Kumu Hula Cody Pueo Pata is one of four composers featured in a new project, Ka Haku Mele, an audiovisual exhibit that aims to highlight the importance of haku mele, or Hawaiian language song composition. For the featured artists and kumu, it goes beyond just songwriting — it’s about unlocking the messages packed into the rich oral tradition of their kupuna. — Photo courtesy of Kahuli Leo Le‘a
“Imagine a world without the written word,” begins a webpage introduction to the innovative “Ka Haku Mele” album project. “No books. No texting. No writing of any kind. It is quite difficult to imagine — almost impossible in a time when everything that matters must be written down. Imagining such a world brings us closer to the experience of our kupuna — Kanaka ‘Oiwi who relied solely on oral traditions to communicate with each other, between generations, and with their beloved environment. Without the written word, our kupuna embedded knowledge in a different container: mele.”
As part of a movement to elevate and enhance Hawaiian language composition, Maui Kumu Hula Keali’i Reichel and Cody Pueo Pata teamed with Na Hoku Hanohano Award-winning musicians Kainani Kahaunaele and Zachary Lum to compile the pioneering “Ka Haku Mele” recording.
“We want to be able to make sure that people remember that the process of haku mele is not simply, I’m going to write a song in the Hawaiian language,” explained Lum, the album’s producer. “There’s a whole process, procedure and methodology behind this cultural practice. There’s a whole community of haku mele who descend from various lineages of knowledge, and the album represents four very different approaches.”
Featuring 12 new compositions aimed at demonstrating the unique attributes of haku mele (Hawaiian language song composition), the album is accompanied by videos, released throughout September, where the four composers provide insight into their creative process.
“Zack Lum and I have been talking for a few years about the quality of modern composition, and possible ways we can influence modern haku mele, which are composers,” said Pata. “We had several meetings over Zoom and we wanted to get a bearing on what the album would accomplish and how cohesive the mele would be.”
Kumu Hula Keali‘i Reichel contributed three compositions to the project, including one that speaks to his love of the Pi‘iholo area and the importance it holds in Hawaiian culture and consciousness. — Photo courtesy of Kahuli Leo Le‘a
Reichel’s new compositions include “Nani Wale ‘o Pi’iholo,” “No ‘Umaleimakani” and “Ode to a House,” while Pata’s mele includes “Kapua,” “Ipo Ka’upu” and “Kahalaoweke.”
In his marvelous video for “Nani Wale ‘o Pi’iholo,” Reichel talks about his love for the Upcountry area and how, “Pi’iholo was in the consciousness of our lahui 100 years ago. It was so important that you find lots of chants and lots of songs. Even our ali’i would write mele for Maui, and inevitably they would do a verse or have Pi’iholo mentioned. People don’t know abut Pi’iholo and that is why I started writing songs for that space.”
“To have Keali’i on this project and allow him through videos to articulate what he’s actually trying to get across, that’s a gem,” said Lum.
The kumu of Halau Hula ‘o Ka Malama Mahilani, Pata composed the song “Kahalaoweke,” which references a famed hala grove in Hana and pays tribute to those who weave lauhala hats. Describing various place names and weather patterns found in Hana, in an accompanying video, he talks about how the mele has deeper meanings embedded.
“There isn’t another song like that on the album that is instructional,” Pata said. “Outwardly it does extol various wahi pana, various places in Hana, but you can tease out the deeper meanings that serve as mnemonic devices for weavers.”
A multiple Na Hoku winner with his group Keahou, Lum contributed new compositions for the project that include “He Mele Hua Inoa no Kuaola Kamaleiokauhale,” which explores the naming of his son, and is highlighted with a very cute accompanying video. The second verse references Maui and Haleakala.
“It was very personal and really cool to be able to dig into a very specific kind of composition,” he noted.
Devising the project to “capture another level of Hawaiian fluency,” Lum views it as a form of ancestral technology, “utilizing the language in specific ways. Hawaiian language has so much facility to say so many things in so few words. So if you utilize that in the mele composition process, I get to tack in a whole bunch of data in a few lines. It’s a whole knowledge system.”
Pata hopes the unique album will help generate a deeper understanding of the mele process and “inspire ideas about what’s possible.”
“Not that we’re the pinnacle of what’s possible, but to show we expect more,” Pata said. “There’s a vast variety of Hawaiian language composition today, but because of language difficulties or lack of exposure to traditional forms of composition, we become inundated with the types of mele that we term malani, which is very shallow, very surface. We’re also now inundated with songs that are highly influenced by the literal nature of English, and we’re also inundated with songs where they’re basically speaking English using Hawaiian words. They are all legitimate categories, but I hope this project inspires anybody to dig deeper into the possibilities we can accomplish through mele, through the practice of haku mele.”
Lum has also spearheaded another compilation, which will be released in October, featuring new songs composed for different Hawaiian homesteads. One of the songs, “Paukukalo,” by Pata with Kamalei Kawa’a, was released as a single on May Day.
“Ka Haku Mele” is streaming on all digital music platforms. It’s made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. The project is available at kahulileolea.org.
Today's breaking news and more in your inbox
The Maui News Maui County Department of Finance Director Scott Teruya was placed on administrative leave on last ...
Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, formerly on Front Street in Lahaina Town and destroyed by the fire, announced the ...
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7rq3UoqWer6NjsLC5jqecsKtfobykrctmpZ6vo2R%2FcX6RaGdyZ5OhvLSx0WarqGWknbJusdepnKuhlaOwpnnOn2SoraJiuLa81KeYaA%3D%3D