This is a proud time for all of Hawaiʻi. Our celebrated sailing canoe Hōkūleʻa is circumnavigating the globe to share the message of Mālama Honua, to care for island earth.

Here in Hawaiʻi, our very own KS Kapālama students are preparing to honor our Polynesian seafaring ʻohana at the 95th annual Song Contest. This year’s theme is “He moku, he kanaka: Celebrating Our Pacific Seafaring Heritage.” To provide some insight into this event, we interviewed ʻElia Akaka, the freshmen class song leader.

“Holo i ke kai”
The freshmen boys and girls will be singing the song “Holo i ke Kai” with lyrics by Keliʻi Tauʻā and music by Kenneth Makuakāne.

“This is a fun song… A song that encourages the youth of Hawaiʻi to go out on the ocean and sail the seas” said ʻElia. The song is arranged by Bowe Souza, facilities coordinator at Kaʻiwakīloumoku. “The song is arranged so that you feel like you are on the ocean, with the vocals going up and down like the ocean and flowing like the wind” said Bowe.

I Maikaʻi ke kalo i ka ʻohā
This Hawaiian proverb says, “The goodness of the taro is judged by the young plant it produces,” or “Parents are often judged by the behavior of their children.

Being a class song leader is a great responsibility and ʻElia has been raised to shoulder this great responsibility and to carry this privilege. He has a great mentor to look to in his father, Hauʻoli Akaka, currently working as a Hawaiian Cultural Specialist in Hoʻokahua, who has been an emcee at countless concerts and celebrations in Hawaiʻi over the years.

“As a family we are so proud of ʻElia,” says Akaka. “He is the youngest in our family, but carries himself in such a mature way, and is the first in our family to have the privilege of being a song leader.”

ʻElia is able to learn from his father and use those lessons to guide him. “Dad has taught me to be respectful, not to be blinded by this responsibility, be humble, and to care for all of my classmates” said ʻElia. These are good values for a young leader to practice.

Mālama Honua
One of the big goals of Hōkūleʻa’s Mālama Honua voyage is to prepare our future leaders to be ready to take on the responsibilities of caring for our island earth.

“In Mālama Honua, we don’t only take care of our islands, we take care of the entire world and learn our culture and our worldview, and carry it on and use it for the betterment of the world” said ʻElia. Honua can be land, it can be family, and it can be a school, we need to care for all of our honua.

We can see that Kamehameha Schools is helping to prepare our future leaders to be ready to Mālama Honua. So join us by tuning in and supporting Kamehameha Schools’ future leaders this Friday March 20 at 6:30 pm on KGMB.

MĀLAMA HONUA, MĀLAMA ‘OHANA

He wā haʻaheo kēia no kākou nā Hawaiʻi i ka holo ʻana o ko kākou waʻa kaulana ʻo Hōkūleʻa a puni ka honua me ka manaʻo e mālama honua.

Ma Hawaiʻi nei, ke hoʻomākaukau nei nā haumāna o Kamehameha Kapālama e hoʻohanohano i ko kākou ʻohana waʻa ma ka hoʻokūkū hīmeni kanaiwa kumamālima. ʻO “He moku, He kanaka: Celebrating Our Pacific Seafaring Heritage” ke poʻomanaʻo o ka hoʻokūkū o kēia makahiki. I mea e nui aʻe ai ka ʻike no kēia papahana, ua nīnauele ʻia ʻo ʻElia Akaka, ke alakaʻi hīmeni o ka papa 9 e pili ana i nā mele e hīmeni ʻia ana.

“Holo i ke kai”
E hīmeni ana nā haumāna a pau o ka papa 9 i ke mele “Holo I Ke Kai” i haku ʻia e Keliʻi Tauʻā me ka leo o ke mele na Kenneth Makuakāne.

“He mele leʻaleʻa ia” wahi a ʻElia, “he mele e paipai ai i nā pua, nā keiki, e hele i ke kai, a e holo i ka moana.” Ua hoʻonohonoho ʻia ke mele e Bowe Souza, ʻo ia ke kahu mālama hale ma Kaʻiwakīloumoku. Wahi a Bowe, “Ua hoʻonohonoho ʻia kēia mele me he mea lā aia nō ʻoe ma ke kai. Hiki ke lohe i nā leo e piʻi a e iho ana e like me nā nalu o ke kai, a e pā aheahe ana kekahi mau leo e like me ka makani.”

“I maikaʻi ke kalo i ka ʻohā”
ʻIke ʻia he kuleana nui ko ke alakaʻi hīmeni, akā ua hānai ʻia ʻo ʻElia me ka mākaukau e ʻauamo i kēia ʻano kuleana. He mea kuluma na kona makuakāne, ʻo Hauʻoli Akaka, ka lilo ʻana i waha ʻōlelo ma nā ʻaha mele a me nā hoʻokūkū hula like ʻole ma nā makahiki i hala. Wahi a Hauʻoli,

“Haʻaheo nō mākou i kā ʻElia hana. ʻO ia ka muli loa o ka ʻohana, akā me he kanaka makua lā kāna hana. A eia kekahi, ʻo ʻElia ka mua ma ka ʻohana e lilo i alakaʻi hīmeni, a haʻaheo nō ka ʻohana iā ia.”

ʻOiai, he mau alakaʻi maikaʻi kā ʻElia ma ka hale, hiki iā ia ke noi i kona makuakāne i ke kākoʻo. “Aʻo maila ʻo Pāpā iaʻu ka hōʻihi: Mai hele a makapō a naʻaupō, a e mālama i ke kanaka nui a me ke kānaka iki.” He mau loina waiwai nō hoʻi kēia no ke alakaʻi ʻōpiopio.

“Mālama Honua”
ʻO kekahi manaʻo nui o ke kaʻapuni honua ʻana o ka Hōkūleʻa, ʻo ia nō ka hoʻomākaukau ʻana i nā alakaʻi hou, i hiki iā lākou ke ʻauamo i ke kuleana o ka mālama ʻana i ka honua.

Wahi a ʻElia, “Ma Mālama Honua, ʻaʻole ʻo ka mokupuni wale nō ke mālama ʻia, akā e mālama i ka honua holoʻokoʻa, aʻo i kou mau loina a me kou kuanaʻike a e hoʻomau, e hoʻohana no ka pono o ka honua.” He honua ka ʻāina, he honua kou ʻohana, he honua kou kula, he pono ke mālama kākou i nā honua a pau.

 A hiki ke ʻike, ke hānai nei nā Kula ʻo Kamehameha i ko kākou mau alakaʻi Hawaiʻi me ka mākaukau e mālama honua. No laila, e kākoʻo kākou i nā pua kaulana o Kamehameha i kēia Pōʻalima Malaki 20, 2015 ma ka hapalua hola ʻeono o ke ahiahi (6:30 pm) ma KGMB.

ʻElia Akaka leads his classmates in the mele, “Holo i ke Kai” arranged by Kaʻiwakīloumoku Facilities Coordinator and musician Bowe Souza (on piano.)

The students try to emulate the sounds of the ocean and the wind as they follow ʻElia Akaka’s lead.

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