Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 14, Number 3, 1 Malaki 1997 — Kekuhi Kanahele's tribute to ʻāina and ʻohana [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Kekuhi Kanahele's tribute to ʻāina and ʻohana

by Manu Boyd

ho'i. Ua puka mai ka ia ala sēdē maka mua i kapa 'ia 'o "Hahani Mai," he mau mele i haku 'ia e lāua me kāna kāne, 'o Kaipo Frias. Ua komo pū 'ia he mau "mele ka'i", 'o ia nā mana'o kūpuna i lohe mua 'ia i nā mele kahiko, a ua launa maika'i me nā mele hou me he mea lā he 'ōlelo ho'olauna. 'O ka hū a'ela nō ia o ku'u ha'aheo ke lohe 'ia kona leo kū ho'okahi, a he leo 'ōiwi maoli nō. The awesome, multi-faceted talent of Hilo's Kekuhi Kanahele is now available on her premier compact disc, ' "Hahani Mai." A composer, chanter, ' dancer, mother, daughter, teacher and student, Kekuhi's release offers a dozen new mele, co-composed along with her husband, Kaipo Frias, both members of her family's notable "Hālau O Kekuhi." The product is magical, envoking the beauty, imagery and mana of our 'āina and our kūpima, in an amazingly appropriate and comforable way where singing is like chanting, and chanting is inspirationaI and profound. Surely "Hahani Mai" will lead us into the next century with cultural integrity revealing a gamut of life's emotions as experienced by the composers and perform-

ers, guided, no doubt, by those who have gone before them. Kekuhi emerges as a Hawaiian role model, and performs with intrinsic honesty, passion, knowledge, humor, respect, and little inhibition. 'Ohana is a big part of "Hahani Mai." Kekuhi's mother, Pualani Kanahele, and her aunts, Nālani Kanaka'ole and Ulunuiokamāmalu Kanaka'ole Garmon, are celebrated in songs in their honor. "Ulunui Waltz" is a beautiful tribute to "Aunty Ulu," where the eool, swirling mist of Waimea, Hawai'i, is worn as a lei. As in the days of old, a ho'okupu of mele is still a high form of compliment and admiration. "Uso'ole" is catchy melody with an equally catchy name that sticks with you long after the strains have faded, and speaks of a relationship where pahenee has worn thin and love appears to be "uso 'ole" (useless). Hold on tight (get Puhi" whose kaona (« enee) will make even the mosi tvoiohe Hawaiian blush. Kanahele transports the listener to kahakai (the shbre) to catch puhi (eels), spear 'em, gunnysack

'em, pineh 'em, beat 'em on the rocks, eook 'em, and eat 'em all up! The rendition, reminiscent of Tahitian music, conjurs up a party at the beach that is not to be missed. "Don't Cry 'Oe" will likely do to you what it says not to, in a poignant acknowledgement of pain that is soothed and comforted in a loving embrace. "I ku'u poli, eome mai 'oe, ho'olono i ke konikoni a nei pu'uwai" (eome and lay on my chest and listen to the beating of my heart). The leo mele (tune) is described as a "family heirloom," one that Edith Kanaka'ole recalled from her tūtū many years ago. Mahalo piha to Punahele Productions for another outstanding entry into the expanding realm of Hawaiian recorded music. Other Punahele releases include Keali'i Reichel's "Kawaipunahele" and "Lei Hali'a"; and Uluwehi Guerrero's "Ka Manawa Pono." Hahani Mai, — "approach softly" . . . but don't let the lure of flirtatious eyes, green velvet and fragrant 'awa--n f3t(-b vou off guard '" in for a wturlwmd encounter that will leave your mind and spirit rejuvenated, never to be quite the same again. Aloha no, a hui hou aku kākou i ka wā kūpono!

Ua pā mai nei i ku'u pepeiao he leo kūpaianaha no ka hikina mai, mai ka uluwehi laulā o ka moku o Keawe. 'O ia nō ia 'o Kekuhikuhi Kanahele, he mamo o Kohala, Hilo, Puna a me Ka'ū, a he lei mo'opuna na Edith Kanaka'ole, nona ka leo 'olu'olu a poina 'ole pū kekahi. Pēlā nō ka leo o nēia wahine kaekae, 'o Kekuhi Kanahele, kekahi o nā keiki a Pualani Kanaka'ole Kanahele a me Edward Kanahele, a he mea oli 'o ia ala, he mea hula, he kumu, he haumāna a he makua nō