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Oli / Pule / Mele

(Chants, prayers, songs)

Oli Kahea / Oli Komo

customized for Pono Outdoor by Nāpua Hū'eu

The oli kahea is a request for permission to enter, the keiki oli to the kumu (teachers) to show that they are ready to learn and fulfill their kuleana for the day. The kumu respond with the Oli Komo to accept their request and welcome them into the space.

Learning resources for download (PDF document with lyrics and translation; audio recording):

E Hō Mai

by Edith Kanaka'ole

We chant E Hō Mai every morning to open our learning time together. This oli is a request to be granted knowledge and wisdom.

Learning resources for download (PDF document with lyrics and translation; audio recording with call-and-response for practice):

Hoʻonani I Ka Makua Mau

by Louis Boureois, Thomas Ken, and Rev. Hiram Bingham

We sing Ho'onani before eating lunch in gratitude for our food and where it comes from.

Learning resources for download (PDF document with lyrics and translation; audio recording with call-and-response for practice):

Oli Mahalo

by Kehau Camara

We close our day with Oli Mahalo in gratitude and aloha for all we have shared and learned together. 

Learning resources for download (PDF document with lyrics and translation; audio recording with call-and-response for practice):

Mele Helu Pō

(Moon song with hula, author unknown)

Mele Helu Pō helps us keep track of the daily moon phases according to the traditional Hawaiian calendar. We follow each phase as it relates to farming, fishing, lifestyle, tides, and more.

Video with hand gestures below (notice we start with the right hand and after full moon end with the left hand as in the sides of illumination of the moon). Learning resources for download (PDF document with lyrics and translation; audio recording with call-and-response for practice):

Nā ʻAumākua

Adapted from Hawaiian Antiquities by David Malo 

We chant Nā 'Aumākua usually on Fridays as oli komo (entrance chant) when we enter into a different ahupua'a, somewhere new, or a sacred site. The insertion of "Ke Kula Pono o Maui" is for us as a collective "Pono Outdoor Program". If you wish to learn this oli for individual use with your name, there is slight variation in lyrics (additional PDF attached). 

Learning resources for download (PDF document with lyrics and translation; audio recording with call-and-response for practice):

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