Pelekaia
maker of a lament · Hawaii · 19th century
The maker of a lament (kanikau) for Lono-opio that calls again and again on "my husband". At its end stands "Honolulu, Oahu, June 16, 1837". Nothing else is known.
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1837 · The first four lines of a song of nearly fifty. It goes on calling up, one by one, the rains, winds and cliffs of the places where she lived with her husband. The book's notes place some of those winds and cliffs on Kauai. In the Hawaiian the first and fourth lines both say "my husband" (kuu kane). The English is the translation printed beside the Hawaiian in the same book (edited by Thomas G. Thrum).
My companion of the rain, of the returning water, My companion of the land of steady wind: My companion in the cold of the Kiuwailehua; My husband of the night and day
Kuu kane o ka ua o ka wai hoi, Kuu hoa o ka aina kai puhi i ka makani, Kuu hoa pili i ke anu o ke kiuwailehua. Kuu kane oka po o ke ao
"A Lamentation for Lono-opio (He kanikau no Lono-opio)", opening · Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore, Third Series (1919–1920)
1837 · Halemanu is a place name meaning "house of birds". The English is the translation printed beside the Hawaiian in the same book (edited by Thomas G. Thrum).
Halemanu was above, Our house was below, House of a hollow tree-trunk, A house which was fixed and trimmed by the birds. We were there above, residing with my husband
He luna ae o Halemanu He lalo iho ko maua hale He hale puka laau Hale a ka manu i ako a oki Na maua ia uka i noho me kuu kane
"A Lamentation for Lono-opio (He kanikau no Lono-opio)", lines 30–34 · Fornander Collection of Hawaiian Antiquities and Folk-lore, Third Series (1919–1920)
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