Waipahu’s pbHTA staff and students created an oli komo (welcoming chant) to celebrate the ‘āina and instill pride in their Waipahu campus. Under the tutelage of Ms. Elissa Minamishin and Kumu Makana Kuahiwinui, students researched the ahupua‘a, moku, and mo‘olelo of the ‘āina their campus sits upon. The oli was arranged with the kōkua of Kumu Makana’s ‘ohana, Kumu Pumehana Silva and Kumu Melelani Spencer.
OLI KOMO, WAIPAHU
Kū mai mākou
Nā kama o ke kāīkoi1
Ulu i ka wai kele2 a ka wai pahū3
Mai uka i kai
A i ke awalau o Pu‘uloa4
Na Ka‘ahupāhau, e kia‘i mai
Eia nō mākou
Me ke aloha5 nui ē
E māliu mai ē
The children of the kāīkoi
Growing in the lush and bursting waters
From the uplands to the sea
And to the many harbors of Pu‘uloa
Guarded by Ka‘ahupāhau
Here we are
With great aloha
Heed our call
1 ‘Ōlelo No‘eau #2770 – Ua ‘ai i ke kāī-koi o ‘Ewa. He has eaten the kāī-koi taro of ‘Ewa.
Kāī is O‘ahu’s best-eating taro; one who has eaten it will always like it. Said of a youth or a maiden of ‘Ewa, who, like the kāī taro, is not easily forgotten.
2 Aunty Wainani of Hawaii’s Plantation Village shares that kele means muddy, but it also means lush. Perhaps the wai (fresh water) of Waikele refers to the abundance of water here at one time.
3 Bursting water (water burst forth from underground); Ka‘ahupāhau, guardian shark goddess, lived here.
4 Traditional, original place name of Pearl Harbor; means long hill.
5 In reference to the Oli Aloha by Auntie Pilahi Pākī.
