Pililua, 71, 1861

An elegy for Pililua

("He Kanikau no Pililua", Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, January 25, 1862)

A loving lament for Pililua,¹
For my mother, who has gone away,
Passed on to the road of no return,
She has departed all alone.
Leaving so very many of us.
Has she perhaps reached Kulanihakoi?²
My mother of the moae³ wind,
From the land where the rain makes one cling behind rock walls,⁴
There are so many of us with aloha for her,
Aloha for her face that has vanished,
Aloha for the body that has been left empty,
She is not there. She has gone away.
A love that has proceeded on to Hiikua,⁵
My mother, with her soothing affection,
A parent asleep in the dark night of winter,
My mother of the gentle calm,
Of the surging whitecaps of the open sea,
There are so many of us with aloha for her,
With tears falling like a downpour,
As if it is the month of Ikua,⁶
Coming in such droves,
From the natives of the land
My mother, a parent who was like a great house
A parent that was my shelter,
Are you at Hoohokukalani?⁷
In the red mist of the drifting cloud?
There are so many of us with aloha for her,
My mother, from where rain drums on the houses,⁸
From the gentle, tender wind,
My mother from the land of the plentiful fish,
The fish with the quiet voices that rest calmly,⁹
We have such great aloha for you,
Pililua, the one who has passed away.

Her number of years amounted to 71 from the day she was born until the day she died. Even though she lived until old age, she was not frail when she passed away.

From the day she married her husband until her death, they had spent 35 years together. During their time together they did not break their marriage vows, because her husband was L. Kohoouluwaa, who had a blessed covenant with Christ and placed trust in Him, and was a church leader in Kaupo as well.

Because he had been with his deceased wife for so long, his sorrow is great. They did not argue or fight. Their marriage was one of the first in Kaupo. She passed on as a beloved one.

H. H. K. KAHOOULUWAA.
Lole, Kaupo, Jan. 1862.¹⁰

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Below is the obituary in the original Hawaiian:

He Kanikau no Pililua

He kanikau aloha no Pililua,
No kuu makuahine i hele aku nei,
Ua hala aku la i ke ala hoi ole mai,
Ua hala aku la oia wale no—e.
Noho makou ka nui ka lehulehu—a,
Ua hiki aku la paha i Kulanihakoi?
Kuu makuahine o ka makani Moae—e,
Mai ka ua pili pa pohaku hoi o ka aina—la,
Aloha ia, aloha no hoi makou kona nui,
Aloha kona maka i ka nalo loa—e,
Aloha ke kino i ke kaawale ana la,
Aole ia, ua hala aku nei la—e,
Hala ke aloha naue ma Hiikua,
Kuu makuahine o ke aloha hoolailai,
Makua hoi o ka po loa o ka hooilo ke moe.
Kuu makuahine o ke aheahe malie,
O ka ale hookuakea mai i ka moana,
Aloha ia, aloha no hoi makou, kona nui,
Ke haluku nei ka waimaka me he kuaua—la
Me he mea la o ka malama ia o Ikua,
Hele no ia ka nui ka manoanoa—la,
Ke kupa ke kamaaina o ka aina—e,
Kuu makuahine o ka hale makua nui hoi,
Kuu opu malumalu e malu ai ka makua,
Aia aku la paha oe iloko o Hoohokukalani?
Iloko o ka Punohu ula i ke ao kalelewa—e,
Aloha ia, aloha no hoi makou kona nui,
Kuu makua mai ka ua kukala hale—e,
Mai ke koaheahe makani kolonahe—la,
Kuu makua mai ka i-a kanaka nui,
Mai ka i-a hamahamau i ka leo e noho malie,
E aloha ia oe, aloha ia makou he nui,
O Pililua ka mea i make.

Mai kona la i hanau ai a hiki i kona la i make ai, o ka nui o kona mau makahiki he kanahikukumamakahi, a ua kahiko no hoi ka noho ana, aole nae oia i nawaliwali a hele aku nei i ka make.

Mai kona la hoi i mare ai me kana kane a hiki i kona make ana, o ka nui o na makahiki o ko laua noho pu ana he 35. Iloko o ko laua noho ana, aole laua i uhai i ke kanawai no ka mare ana, no ka mea, o kana kane o L. Kahoouluwaa, eia no iloko o ka Berita hoopomaikai o Karisto, eia no ia malaila e hilinai nei, oia no hoi kekahi luna Ekalesia o Kaupo nei.

A no ka loihi o kona noho pu ana me kana wahine i hala aku nei i ka make, nolaila, he nui kona kanikau ana ia ia, aole laua i hakaka, aole no hoi i kue, a o laua no hoi na mare mua o Kaupo nei. Ua hala ia me ke aloha.

H. H. K. KAHOOULUWAA.
Lole, Kaupo, Ian. 1861.

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Footnotes

1. The year of death in the title (1861) is an estimate based on the date of the obituary.
2. According to a Hawaiian language dictionary, Kulanihakoi is a “mythical pond or lake in the sky; its overflow comes to the earth as rain”.
3. Trade winds.
4. “Ka ua pili pa pohaku”, a variation of a common poetic saying about Kaupo.
5. A variation of a common poetic saying about death. See entry No. 36 in the book “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings“.
6. The name of a stormy month in the traditional Hawaiian calendar.
7. Although Hoohokukalani is often cited as the name of a Hawaiian goddess, here it appears to refer to a place.
8. In Hawaiian, “ka ua kukala hale”, possibly a reference to Honolulu. See entry No. 1575 in “ʻŌlelo Noʻeau”.
9. In Hawaiian, “ka i-a hamahamau i ka leo e noho malie,”, possibly a reference to Ewa according to the legend of Kawelo.
10. The original article has Jan. 1861 here, likely a typo for the year.