Kūkulu, A Tribute to the Pillars of Mauna a Wākea is a compilation album of prayers, chants, songs and spoken word poetry paying tribute to the stance for the protection of Mauna a Wākea (Mountain of Sky Father), also known as Mauna Kea. Many of the selections were contributed by Kiaʻi (Protectors) who spent 2019-2020 on the Ala Hulu Kupuna, the Mauna Kea Access Road, participating in the daily ʻAha ritual and in all efforts to safeguard this sacred mountain. In acknowledgment, recognition and honor, we lift up Mauna a Wākea and all Kūkulu (Pillars), past, present and future. May your heart be filled and may each of you be taken on a journey back to the Ala in ceremony once again.

Mauna Kea Education and Awareness (MKEA) extends a heartfelt mahalo to everyone who made this compilation album possible, including the MKEA Hui and all composers, musicians, chanters, singers, family members, protectors, friends, supporters, and relations in Hawaiʻi and beyond. All lyrics and supplemental information are available on www.mkea.info. Selections are included in the feature film, Standing Above the Clouds. All proceeds are donated to MKEA for the protection of Mauna a Wākea and other sacred places here in Hawaiʻi and everywhere around the world.

Producers: Pua Case, Shawn Pimental, Sonny Lim

Featured Artists: Hāwane Rios, Lorna Lim, Wehilei Lim-Ryder, Makaiwa Kanui, Kuʻulei Music, Kaumakaiwa Kanakaʻole, Lanakila Mangauil, Chadd ʻOnohi Paishon, Pomai Bertelmann, Brother Mikey, Bethany Billowus, Pua Case and a collective of chanters, singers and musicians assembled to pay tribute to the pillars of Mauna Kea.

Sponsored by Mauna Kea Education and Awareness, Hawaiʻi Peoples Fund, Seventh Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples.

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NĀ ‘AUMĀKUA 

(adapted from Hawaiian Antiquities by David Malo, p. 11) 

Nā ʻAumākua mai ka lā hiki a ka lā kau

Mai ka hoʻokuʻi a ka hālāwai

Nā ʻAumākua iā Kahinakua,

Iā Kahinaʻalo

Iā kaʻa ʻākau i ka lani

ʻO kīhā i ka lani

ʻOwē i ka lani

Nunulu i ka lani

Kāholo i ka lani

Eia nā pulapula a ʻoukou ʻo Mauna a Wākea

E mālama ʻoukou iā mākou

E ulu i ka lani

E ulu i ka honua

E ulu i ka pae ʻāina o Hawaiʻi E hō mai i ka ʻike

E hō mai i ka ikaika

E hō mai i ke akamai

E hō mai i ka maopopo pono E hō mai i ka ʻike pāpālua

E hō mai i ka mana

Ancestors from the rising to the setting sun 

From the zenith to the horizon 

Ancestors who stand at our back and front 

You who stand at our right hand 

A breathing in the heavens 

An utterance in the heavens

A clear, ringing voice in the heavens 

A voice reverberating in the heavens 

Here are your descendants, the light 

Safeguard us 

That we may flourish in the heavens 

That we may flourish on earth 

That we may flourish in the Hawaiian Islands Grant us knowledge Grant us strength 

Grant us intelligence 

Grant us understanding 

Grant us insight 

Grant us power

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ʻO HĀNAU KA MAUNA

Hāwane Rios

ʻO hānau ka mauna a Kea, 

ʻŌpuʻu aʻe ka mauna a Kea, 

ʻO Wākea ke kane, ʻo Papa ʻo Welinuʻu ka wahine, 

Hānau Hoʻohōkū he wahine, 

Hānau Hāloa he aliʻi, 

Hānau ka mauna. he keiki mauna na Kea, 

O ka lili o Wākea o ka haʻi i ka hala, 

O ke kū kukū lāʻau ʻana me Kāne, 

I hoʻouka ai i iloko o Kahikikū, 

Heʻe Wākea kālewa kona ʻōhua, 

Kuamū ʻia e Kāne, kuawā ʻia e Kāne,

Hoʻi mai Wākea a loko o lani momo—e, 

Moe Wākea moe iā Papa, 

Hānau ka lā na Wākea, 

He keiki kapu na Wākea, 

ʻO ka uluna o Wākea na Kea nō, 

Hanau ka mauna he makahiapo o kapu na Kea, 

ʻOia hoʻi—o ka mauna—hanau ka mauna, 

ʻO ka mauna auaneʻi kō lalo nei la, 

ʻO wai la auaneʻi kō luna la? 

ʻO wai la, ʻo ka lā, aia—aia hoi hā.

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ʻO HĀNAU KA MAUNA A KEA

(Adapted from Mele Hānau o Kauʻikeaouli by Joshua Lanakila Mangauil and danced as a hula paʻi umauma)

ʻO hānau ka mauna a Kea 

ʻŌpuʻu aʻe ka mauna a Kea (x2) 

ʻO Wākea ke kāne, 

ʻO Papawalinuʻu ka wahine (x2) 

Hānau Hoʻohōkū, he wahine 

Hānau Hāloa, he aliʻi (x2) 

Hānau ka mauna a Kea 

He keiki Mauna na Kea (x2) 

Eō Wākea 

Born is the Mauna a Wākea, 

The mountain of Wākea buds forth

Wākea is the male, Papa Walinuʻu the female. 

Born is Hoʻohōkū, a female, 

Born is Hāloa, a chief, 

Born is the Mauna, a mountain-child of Wakea. 

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ALA HULU KūPUNA

Pua Case

Hoʻohihi ka manaʻo no ke kuahiwi Nā mamo o ka lani, he hulu aliʻi He pua hā lau mamane i lei iā ʻoe 

No neia Ala Hulu Kupuna 

No neia Ala Hulu Kupuna 

Eō, Eō, Ea, Ea 

ʻAkahi nō a ʻike, i lei kau poʻohiwi Ke ʻala o nā pua, i hoʻahu ʻili He pua ʻāhinahina, i lei iā ʻoe 

No neia Ala Hulu Kupuna 

No neia Ala Hulu Kupuna 

Eō, Eō, Ea, Ea 

Hū mai ka ʻiʻini, e kuʻu pili Kū huluhulu kahi paʻa kāhili He pua ʻaʻaliʻi i lei iā ʻoe 

No neia Ala Hulu Kupuna 

No neia Ala Hulu Kupuna 

Eō, Eō Ea Ea 

Eia au me ʻoe 

I aneʻi mai ʻoe e hoʻi 

Eia hoʻi ʻoe 

E maliu mai ʻoe, e pili mau ai 

He pua, he mamo, he hulu kupuna Nā lei o nā wahine noho mauna Nā lei o nā koa aloha ʻāina

E ola ka piko o ka ʻāina aloha 

E ola ka piko o ka Mauna a Kea 

E ola ka piko o ka Mauna nui a kea

My thoughts are entranced with the mountain 

The mamo birds of the heavens, the feathers for royalty 

A māmane blossom, A lei that I bestow to you 

For this, the Ala Hulu Kupuna 

For this, the Ala Hulu Kupuna 

I have never seen this lei placed on the shoulders 

The fragrance of this flower, to cover the skin 

An ʻahinahina blossom, A lei that I bestow to you 

My desire rises for ʻoe my companion 

Huluhulu stands, the hand feather standard 

An aʻaliʻi blossom, A lei that I bestow to you 

Here I am with you 

Come back to be by my side 

You are with me 

Turn towards mel, we will be together always. 

A flower, A bird, a beloved elder 

The leis of the women who dwell on the mountain 

The leis of the aloha ʻāina guardians 

Grant life in this, the center the piko of the lands of Mauna Kea. 

Long life the umbilical cord of the of the beloved land 

Love life the center of the mountain of Kea (Wākea) 

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Kahailimauna

Na Pua Case 

Heahea ka lāʻula i ke alaula 

Noho mai ka noe o ke kuahiwi 

Kama moku ʻo ka lei ʻohu o leināʻala o nā pua 

Ke ola o nā hanauna, no ka aina mauna, ka honua 

No nā hanauna mau a mau, ʻO Kahaiimauna, he inoa

Warmth of the first light 

Mist of the white rainbow 

Island child of the leis, the fragrance of the flowers

The life of the generations, the mountain lands, the earth 

For all generations, Kahailimauna, in your name. Written in honor of Kaleiʻohuʻolumakua Sleightholm and her ʻohana

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THEY STOOD ON THE MOUNTAIN

Bethany Billowus

And they stood on the mountain. 

for the ancestor's ancestors 

for the 7th generation's next 7 generations. 

And they stood with their hearts wide open. 

across the earth. 

100,000 times 

100,000 hearts beating as one. 

together we made a mountain. 

and they sung 

voices rising to the sky 

reaching life times past and future. 

an echo. 

an echo that would one day be sung back 

in the voices of the 7th generation's, next 7 generations. 

a memory of those who stood 

for the ancestors of the future.

who would gaze up at Mauna Kea 

and know 

and feel 

and see 

and remember 

how their ancestors 

7 generations past 

stood on that mountain. 

hearts wide open 

hands raised 

in ceremony 

in prayer. 

they'll hear the echo 

and respond 

with an echo of their own 

an echo that will one day be sung back 

in the voices of the 7th generation's, next 7 generations a memory of those who stood. 

And they'll know 

and feel 

and see 

and remember 

their ancestors who protected that mountain. hands raised 

hearts wide open. 

And the legacy 

will live on 

in the echoes 

sung by the ancestors 

of the future.

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I Ola Nā Iwi

Makaiwa Kanui

 E maliu I ka leo

E kāhea nei, a kāhea mai

E iho nā paia o luna a loku

Kani'ū o ka 'āina,

Kanikau o Kanaka

Hanu piha I ke ea

I ola nā iwi

A kū ka lāhui e

E hume ka malo

Ho'okala ka 'ihe

E koa e ikaika

E wiwoole

Me ka Ho'omana i ka wā nui

E ka lāhui

E hū e 

Let those who have ears let them hear that is calling out

That is calling forth

Let our walls fall down and feel

The cry of the land

The cry of the people

May we breathe and understand 

That these bones may live

And our nations will stand

Gird your loins

Sharpen your spears

Be brave, 

Be strong, 

Be fearless with patience

Oh nation of Hawai’i

Rise

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KAʻI KŪKULU

Pua Case

He aha lā he kūkulu? 

He mauna! 

He aha lā he kūkulu? 

He ʻahu! 

He aha lā he kūkulu? 

He pōhaku! 

He aha lā he kūkulu? 

He kanaka! (x3)

What is a pillar? 

A mountain! 

What is a pillar? 

A rock altar!

What is a pillar? 

A boulder! 

What is a pillar? 

A person! (x3)

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OLI KŪKULU/MELE KŪKULU

Pua Case

E nā hoaʻāina e 

E nā hoawelo like e 

E nā hoapili e 

E nā hoaaloha e ALOHA ʻĀINA! 

Kūkulu e, 

Nā Kūkulu ʻehā e. KŪKULU! 

He mau maka koa e 

Nā maka kaʻeo EŌ! 

E Hū e, HŪ! 

He Kū Kiaʻi Mauna, KŪ! 

He Pōhaku kū, KŪʻĒ! 

He ʻiliʻili kapu, ALOHA! 

He koa wai e ola, OLA! 

E Hū e HŪ!

Relatives of the big ocean of Kiwa 

Relations of the first nations of Turtle Island 

Friends,

Supporters from around the world LOVE FOR THE LAND!

Pillars,

the four cardinal points PILLARS!

We are beloved warriors, 

We are strong (wearing our top knots on our heads) RESPOND! 

Rise! RISE! 

I am a mountain guardian, STAND!

A standing rock, RESIST!

A sacred stone, LOVE! 

A water protector, LIFE! 

Rise! RISE!

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NOHO MAUNA

Kuʻulei Music

E ola, e ola, e ola nō ea E nā wāhine noho mauna

E ola, e ola, e ola nō ea Mākuahine hale ola

E ola, e ola, e ola nō ea Na luahine kuanoʻo

E ola, e ola, e ola nō ea E Kahoupōkane hoʻi lā e

Kūpaʻa e nā wahine koa e

Kūpaʻa e nā kūpuna aloha e

Kūpaʻa e nā kāne haʻahaʻa e

Kūpaʻa e nā aloha ʻāina e

Eō, eō, eō mai e

E nā wahine noho mauna

Eō, eō, eō mai e

Mākuahine hale ola

Eō, eō, eō mai e

Nā luahine kuanoʻo

Eō, eō, eō mai e

E Mauna Kea hoʻi la e

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PANINA/KANI KA PŪ

Pua Case/Hāwane Rios

Ua ao, Ua ola, Ua noa, 

Noa honua 

ʻAmama ua noa a lele wale ai. 

Paʻi ka lima, Paʻi ka lima, Paʻi ka lima