Mele no Kauila
copyright 2000, D. Leilehua Yuen

 

 

Ae, He Mele no Kauila

1) He mele no Kauila, kaikamahine no Punalu`u 

2) He honu li`ili`i, `au`au i ke kai 

3) He hoa no nā kamali`i, hia`ai a nā mākua 

4) Hilahila i nā malihini, lu`u i ka pūnāwai 

5) Pōhāhāwai `ehehene lā, he inoa no Kauila 

He inoa no, Kauila, Kaikamahine no Punalu`u

 

Yes, a song of Kauila

1) A song of Kauila, the girl of Punalu`u
2) She's a little tiny turtle who swims in the sea
3) She's a friend to the children, so the grownups are happy
4) She is shy before strangers, so she dives into her pond
5) Bubbles mean she's giggling. In the name of Kauila.

In the name of Kauila, the little girl of Punalu`u

 
Kauila is a kupua, a guardian spirit, of the area of Punalu`u. With her magical powers, she changes from a turtal to a girl and back again. Punalu`u means "water dived for." Fresh water is rare in the district of Ka`u, and though there are spirngs, they are under the sea. So people used to have to dive down to them, pulling gourds with them under the water. Jamming the neck of the gourd into the spring, the water pressure would fill the gourd with fresh water and the diver would swim back to the surface with the precious find. 

Here is a link to a site with edcational materials about sea turtles: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/CITE/st_activity.htm