Traditional song set to music by Eddie Kamae. The story shares how Eddie came across this song when he was interviewing kūpuna for his film Listen the Forest. William Kuwalu of Kekaha, Kauaʻi shared the song and his memory of hunting in the deep forests beyond Kōkeʻe with his father and uncle and coming upon a singularly beautiful tree for whom the song is named. For Eddie, the song was another example of how our music is inspired by the natural beauty of the environment.
Pūʻolo contains
- lyrics and translations
- song story
- educational questions
- music sheets
- bibliography
- resources from 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.
William Kuwalu shares about the day he first saw the tree filled with native birds in the song “Sweet Hāhā ʻAi A Ka Manu” in the documentary Listen to the Forest.
Eddie Kamae performs “Sweet Hāhā ʻAi A Ka Manu” with Claybourne “Braddah Smitty” Smith, Dagan Bernstein, and Duane Yamada at the PASA’s Night Club in Waimea, Hawaiʻi in 2009.
Short preview clip of Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawaiʻi (George Kuo, Joe Marshall and Claybourne “Braddah Smitty” Smith) performing “Sweet Hāhā ʻAi A Ka Manu” for the documentary Listen to the Forest in 1991.
Short preview clip of Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawaiʻi (Joe Marshall, Claybourne “Braddah Smitty” Smith, Dennis Kamakahi, George Kuo, and Ocean Kaowili) performing “Sweet Hāhā ʻAi A Ka Manu” live at Sea Life Park, Oʻahu in 1991.
William Kuwalu shares about playing the slack key guitar for the documentary, Kī Hōʻalu Slack Key: The Hawaiian Way.
Short preview clip of Eddie Kamae performing “Sweet Hāhā ʻAi A Ka Manu” with Claybourne “Braddah Smitty” Smith, Dagan Bernstein, and Duane Yamada at the PASA’s Night Club in Waimea, Hawaiʻi in 2009.
To explore more of our digitized collections of raw footage with ʻUluʻulu, visit:
Hawaiian Legacy Foundation: Eddie & Myrna Kamae.