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No Ke Ano Ahiahi

A traditional chant set to music by Eddie Kamae at the request of ʻIolani Luahine. The story shares how Eddie felt the song needed a kāhea. He and Reverend Kapoo, an elderly former stevedore, created it after Kapoo recalled what sailers would call out before sailing away from the docks where he used to work. The story explores the earliest written records of the chant while also sharing how the song served as an important melodic marker for Eddie and his wife, Myrna.

Pūʻolo contains

  • lyrics and translations
  • song story
  • educational questions
  • music sheets
  • bibliography
  • resources from Kamae archive

Listen with Lyrics

Press play in the video and open the lyrics
or music sheets to follow along.

Recording from the 1998 album The Folk Music of Hawaii: Sons of Hawaii (track 1). Performed by Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawaii. © ℗ Panini Records Inc., used with permission.

Watch Video Clips on ʻUluʻulu

YouTube videos are documentary clips and full song performances.
ʻUluʻulu videos link to short preview clips from raw footage.

Eddie Kamae sings the beginning of “No Ke Ano Ahiahi” and shares about songwriting.

To explore more of our digitized collections of raw footage with ʻUluʻulu, visit:
Hawaiian Legacy Foundation: Eddie & Myrna Kamae.

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