Ninipo (Love making) Lili`uokalani


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Hiaʻai hiaʻai o ka nani
O aʻu lehua i Hōpoe
Ke ona ʻia mai la e ka iʻiwi
E ka manu hulu weo i ʻŌlaʻa

Hui:
Ninipo hoʻonipo i ke aloha
Ka wahine haʻalewa
Haʻalewa i ke kai
Ke nini au la i ke one
I ke kai nupanupa i Hāena

Loa iki Panaʻewa i ke ala
I ka lihi ka pilina o Moe awakea
Ke `awihi a ka ua nihi pali
O ka noe lihi kai i oʻu nei

ʻIke maka i ka nani aʻo Puna lā
Nā lae ulu hala o Koʻokoʻolau,
Ke oni aʻela mōlale i ke kai,
Nā oho lau waena luhe i ka wai.

I Hilo nō ka makani Puʻulena
Lohe i kaʻale a ke kai holuholu i Huia
Ua mau akula luna o Maukele,
I ka pākalikali a ka Malanai.



Delighted, delighted am I with your beauty
Of the lehua blossoms of Hōpoe
Eagerly sought by the iʻiwi birds
The bright feathered birds of ʻŌlaʻa

Chorus:
Wooing, ever wooing with love
Is a woman dancing
Dancing in the sea
Swaying, swaying near the sands
In the restless sea of Hāena

Some what long is the way to Panaʻewa
To come close to Moe-awakea
Moving down toward the sand
Are the mists that are near me at the edge of the sea

Witness the beauty of Puna
The hala-covered brow of Koʻokoʻolau
Reaching out, unobstructed into the sea,
The leaves at its center are heavy with water.

The Puʻulena wind has indeed been to Hilo
Attentive to the gulping, swaying sea of Huia
It persists in the uplands of Maukele
Where the Malanai gives just a little at a time.

Source: Johnny Noble’s Collection - Noble credits this mele to King David Kalākaua, but others credit this to Queen Liliʻuokalani. Lahilahi Webb, Liliʻuokalani’s companion, says the Queen wrote this song in 1876, on a trip to Hawaiʻi. Chorus, stanza 2, the wahine dancing in the sea is Hōpoe, Hiʻiakaikapoliopele’s, best friend, also referenced in Verse 1, stanza 2. Jealous of the relationship between Hiʻiaka and Hōpoe, Pele turned Hōpoe to a rock in the sea at Keaʻau. The movement of the sea over this rock makes it appear to dance or sway in the water. Translation by Mary Pukui - Music clip by Gippy Cooke