A mele by Joseph Nawahi for his wife Emma Aima, 1936.

A HAWAIIAN MELE.

Some day later, we were asked at our Hoku publishing office, of the songs which were sung at the funeral of Mrs. Aima Nawahi on the last Sunday of this past year. The mele sung on that day were famous songs in “Leo Hoonani a me Hoku Ao Nani.”¹ They were not all shown and there were others, like “Mai Kuu Kaumaha Luuluu a Po,” and the young girls of Haili sang those songs with beautiful lyrics.

There were also hymns sung by some girls who were close to Aunty Aima, and they were sung with such sweetness. The mele sung by the Kaahumanu Society was this one. “Ma ko Iesu mau lima,” and some others as well.

The main reason that this question was asked, was because of the great admiration for the hymns composed by the devout in years gone by. There is someone writing down some old mele in a book to be distributed, and these hymns are wanted by this person writing down Hawaiian mele as something new for him. Another admired mele sung at the funeral of Mrs. Nawahi was that mele composed by Mr. Nawahi before their marriage. Here are the lines of that mele that are recalled partially, and recalled at that time.

Nana aku iluna
He star e alohi ana
Ua like me sweet rose
Me Fairy Puakoolau.

Hui
Aheahe mai ke kehau of the twilight
Pa mai ke ala onaona oia of my dear
Please wau e kiss i ke ala oia pua
And not Forgetting the sweet Lei Lehua

Hoi iho au e moe
Hiki ana o sweet rose
E naue ae kaua
I kuu home iuiu.

This is a mele that was sung all the time by the women of those days, and the lyrics are beautiful. There are many other lovely mele by Hawaiians that we remember, but when it is thought to sing it, we totally forget the words.

¹Leo Hoonani a me Hoku Ao Nani. Honolulu: Ka Papa Hawaii, 1902.

[This mele is printed earlier in Hoku o Hawaii on 1/3/1936 and the article itself is a reprint from 1/7/1936.]

(Hoku o Hawaii, 1/15/1936, p. 3)

Ka Hoku o Hawaii, Buke XXVII, Helu 29, Aoao 3. Ianuari 15, 1936.