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Naʻū

NĀ`Ūi PĀLAMA NUIii

Download audio: Nā`ū Pālama Nui [mp3]

 

Nā`ū......

A Pālama Nui kāua

Wai māpuna kau i ka maka ka `ōpuaiii

Hualalai huewai kuahiwiiv

(Hui) Nā`ū..........................................................................................
...i ka lā...kōlili ana...a ka `ili kai...mā`oki`oki...la`i nā Konav!

A Pālama Nui kāua

Kūkulu pe`a, ho`olale wa`a

He `Eka ka makanivi

Ō Pūlama nui ē

Ō nāhi Uliuli a Ulupōvii

Ō Keahualono a Pu`uohau a Kaheawai!viii

Kūhea mākou, eō mai `oe

Pālama Nui, Pālama Nui, Pālama Nui ē!

SECURING AN ENLIGHTENED FOUNDATION

You and I stand together on the Foundation of Profound Enlightenment

Where the spring water is borne upon the clouds

Mount Hualalai, a mountain water-gourd

(Chorus) Seize...................................................................................
...the day...glistening...upon ocean's surface...streaked...in the calms of Kona

You and I stand together on the Foundation of Profound Enlightenment

Mast the sails, incite the vessels

For the `Eka wind of promise blows

Sustain the Torch of Enlightenment!

Sustain our natural resources that continue to create and inspire!

Sustain the inherent right to Respond, to Sacrifice and to Flow!ix

We call out to you, respond to our call

For indeed you are no other than Pālama Nui, Pālama Nui, Pālama Nui!

Author`s Notes: This mele (song) uses the mana (inherent power) of projection to secure particular outcomes. To project an image of a new college campus, to imagine being in the center of the natural and academic energies of that environment, to know that through a meaningful and total educational experience our local and global communities can prosper sustainably, IS the out come to which we sing. May all that is Hawai`i continue for another millennia , and may all that is to be Pālama Nui contribute significantly to all living in ways that are globally sustainable. Nā`ū Pālama Nui is composed by Dr. Taupōuri Tangarō, Assistant Professor, Hawai`i Community College, 2011.


i"Nā`ū" is the Kona practice of taking in a deep breath when the sun hits the western horizon, expelling it as one would expel air through a straw, all in the while pronouncing "nā`ū", short for "na`u ka lā", or "the day is mine!" In other words, all the experiences of the day are living experience owned by the one experiencing it.

iiPālama Nui, site of the future West Hawai`i Campus, North Kona, has a number of translations to its name, one being the Foundation (Pā) of Enlightenment (Lama) Profound (Nui), or Foundation of Profound Enlightenment.

iiiWai māpuna kau i ka maka [o] ka `ōpua" is a traditional saying referring to the idea that unlike other island districts where rivers flow from mountain to sea and springs bubble up, the river and springs for the Kona districts are in the clouds above.

iv"Hualalai, huewai kuahiwi" is a traditional saying honoring Hualalai`s role in sponging the atmosphere of moisture to fill the aquifers.

v"Kai mā`oki`oki o nā Kona" is a traditional saying that celebrates the famous calm and streaked (mā`oki`oki) ocean of North and South Kona.

vi"Kūkulu pe`a, ho`olale wa`a, he `Eka ka makani" is a traditional saying that means "When the `Eka wind of Kona blows, it's a good time to prepare the canoes to fish".

vii"Nāhi Uliuli a Ulupō" is a traditional saying that identifies the dark forested regions of North Kona (Uliuli) and South Kona (Ulupō), respectively. Uliuli and Ulupō connote creativity and inspiration.

viiiThis traditional saying demarks the districts of Kona: Keahualono to Pu`uohau = North Kona; Pu`uohau to Kaheawai = South Kona

ixThe word "lono" in Keahualono means to respond; "hau" in Pu`uohau means to sacrifice; "kahe", as in Kaheawai, means to "flow".