A Solemness, an  Expression of Affection for G. W. Kanuha.

[Aia aku la paha oe i ka aina hanau,
Ia Kona kai opua i ka lai,
Opua hinano ua malie
Hiolo na wainaoa a ke kehau,
Aole—eia ka paha i na hono a Piilani,
I ka lai o Hauola,
I ka malu o ka Ulu o Lele
E holoholo kuaua paupili ana.
Auwe! Aloha ino.]

Perhaps you are at the land of your birth,
Kona of the billowing clouds on the sea in the calm,
The clouds white like hinano blossoms,
Where the chilling waters of the Kehau mists fall,
No—maybe you are here amongst the bays of Piilani,
In the calm of Hauola,
In the shade of the Breadfruit of Lele,
Travelling about like the Paupili showers.
Auwe! How sad.

George W. Kanuha was born in 1845 in the town of Kailua, North Kona, Hawaii, of the streaked sea, the peaceful sea at Kalaiaehu, ever moistened by the amazing rains of the land of his birth in the face of the clouds. And he passed on to the other side of the black river, that line before the animals life and plant life which forever moves toward the final Great Revelation in the City of heaven. On the 16th day of this month, G. W. Kanuha travelled one last time in the shade of the ulu trees of Lele [Lahaina] in the sparkling sun and the red dirt of his welcoming home, sinking into the eternal home, the belly of the earth following after papa and mama. Aloha ino.

Ahukinialaa Wahineiki was his father, a student of Lahainaluna College, from the very beginning of the school in 1831, he boarded at that school until he graduated with the fluttering flag upon his Diploma. Mrs. Kealoha Wahineiki was his mother. G. W. Kanuha was an only child. Continue reading →