Being an isolated community, Kaupo residents of old were required to provide their own entertainment, including pastimes such as baseball. In addition to sports, music played an integral role in the district.
Historical records paint a picture of a thriving musical scene in Kaupo, and the beauty of the area has inspired songwriters in times past as well as in the current day.
Music in the community
Public gatherings were natural venues for music. For example, the video below shows musicians entertaining from the porch of Kaupo Store during a campaign rally in 1938.
Religious events also frequently featured music. On the Protestant side, an article about a convention of East Maui Sunday schools in October 1913 shows a schedule filled with hymns:
Ma ka hora 10 a. m. ua hoomaka na hana hoike o na Kula Sabati ame C. E. o Maui Hikina elike me na mea i hoolalaia i kulike ai me ka papa hoonohonoho malalo iho nei:
Himeni, “Nauwe mai i ke Kula Sabati.” Pule, Rev. L. M. Mitchell.
Hoike o ke Kula Sabati Pilipino, Kipahulu. Hihemi hui, “Ala e Ano.”
Hoike C. E. Nahiku. Himeni hui, “Ka Bele Sabati.”
Lulu dala, $52.10. Himeni hui, “E Ala no ka Pono.”
Hoike Kula Sabati, Kipahulu; Keanae C. E.; Wananalua; Hooulu Lahui C. E. Himeni hui, “Ku, Ku a Paio.”
Hoike Kula Sabati Keanae; hoike C. E. Mokulau. Himeni hui, “Hui Alu no Iesu.”
(At 10 a.m., the presentations of the Sunday schools and C. E. [Christian Endeavor societies] of East Maui began, following the schedule below:
Hymn, “Come Away to the Sabbath School”. Prayers, the Rev. L. M. Mitchell.
Presentation of the Filipino Sunday School of Kipahulu. Hymn, “Though the Time Is Short”.
Presentation of the Nahiku C. E. Hymn, “The Sabbath Bell”.
Offerings, $52.10. Hymn, “Rally for the Right”.
Presentation of the Kipahulu Sunday school, Keanae C. E., Wananalua and Hooulu Lahui C. E. Hymn, “Strike, O Strike for Victory”.
Presentation of the Keanae Sunday school; presentation of the C. E. of Mokulau1. Hymn, “Unity Must Victory Bring”.)
For Catholic residents, music performances included Gregorian chants, such as at the rededication service for St. Joseph church in May 1938.
On a somber note, funerals were another common event to feature music, such as that described in the obituary in 1916 for 1-year-old Lopine Kala:
Ua malamaia he halawai haipule nona ma ka home o na makua; i ka hookuu ana, ua maneleia kona kino wailua no kona home lua e kona mau kaikuaana liilii no lakou ka huina he ewalu, e ukali pu ana hoi ka ohana no lakou ka huina he kanaha, ma keia huakai hoolewa i alakai ia e ke Kainehe Club, ua komo pu ae iloko o keia club o Leonard Kahua, kekahi limahei ma ka lawe palanehe ana i na kaula eono o Uwehone. Auwe! He u’i, he nani, he hone ka leo o na pila, me he manu la e kikiko’u ana i ka liko o ka lehua, e hea ana i ke kama ma kona poli pumehana.
Oiai ka huakai e nee mau ana imua, a i ka hookuu ana iho o ka leo o na pila, o ia ka, wa a ka huakai i mele ai, “Eia no lakou e Iesu.” Auwe, me he leo la no na anela e hea ana i ke kama ma ka poli o ka Makua Lani, no ka mea, o ka poe elike me lakou nei no lakou ke aupuni o ke Akua. Mat. 10-14.
I ka hiki ana o ka huaka’i i ka halelua, ua mele ia “Ka Lani Kuu Home.” a pule hoolaaia e L. M. Kala, Jr.
(A memorial service was held at her parents’ home. When the service was over, her body was carried to the grave by her eight sisters, accompanied by 40 family members. This procession was led by the Kainehe Club2. Among the members of this club is Leonard Kahua, a deft strummer of the six strings of the guitar. How beautiful and sonorous the instruments were, like a bird chirping on a lehua bud calling the child to its warm breast.
As the procession continued along, the instruments stopped and the procession sang, “They are coming, Jesus.”3 It was like the voices of angels calling the child to the embrace of the Heavenly Father, because it is such people that are of the kingdom of God. Matthew 10:14.
When the procession reached the grave, “Heaven is My Home”4 was sung, and a prayer of dedication was given by L. M. Kala, Jr.)
Spontaneous musical gatherings occurred as well. In 1910, a correspondent for Hawaiian Gazette, describing a recent trip to Kaupo, wrote that, "This evening, a singing party, gaily decorated with leis, is going from house to house serenading."
In addition to live performances, new technology in the form of the phonograph allowed those in Kaupo to listen to recorded music. In 1918, youths from Keanae visiting Kaupo experienced this firsthand:
Ua pomaikai makou ma ko makou aoao na opio o ka Waikau, i ko makou ike ana i na wahi pana o ka aina kaulana i ka ua peepapoohaku, ahiki loa aku i ka la’i o Nuu, a hoea loa no hoi i ka uka hu’ihu’i o Maua, kahi ame ka home o ka moi o Kaupo, Mr. Antone V. Marciel, Sr., ame kona ohana. Ua hookipaia aku makou me ka maikai, ma ka malumalu o ka home o ka moi o Kaupo, e kekahi o kana hunona wahine, Mrs. Joseph V. Marciel, a he hoahanau hoi no kekahi o na opio o Keanae. He lady oia i piha me ka oluolu ame ke aloha, e hilahila ole iho ai oe e ka malihini, nolaila, oia pu kekahi iloko o ka makou hoomaikai ana. O kekahi mea a makou e poina ole ae ai i keia lede, oiai makou ma kona home ua hookani ae oia i kana phonograph no ka hoonanea ana i na malihini, a o na mele i meleia mai e ka noeau ame ke akamai o ka haole, oia iho keia mau mele: Fair Hawaii ame Aloha Oe.
(For our part, we youths of Waikau feel fortunate to have seen the legendary places in the famous land that makes one hide behind rock walls5, from placid Nuu to the cool uplands of Maua, the homesite of the monarch of Kaupo, Mr. Antone V. Marciel, Sr., and his family. We were welcomed warmly into the shelter of the home of the monarch of Kaupo by one of his daughters-in-law, Mrs. Joseph V. Marciel [Josephine Kealoha Marciel], who is a relative of some of the youths of Keanae. She is a lady full of kindness and love, unreserved with visitors, which is why she is also a recipient of our thanks. One thing we will never forget about this lady is while we were in her home, she played her phonograph to entertain the visitors, and the songs sung by the talented foreigner, namely the songs Fair Hawaii and Aloha Oe.)
According to some, supernatural forces also performed music. Mina Atai (daughter of Josephine Marciel mentioned above), recalled the following about growing up in Kaupo in the early 1900s:
"Kaupo, I heard that kind of thing [night marchers], and my father said “Don’t talk.” You hear sweet music. You know, sometimes we stay night time, and then nobody home. My mother is cooking by the oil stove, we’re sitting down, and we hear this music. You cannot say it’s ukulele or guitar. It’s so sweet. Mama said "Aale walaau, aale walaau." [don't speak] And then pau. Then the next day she said, "Hoolohe mai nei ka huakai." [Listen to the procession.] Or sometimes my father is sitting on the front porch and when we come outside. As soon as they make the hand like that [raises hand], we know it’s something spooky, so we shut up. … We try to make out what kind of instrument, you cannot figure out."
Historic songs
Kaupo residents were not just performers of the music from "outside"; a number of them also composed songs. The district's most prolific songwriter was Scott Hai, whose compositions are detailed in a separate article. Apart from Hai's works, here are other historical songs about Kaupo:
- Kalepa (Matthew Hoonani Kane, circa-1900)
- He Mele no Kaupo (Charles Bromeo Lake, 1903)
- Wailele O Helani (Anna Kamakahulilani Kawaiaea Fautt, 1952)
- Me Ka Nani Ao Kaupo (John Piilani Watkins, 1955)
Kalepa
Kalepa is a gulch on the eastern edge of Kaupo, bordering neighboring Kipahulu district. The song Kalepa was written by Matthew Hoonani Kane (1872-1920), who also wrote another, more well-known song titled Ka Makani Kaili Aloha, relating to a legend of a Kipahulu wind. Kane was a teacher in Kipahulu in 1900 and the Kaupo postmaster in 1905, and so both Kalepa and Ka Makani Kaili Aloha may have been written during this period.
Pono ia ka manao e naue
E ike i ka makani kaulana
Ka ihona, ka piina o Kalepa
Auau i ka wai huihui
He iini, he haupu, he halia
No ka malu ohia o Alelele
Ilaila hoohihi ka manao
Ia wai huihui koni i ka ili
Pili mau no nae kou aloha
Me ka ua pee papohaku
Pau ole no nae kou hoohihi
Ka makani kaili aloha
(Thoughts inevitably wander
To feel the famous wind
The descent and rise of Kalepa
To bathe in the frigid water
A desire, a reflection, a tender thought
Of the shade of the ohia tree at Alelele
Thoughts linger there, entranced
By the cool water that tingles the skin
Though my love is forever bound
To the rain that makes one hide behind rock walls
I will never be released from the enraptured hold
Of the love-snatching wind)
Robert Kanuha and Roland Kanuha, two brothers who grew up in the Kalepa area, made a rare recording of the song Kalepa:
Kimo Alama Keaulana, in his 1988 songbook Puke Mele Volume I, provides an analysis of the lyrics: "The references to chilly water are references to the thrill of lovemaking," he writes.
To add to Keaulana's comments, the up-and-down motion (ka ihona, ka piina), ostensibly referring to traveling the steep cliffs, may also refer to lovemaking.
The final verse hints that the writer is married to someone from Kaupo (the land of the rain that makes one hide behind rock walls) but having an affair with a lover from Kipahulu (land of the love-snatching wind). Kalepa, the boundary between Kaupo and Kipahulu, would thus have made a natural meeting site.
A version of Kalepa in the song files of Irene Murakami, who was born in Kaupo in 1918, is instead entitled Alelele, a gulch next to Kalepa that is also referenced in the song. Murakami's version contains an alternate final verse:
Hoohihi mau no kou manao
I ka makani kaili aloha
Pili mau no nae kou aloha
Me ka ua pee papohaku
(My thoughts will ever be held in thrall
By the love-snatching wind
But my affections will always remain
With the rain that makes one hide behind rock walls)
Despite a slight change in wording and a transposition of the lines, the meaning is essentially the same between as the original final verse.
Finally, an obituary in 1931 in the newspaper Ke Alakai o Hawaii contains references to lines from the song Kalepa:
E aloha ae ana no au i na pali huli lua i ka makani, kaihona, ka piina o Kalepa, hoomaha au i na punawai huihui o ka malu ohia o Alelele, kahi a maua i pili aloha ai. Aole oe e auau hou ana iloko o ia mau punawai malu i ka ohia, manaonao wale.
(Farewell to those cliffs that face each other in the wind, the descent and ascent at Kalepa, resting in the cool spring in the shade of the ohia tree at Alelele, the place where we joined in love. You will no longer be able to bathe in those springs shaded by ohia. How tragic!)
He Mele no Kaupo
ln 1903, Nupepa Kuokoa published He Mele no Kaupo (A Song of Kaupo), by Charles Lake. The song lovingly describes specific areas of Kaupo, no doubt with underlying layers of metaphorical meaning.
Kaulana Kaupo i ka ai loli
Ka i’a maka ole oni i ke one
Onaona na maka o ka moano
I ka hiu ia a wela e ka upena.
I kilohi iho wau e ike i ka nani
Na pali nihoniho hoi o Kou.
A o wau kou hoa a e kohu ai
Oiai na la e wela ana o ke kai.
Ka i no aheaha nei mea nui
A ka Ukiukiu a e loku nei.
He aloha kahi wai o Waiu
Ia wai lelehune mai i ka pali.
Ilaila au i ike iho ai
Ia wai hui konikoni i ka puu.
I kilohi iho au ike i ka nani
I kahi wai kulu mai o Waialoha.
He aloha ka leo hone o ke kai
I ka nehe malie i ka iliili.
Ilaila ike maka iho ka ikena
I ka lawe haaheo a ka upena holo
Ho iho kamakani a he moae
Pulu elo au i ka ehu a ke kai.
Haina ia mai ana kapuana
O ka loli ka’u puni he i’o iwi ole.
Hakuia e Chas. Lake,
Walaauia me ka wauwau ana ia ke kika o Jno. Edwards.
Kaupo.
Kaupo, famous for eating sea cucumbers
The fish with no eyes6 writhing in the sand
Alluring are the eyes of the goatfish
Worked into a frenzy by the net.
I gaze at the beauty
Of the jagged cliffs at Kou.
I am your companion, a fine match
For the days when the sun warms the sea.
Beloved is the calling
Of the Ukiukiu rain pouring down.
Cherished water of Waiu
The water that gushes from the cliff.
There I experienced
The cool water that tingles the throat.
I gazed at the beauty
Of the trickling water of Waialoha.
What fondness for the murmur of the sea
As it gently rustled the stones7.
There can be witnessed the view
Of the net gliding proudly
The moae wind blows
I am soaked by the sea spray.
This has been the story
Of the sea cucumber I crave, a meat with no bones.
Composed by Charles Lake,
Sung to the guitar accompaniment of John Edwards.
Kaupo.
Wailele O Helani
Wailele o Heleni, a song about a waterfall in Manawainui Valley, was written by Anna Kamakahulilani Kawaiaea Fautt (born in Kaupo in 1898) and set to music by her son John Louis Sabey. In in 1952, the pair entered the song in the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation's Song Writing and Composition Contest, where it won second place.
Ua nani wailele o Helani
Me ke kaimana e hulali ana
Ma ka poli o Haleakala
Kuahiwi nani o Maui
Ka lewa a ka naulu
Ike e pono ia ka nani o Helani
Noho mai i ka iu o kuu aina hanau
Mokulau i ka ehu o ke kai
Haina ia mai ana ka puana
Ike pono ia ka nani o Helani
(Beautiful waterfall of Helani
Sparkling like a diamond
On Haleakala’s breast
Beautiful mountain of Maui
With rainclouds in the sky
The beauty of Helani is distinctly seen
Sitting in the sacred area of my homeland
Mokulau in the sea spray
This has been the song
Of witnessing the beauty of Helani)
Me Ka Nani Ao Kaupo
Me Ka Nani Ao Kaupo, perhaps the most covered song about Kaupo, was written by John Piilani Watkins and released on his 1955 album Songs of Hana-Maui.
O oe hoi mai holoholo kaa
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
Ke ala nui kikeekee la
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
Pumehana me ke aloha na ka malihini
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
I ka leo o ka makamaka la
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
Kuu lei i ka maile a he onaona
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
Kuu lei i ka hanaohano la
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
Haina ia mai ana ka puana
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
Kuu onaona i ka maile la
Me ka nani ao Kaupo
(Come let's go for a car ride
And see the beauty of Kaupo
The road has many turns
The beauty of Kaupo
Warm with aloha for the guest
And see the beauty of Kaupo
In the voice of a friend
The beauty of Kaupo
My lei of maile wafts sweetness
And see the beauty of Kaupo
My lei in the place of honor
The beauty of Kaupo
Tell the theme
And see the beauty of Kaupo
My sweetness of the maile
The beauty of Kaupo)
Modern songs
Moving on to current times, Kaupo continues to provide source material for songs, including these three compositions:
- Kaupo (Kahauanu Lake, 1977)
- Song for Kaupo (Kawika Gapero, 1990)
- Maua (Leiohu Ryder, 2003)
Notably, all three of these songwriters have a connection to people mentioned earlier in this article. Kahauanu Lake was the grandson of Charles Lake, composer of the 1903 song He Mele no Kaupo. Similarly, Kawika Gapero was the grandson of famed Kaupo composer Scott Hai. Leiohu Ryder wrote Maua while visiting the home of Josephine Marciel.
Kaupo
Kaupo, by Kahauanu Lake, was first released on the 1977 compilation album Ka Leo Hawai'i and later on the 1980 album Ka Wā Kahiko by the band Kūliaikanu'u. Lake's family was originally from the Puulani area of Kaupo, but Lake's father was the last of the family born there.
Ke ala loa i Kaupo
Poai Haleakala
Aina o na kupuna
Maui no e ka oi
Ike ia e makou
O Manawainui
Ke kai lawaia o Nuu
O ka moana nui
Hoea i Puulani
E hoomaha nei
O Keawepoepoe ma
A me Kealakaula
Na pua a Kahekili
Mohala ia maanei
O Kaheiheimalie
Kau i ka hano
Haina mai ka puana
No ka nani ao Kaupo
Aina o na kupuna
Maui no e ka oi
(The long road to Kaupo
Surrounds Haleakala
Land of the ancestors
Maui is the best
Seen by us were
Manawainui
The fishing grounds of Nuu
The vast ocean
Arrived at Puulani
To rest here
With Keawepoepoema
And Kealakaula
Flowers (descendants) of Kahekili
Blossom here
Kaheiheimalie
You are honored
Tell the story
The beauty of Kaupo
Land of the ancestors
Maui is the best)
It may seem strange to see a song from the 1970s classified as a modern song. However, apart from the age of the song there is the background of the composer to consider. Lake was writing with a nostalgic view of Kaupo's past, compared with the earlier songwriters who were writing and playing for a vibrant existing community.
Song for Kaupo
Song for Kaupo, by Kawika Gapero, was released with his band Pueo on the 1990 album Thru the Eyes of…. Unlike Kahauanu Lake, Gapero (1955-2014) was born in Kaupo. However, he only spent the first few years there before his family moved away. Recalling his time in Kaupo, Gapero wrote: "Although it still exists, it is only a memory to many who knew and called this place home. Many have passed on since its heyday."
Nani wale kuu home
I ka pua i ke kai
I ka makani hawanawana
A o Kaupo
Kuahiwi nani oe
O Haleakala ea
I ka uluwehiwehi
No na kau a kau
E maliu mai oe
E ke aloha la ea
O ka pua roselani
A o na Maui
He Maui nani koolau
O ka punawai
I lawe mai i ke onaona
Maile lau lii
(How beautiful is my home
With its flowers and sea
And whispering wind
Of Kaupo
You beautiful mountain
O Haleakala
With verdure
Through all seasons
Listen to me
Beloved
Of the heavenly rose
Of Maui
Beautiful windward Maui
Where the spring
Carries the scent
Of the small-leaf maile)
Some readers may recall a cooking show called Hari's Kitchen, which aired in the 1990s in Hawaii. Gapero's Song for Kaupo was the theme song to that show.
Maua
The song Maua, written by Leiohu Ryder and Akoni Akana, appeared on Ryder's 2003 album Love Returns: E Ho'i Mai Ke Aloha Hou.
Ryder explains the origins of the song in the liner notes to the album: "On a special visit to the Marciel homestead in Maua, Kaupo, this mele aloha came on the wind as we drove the backroads of Maui Loa. After a day of visits to sacred sites, Akoni and I finished the song on the back porch looking at the majesty of Haleakala. This song honors the love tutu Kealoha [Josephine Kealoha Marciel] had for Maua."
Nani wale i kau ike
I ke alanui kikeekee
Mai Opalakua i Kahualau
Home hookipa malihini
Nani wale i ke aloha
Hanohano ia uka
Ua ike ia e ka lehulehu
Upa ae a ka manao
Nani wale i ka lai
Lailai e ike mai
Ku kilakila i ka pali uli
Liilii lani a kaua
Haina ke aloha i Keaku
Ku kilakila i ka lai
Ua ike ia e ka lehulehu
Home hookipa malihini
Ke ike aku
E ke aloha
Aia i ka nani ao Maua
(Beautiful indeed in my estimation
On the zig-zag road
From Opalakua to Kahualau
Home of welcoming for strangers
Beautiful indeed is the love
Magnificent uplands
Seen by the multitudes
Thinking and longing
Beautiful indeed is the calm
Tranquility felt
Majestic dark cliffs
Our little heaven
Tell of the love for Keaku
Majestic in the calm
Seen by the multitudes
Home of welcoming for strangers
When I see
The loved one
There in the glory of Maua)
Strikingly, this porch where Ryder and Akana completed Maua is the same porch from which the Marciel family used to hear music from supernatural night marchers.
This porch is also mentioned in the entry for the song Ahulili in the 1982 songbook Nā Mele o Hawai'i Nei: 101 Hawaiian Songs:
"This song has numerous versions. The one following was given to Mary Kawena Pukui and Eleanor Williamson at Kau-pō, Maui, by Mrs. Francis Marciel (née Violet Poepoe) on December 1, 1961. ʻAhulili is a prominent peak easily seen from the lanai of Mrs. Josephine Marciel's home at Kau-pō."
- Huialoha Church.
- Kai nehe, or rustling sea, is a poetic term for the Nuu region of Kaupo.
- A line from the Hawaiian hymn, “Eia no Makou e Iesu” (We Are Coming, Blessed Saviour).
- The Hawaiian version of the hymn “The Angel’s Welcome”.
- A common poetic phrase for Kaupo.
- The sea cucumber.
- A poetic reference to the Nuu region of Kaupo.