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Pua Līlia

Written by Alfred Alohikea, one of Eddie’s favorite composers. The story explores the music and political legacy of Alohikea and his exquisite use of ʻōlelo and kaona in his songs. The story highlights Mama Lilia Lydia Hale’s explanation of the song and how its use of kaona is reflective of a Hawaiian way. For Eddie, this song was a reminder that “there’s music in the language and it gives the song more life.”

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 documentary, Words Earth & Aloha: The Source of Hawaiian Music. Performed by Gary Haleamau. © ℗ The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation. All rights reserved.

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.

On Alfred Alohikea’s use of kaona in his songwriting and Mama Hale explaining the kaona in his song “Pua Līlia” from the documentary Words Earth & Aloha: The Source of Hawaiian Music.

Gary Haleamau sings the song “Pua Līlia” for the documentary Words Earth & Aloha: The Source of Hawaiian Music at Pololū on Hawaiʻi island in 1993.

B-roll footage of a calla lily (pua līlia) with the Koʻolau mountains in the background.

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

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