Ka Lei Moana
Ka Lei Moana
“The Encircling Garland of the Sea”
The theme of the ceremony is “Many Rivers, One Ocean.” When its meaning was shared with Hawaiian language scholar Puakea Nogelmeier, he wrote the oli, “Ka Lei Moana,” (The Encircling Garland of the Sea). The following are the words of this gift.
Ma nā ēweewe o ke ao kanaka
Kawowo mai a kukupu nui aʻe
E laha lā i uka, laha nō i kai
I laulaha a puni ka honua nei ē
E ala ē, e ala ē…
The life-giving waters forever rise forth
Through the lineages of this human realm
Sprouting and thriving abundantly
Throughout the uplands, down to the shore
Spreading all over the world
Awaken and arise
This verse speaks about how the life-giving essence flows through all humans, like water causing seeds to sprout forth, and as we carry that essence everywhere in the world, mountaintop to shore, we encircle the globe with our “many waters.”
Kilikilihune mai ka noenoe lani
Pulu pē ka lau lāʻau o ka wao nahele
Manamana maila nā māno wai o uka
A kahe ka wai ola i nā ʻōhāwai o Uli ē
E ala ē, e ala ē…
Mountain peaks wear a mantle of the mists
Heavenly moisture raining finely down
The groves of the forests are soaked
Branching waters flow toward the sea
Living waters stream down Uli’s flumes
Awaken and arise
Ola ʻo kai i ka pili kahawai
Kaʻakaʻa nā maka i ke ao ākea
I ka ulu māhuahua o ka ʻāina
Kaheāwai kānaka i ke ala o ke ola ē
E ala ē, e ala ē…
The highlands thrive in the drops of rain
The shore thrives in the flowing streams
The eyes behold the expansive world
How the land grows and flourishes
Mankind sweeps along the path of life
Awaken and arise
E nehenehe mai ana i ka ʻae one
A he lihi hukākai ko ka muliwai
I ke kahe ʻana aku i ka moana
Manomano kahawai puni i ka moana nui ē
E ala ē, e ala ē…
The great sea garlands this living isle
Ever whispering along its sandy shores
Rivers grow brackish, crossing the bound
As they flow out into the sea
Many are the rivers, bounded by one great sea
Awaken and arise
na Puakea Nogelmeier 3/2013
