the near demise of our language and subsequently affected every aspect of our people's well--being. Today in order to contribute to present Hawaiian language revitalization and restoration efforts it is important that attention is given to the importance of mele and those responsible for the composition and performance thereof. For this reason Ka Waihona A Ke Aloha, the Mele Institute of Kawaihuelani was created. Ka Waihona A Ke Aloha was born solely out of the realization that if our generation did not begin to recover old documentations of mele and mele practitioners and put them in a format that would be more accessible for today, we would begin to lose a good amount of cultural knowledge, poetic language usage, native expressions, place names, rain names, and so forth. Furthermore, if we do not create venues through which we are able to document mele and mele practitioners today, we may not have information about their personal stories that highlight our present time for future generations to come. Available for UHM patrons via ScholarSpace.

This thesis is a study of a genre of mele (Hawaiian musical/poetic expression) called hīmeni Hawaiʻi (Holstein, 1897) and its historical importance. More specifically, I explore its contribution to the notion of aloha ʻāina – a love for one's land – as a fundamental sentiment of Hawaiian identity (Goodyear-Kaʻōpua 2013:13). Hīmeni Hawaiʻi is a specific genre of mele prominent in the late 19th century, identified by characteristic textual and musical attributes. The late 19th century was perhaps the most tumultuous period in Hawaiian political history, with the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the events surrounding it. Consequently, this period produced a myriad of mele lāhui (nationalist songs), collected and published by F. J. Testa in 1895 (Basham 2007). These mele lāhui bolstered political support for the deposed queen and related issues. However, in stark contrast, hīmeni Hawaiʻi, equally popular during the same time (Holstein 1897) seemingly show no trace of this political sentiment, in either lyrics or music. In this thesis, I argue that the characteristic apolitical content of hīmeni Hawaiʻi, in fact, served a function during the late 19th century to transcend politics and instill the fundamental sentiment of aloha ʻāina, a defining component of modern Hawaiian identity. Through the use of mele analysis, I suggest that hīmeni Hawaiʻi, though lacking overt political sentiments, promotes Hawaiian epistemologies of aloha ʻāina through the use of what I term the nahele (forest/wilderness) motif. This strain of aloha ʻāina finds significance in both its initial and contemporary contexts. With influence from the musical structures of Christian hymns, hīmeni Hawaiʻi is the result of a hybridized practice that has been localized and eventually accepted as a Hawaiian tradition.The analysis of selected hīmeni Hawaiʻi serves to elucidate this notion of aloha ʻāina, enriching current perspectives on the political climate of the late 19th century. Stokes (1994:3) argues that music "provides means by which people recognise identities and places and the boundaries which separate them." In the case of hīmeni Hawaiʻi, "place" is inherent in identity through the understanding of aloha ʻāina, a love for one's land. The "boundary," then, becomes the context of political turmoil that separates and connects identity and place. That music "can be used as a means of...constructing trajectories rather than boundaries across space" allows readers and listeners of hīmeni Hawaiʻi to transcend notions of political status and engage foundational ideals of Hawaiian essentialism: the fundamental ideals of Hawaiian epistemologies. By understanding this, I expand ideals of aloha ʻāina not only to include the kūʻē (resistant) sentiments of mele lāhui, but the kūpaʻa (steadfast) sentiments of hīmeni Hawaiʻi. This study and interpretation of hīmeni Hawaiʻi allows us to understand the importance of the nahele motif as it expresses aloha ʻāina and shapes contemporary Hawaiian identity. Available via UHM patrons via Proquest.

This chapter from Huihui examines certain hallmarks of Hawaiian literature by focusing on mo‘okū‘auhau (genealogy) as a key traditional meiwi that was adapted from oral traditions to ka palapala (literature). Drawing from Hiapo Perreira’s scholarship on Hawaiian oratory, the chapter explores literary devices, rhetorics, and aesthetics in various Hawaiian mele and Kanaka Maoli mo‘olelo (more specifically, non fiction writing) from the nineteenth century to the present. It analyzes a number of Kanaka ‘Ōiwi writings that highlight the importance of moʻokū‘auhau as a meiwi mo‘okalaleo that continues to be implemented in meaningful ways. Available online for UHM patrons via JSTOR and Project Muse.

In this chapter of The Power of the Steel-tipped Pen
Available online to UHM patrons via JSTOR and Ebook Central.

Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, Kānaka Maoli composed numerous mele lāhui in commemoration of the events. These mele were published in Hawaiian language newspapers, the place where Kānaka Maoli reported the events of their time as well as their opinion about those events. Through the mele lāhui which they composed and published, the Kānaka Maoli reported the historical details of the overthrow and the period following. In the mele are recorded the people's loyalty to their nation, along with their resistance and protest to the abuse of their rights to independence. The composers use language of insult and disparagement in their portrayals and descriptions of those who played vital roles in the overthrow. There are also many mele which are prayers and request the assistance and the blessings of Hawaiians Gods as well as the Christian God. In addition, there are even more mele whose main purpose and theme are expressions of aloha for the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Native people, and their Queen. From that time until today, Kānaka Maoli have continued to compose mele as expressions of our lives and our history, as protest against the continued dominance and subjugation of our people, and as admiration for the loyal and steadfast support of the rights of our land and our people. Available online for UHM patrons via ProQuest.

Between 1893 and 1898, the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom and its illegal annexation to the United States, over 300 mele lāhui were published in Hawaiian language newspapers and books. Mele lāhui are nationalist poetic texts composed in honor of the Lāhui Hawaii (the Hawaiian nation), our landbase, and our continued independence and sovereignty. Historical and cultural contexts for the publications of the mele lāhui are the central focus of Section I. Chapters focus on the mele printed in Hawaiian language newspapers between 1893 and 1898, and then on the mele published in two books. The first is an historical account of the events of the counter-revolution of 1895. This is followed by a chapter focusing on the mele published in a book containing nearly a hundred mele lāhui that was also published in 1895. In Section II, the focus shifts to explore four major themes prevalent in the mele lāhui—ea, 'āina, pono, and lāhui. The meaning of these themes are explored and explained as they are seen within various poetic texts and within historical and literary sources as well. These meanings and uses also changed over time, especially as European and Western colonial influences increased. One of the main themes of this project is to gain a better understanding of some of the most important and foundational beliefs of our ancestors as they were explained and conceived in Hawaiian so that today we can continue to seek that which will restore balance and harmony to our lands and nation. Available for UHM patrons via ProQuest.

ʻO ke aloha ʻāina ka "ʻume mageneti" e pili mau ai ke Kanaka i kona ʻāina hānau ponoʻī. ʻO ia nō hoʻi ka mea e Ea Kūʻokoʻa mau ai ka Lāhui Kanaka Maoli o Hawaiʻi nei, a kū i ka moku. ʻIke leʻa ʻia kēia mau manaʻo ma nā mele lāhui a me nā mele aloha ʻāina i haku ʻia e ka ʻōiwi o nei ʻāina no ka hoʻākāka ʻana a me ka hoʻopaʻa ʻana i ke kūlana Kūʻokoʻa o kona Lāhui. Akā naʻe, ʻoiai he pili hemo ʻole ke aloha ʻāina a me ke kupa o ka ʻāina, e ʻike ʻia ana nō ua aloha nei ma nā hana a pau a ke Kanaka e hoʻokō pono ai, a me nā mele a pau āna e haku ai—ʻaʻole wale nō ma nā mele i kuhi ʻia he mea politika. Ma o kēia Palapala Noiʻi Laeʻula, e hoʻāhuwale ʻia ka iwikuamoʻo aloha ʻāina nāna e hoʻoikaika ana i ʻekolu ʻano mele: nā mele mākaʻikaʻi, nā mele hoʻoipoipo, a me nā mele hoʻonuʻu i haku ʻia no nā ʻono o ka ʻāina. Ma laila nō e loaʻa ai kekahi ala e pili hou ai ko kākou ʻike hoʻomaopopo me ke kuanaʻike i ola ai nā kūpuna o kākou, he ala e hoʻāla hou ai i nā pilina ʻōiwi i moku i ka hoʻokolonaio, a he ala hoʻi e pakele ai i ke aupuni kalaʻihi o waho, i Ea ai ka ʻāina a me ka lāhui o Hawaiʻi nei i ka pono. ʻAʻole kēia he nuʻu e kūlia ai a loaʻa koke. He ala, a he kuamoʻo nō ia i waele mua ʻia e nā mea naʻauao o ka wā ma mua, a e hele mau ʻia nō e nā pulapula o ka wā e hiki mai ana. Ma ke mele hoʻi e puana mau ʻia ai ke aloha i ka ʻāina a me ke Ea o kona Lāhui ʻŌiwi. Available online for UHM patrons via ProQuest.

As time passes in an increasingly technological age, so too has the Hawaiian culture, in specific, Hawaiian music composition. It was familiar in Hawaiʻi’s past to adopt and emulate new styles of music, in turn making a hybridized and contemporary Hawaiian genre at the time with songs composed in all social sectors of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Hawaiian music in all eras had distinct elements of Hawaiian composition, and if a more contemporary genre was made with the same elements in a reggae genre, is it considered Hawaiian music? Using the 4 major elements of an individual’s life-giving mauli, as in the Native Hawaiian educational philosophy Kumu Honua Mauli Ola, a chart was created to analyze some Hawaiian language reggae tunes that have been composed from 1993 until 2020. The research done is with pure intent to strengthen compositional skills in this contemporary music for the generations to come. Available online for UHM patrons via ProQuest.