He aloha moku o Keawe

[Photo: S.S. Australia leaving the dock in Honolulu Harbor; Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Photo by Christian J. Hedemann. SP 207229.] [Photo: S.S. Australia; Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Photo by Christian J. Hedemann. SP 207230.] He aloha moku o Keawe Happy Mele Monday! Sailing aboard the S.S. Australia, Emalia Kaihumua set out for California to perform hula overseas. While living […]

Nani Nuʻuanu i ka ua pehi lehua a ka puʻulena

[Photo: Solomono Huihui, ca. 1923; Lunalilo Home, Honolulu, Oʻahu. SP 115402.] Nani Nuʻuanu i ka ua pehi lehua a ka Puʻulena Happy Mele Monday! Today’s mele was composed by a man named Penimana and contributed to the collection by Solomono Huihui of Honolulu. A resident of Lunalilo Home, Solomono was one of nine kūpuna who […]

Kīlauea ke aloha

[Photo: Mokulau, Maui and interisland steamer, Kīlauea; Hawaiʻi, May 1922. SP 50114.] Kīlauea ke aloha Happy Mele Monday! “On June 28, 1860, the Kilauea, a screw steamer of 414 tons built for the [Hawaiian Steam Navigation Company] in East Boston, arrived at Honolulu and soon afterward began her long and varied career in the interisland […]

Pehea mai ʻoe, ē Malulani?

[Photo: Mr. George Beckley (seated) with Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (standing); Hawaiʻi. SP 54164] Pehea mai ʻoe, ē Malulani? Happy Mele Monday! Today’s featured composition keeps us basking in the afterglow of Father’s Day. This mele, composed by Mrs. Kinoole Pittman, was written for William C. Beckley and dedicated to his son George Beckley. (Mele […]

ʻIke iā Hawaiʻi he ʻāina nui

[Photo: Group of Hawaiian fishermen and children posed in front of outrigger canoes, ca. 1905; Puna, Hawaiʻi. Photo by H.R. Hanna. SP_103652] ʻIke iā Hawaiʻi he ʻāina nui Happy Mele Monday! Contributed to the collection by Thomas E. Cooke of Hilo, todayʻs featured mele recalls significant places on Hawaiʻi island, namely in the Puna district. […]

Aia i Kohala kaʻu aloha

[Photo: View of coastal Kawaihae, Hawaiʻi; ca. 1908; SP 101273] Aia i Kohala kaʻu aloha Happy Mele Monday! Contributed to the collection by Kapeliela Malani of Kawaihae, Kohala, today’s composition is a mele aloha. Alluding to emotions of grief and hope, the composer of this mele expresses the deep pain of discovering the unfaithfulness of […]

Aloha au ʻo kahi wai o Peleʻula

[Photo: View up Nuʻuanu Valley toward the Pali. Pauoa Valley is on the right, and Rooke Valley is on the left behind the Country Club. Puʻu Konahuanui (3105 ft.) is visible on the upper right, and Puʻu Lanihuli (2775 ft.) is at left center; ca. 1929, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. Photo by the 11th Photo Section, Air […]

Kū ka ʻoliʻoli i nā moku

[Photo: Lunalilo Home; Makiki, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. SP 30899] [Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Smith with a group of Hawaiians from Lunalilo Home, ca.1915; Hawaiʻi. SP 41676] [Photo: Portrait of King William Charles Lunalilo in uniform, seated; Hawaiʻi. Photo by H. L. Chase, Bishop Museum Archives. SP 41665] Previous Next Happy Mele Monday! “Never before had […]

Nani wale ka huila o Kīlauea

[Photo: Visitors at Kīlauea Point Lighthouse; Kīlauea, Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi. Photo by Laurence Hata, Bishop Museum Archives. SP 216360] Nani wale ka huila o Kīlauea Happy Mele Monday! Completed in 1913 and situated at the northernmost point of Kauaʻi, the Kīlauea Lighthouse was the first landfall seen by vessels sailing in from the west. Beaming at […]

E aha ʻia ana ʻo Mauna Kea

[Photo: A man, several women, and a girl wearing lei and posed on a mat, ca. 1890; Hawaiʻi. Photo by Hadley. SP 206852] E aha ʻia ana ʻo Mauna Kea Happy Mele Monday! “When the lei of flowers withered and was discarded, the lei of poetry remained always as a reminder of a happy occasion.”- Mary Kawena Pukui, Directions […]