Written by Eddie Kamae to capture those good-time moments in Sam Li’a Kalāinaina’s life when the community would get together at the social hall to sing, play music, talk story, dance, laugh and drink ʻōkolehao. The story shares some of these moments along with the history of ʻōkolehao and information Sam shared with Eddie about the art of distilling this distinctly Hawaiian liquor.
Pūʻolo contains
- lyrics and translations
- song story
- educational questions
- music sheets
- bibliography
- resources from the Kamae archive
Listen with Lyrics
Watch Video Clips on YouTube and ʻUluʻulu
YouTube videos are documentary clips and full song performances.
ʻUluʻulu videos link to short preview clips from raw footage.
About the song “ʻŌkolehao” that recalls the times when, as in Sam Liʻa Kalāinaina’s days, friends and family would get together to talk story and play music from the documentary, Liʻa: The Legacy of a Hawaiian Man.
Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawaiʻi (Dennis Kamakahi, Claybourne “Braddah Smitty” Smith, Joe Marshall and Junior Daugherty on the violin) perform “ʻŌkolehao” at Camp Olomana, Oʻahu in 1987.
B-roll footage showing the steaming of ti leaf root, the beginning of the ʻōkolehao-making process, 1987.
B-roll footage showing an ʻimu full of ti leaf root being opened, a beginning step in the making of ʻōkolehao, 1987.
To explore more of our digitized collections of raw footage with ʻUluʻulu, visit:
Hawaiian Legacy Foundation: Eddie & Myrna Kamae.