Anahulu Hoʻonui 4/28 – 5/7/2025

Aloha e nā hoa heluhelu, 

As we continue moving towards the ever-nearing end of the semester, let us return back to Ka Nūpepa Kūʻokoʻa and read more from the article “Kahi I Loaʻa Mai Ai Ka Inoa Kapunahou” published in 1915: 

“I waena o ka poe e hele ana ma kela wahi e kii ai i wai, he mau mea elemakule kekahi, o Mukaka ke kane, a o Kealoha ka wahine; he wahi pupupu hale mauu ko laua ma ke kumu o Kakaakea, a iwaena o na pohaku e mahi ai laua i ko laua aina. 

“I kekahi la, ua hooikaika aku la o Kealoha ma ka hoihoi ana i kauhale i ka huewai, i hele a piha i ka wai, oiai hoi ke kane i ke kuahiwi kahi i huli ai i mau meaai. Me ka hana nui oia i hoohikihiki ai i ka wai ahiki i kauhale, a ma ka po ana iho me ka hele a maluhiluhi, haule aku la hiamoe. Iloko o kona hiamoe kulipolipo, loaa aku la iaia he moeuhane, a ninau mai la kekahi kanaka iaia i kona pilikia. 

Ka Moeuhane

“I pane ma ka aoao o ka wahine, ua i aku la oia: ‘Aole he wai o keia wahi, e hele okoa ana au i ka loa o Kamoiliili i ka wai, me ka auamo ana maluna o kuu kua, a ua kokoke e haki,’ wahi ana me ka hookahe okoa ia e kona mau waimaka. 

“Iloko o ka ehaeha o kela wahine, i olelo mai ai ka uhane iaia: ‘He wai no,’ a hoike mai la iaia, aia malalo pono o ke kumu o kekahi puhala, aole i mamao loa mai ko laua hale aku, ka wai.” 

In this particular version of Kapunahou, Mukaka and Kealoha are the names of two people who must travel far and work hard in their old age to bring fresh water back to their humble homes. One day, after Kealoha returns home from a trip fetching water, she falls fast asleep and dreams of a person who asks her what’s wrong. Kealoha explains that they live in a waterless place, to which the dream-person replies that there is indeed water there before revealing the water directly beneath the trunk of a hala tree. 

Now that we are in the new lunar month of Ikiiki, my walks through campus in the humidity feel longer and more difficult than ever. Yet even as I huff and puff myself to class and my next meeting, I can’t help but revel in appreciation for the slightest brush of wind that carries the overwhelmingly fresh floral scent of nearby plants enjoying the humidity. There are so many different colors and shapes of pua melia in bloom, and I always enjoy the kamani in bloom, pictured above.