{"id":5729,"date":"2017-04-12T07:32:08","date_gmt":"2017-04-12T14:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=5729"},"modified":"2017-04-12T07:32:08","modified_gmt":"2017-04-12T14:32:08","slug":"hawaiian-hoopuka-e-ka-la-rise-o-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/12\/hawaiian-hoopuka-e-ka-la-rise-o-sun\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawaiian – Ho’opuka E Ka La (Rise, O Sun)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ho\u2019opuka E Ka La (Rise, O Sun)
\nby Hawaiian (Anonymous)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ho\u2019opuka e ka la ma ka hikina
\nMe ka huaka`i hele no Kumukahi<\/p>\n

Ha\u2019a mai na \u2018iwa me Hi\u2019iaka
\nMe Kapo-Laka i ka uluwehiwehi<\/p>\n

Ne\u2019e mai na \u2018iwa ma ku\u2019u alo
\nMe ke alo kapu o ka aiwaiwa<\/p>\n

Ho\u2019i no e ke kapu me na ali\u2019i
\nE ola makou apau loa la<\/p>\n

Ea la, ea la, ea la, ea<\/p>\n

He inoa no Hi\u2019iaka I Ka Poli \u2018O Pele<\/p>\n

==<\/p>\n

Rise, O sun in the east
\nWith a procession going to Kumukahi<\/p>\n

Dancing are the beautiful ones with Hi\u2019iaka
\nAnd Kapo-Laka in the verdant grove<\/p>\n

Moving ahead are the dancers toward me
\nAnd to the sacred presence of the divine<\/p>\n

Let the sacred ways return to the chiefs
\nLet us all give everlasting praise<\/p>\n

Ea la, ea la, ea la, ea<\/p>\n

In the name of Hi\u2019iaka-in-the-bosom-of Pele<\/em><\/p>\n


\/ Image by Smiling-Llama<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

I lived for a few years in Hawaii when I was in my early 30s. I spent a lot of time in fasting and meditation among the eucalyptus trees growing on the slopes of Haleakala Volcano on Maui. I also became fascinated by the Hawaiian culture and language. I didn\u2019t live there long enough to explore deeply, but I was certainly moved by what I found. So why don\u2019t we all let our thoughts drift today with the currents to the Hawaiian islands\u2026<\/p>\n

As with all sacred chant, the meaning is compact and layered and only fully reveals itself through the resonance of the human voice. Because the names mentioned here may not be familiar, let\u2019s explore these lines step-by-step.<\/p>\n

Rise, O sun in the east
\nWith a procession going to Kumukahi<\/i><\/p>\n

Kumukahi is the place of the \u201cfirst beginning,\u201d the easternmost point of Hawaii where the rays of the sun are first seen. These lines can be understood as a greeting to the rising sun, the welcoming of the day, but also for the initiate, it is a poem of enlightenment.<\/p>\n

Dancing are the beautiful ones with Hi\u2019iaka
\nAnd Kapo-Laka in the verdant grove<\/i><\/p>\n

This chant particularly honors Hi\u2019iaka, beloved sister of the primal Hawaiian god Pele. She is often associated with the hula and with light. And Kapo-Laka together are the hula god-goddess.<\/p>\n

I should pause for a second and talk about hula. We often imagine hula to be just a pretty island style of dance with flower-bedecked girls in grass skirts, and certainly it\u2019s often presented that way to tourists passing through. But real hula is much more. Each movement is considered to be sacred, energetically powerful, and encoded with meaning. And the accompanying chant is poetry, cultural story, and secret wisdom. Hula, in other words, is a living, moving book of sacred knowledge within Hawaiian culture.<\/p>\n

Moving ahead are the dancers toward me
\nAnd to the sacred presence of the divine<\/i><\/p>\n

So when the gods and goddesses of hula are invoked, we are summoning within ourselves art and power and wisdom \u2014 which lead us to the divine.<\/p>\n

The dancers are moving toward the point of the rising sun. It is a procession toward enlightenment.<\/p>\n

By the way, the word being translated variously as the \u201cbeautiful ones\u201d and the \u201cdancers\u201d is \u2018iwa<\/i>. The \u2018iwa is actually an ocean-going bird, also called the frigate bird. But in the layered meanings of the Hawaiian language, it can also mean lover, dancer, and beautiful person. The gliding, far traveling bird seems to suggest an elegance of movement, someone ethereal and lovely, emerging from unknown realms. The \u2018iwa brings an angelic quality.<\/p>\n

Rather than try to intellectually comprehend every aspect of this chant, try holding onto its images and then chant it out loud. (I won\u2019t tell anyone if you stumble over the sounds. Hawaiian words are too much fun not to try to sound them out at least once!)<\/p>\n

ALOHA!<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Hawaiian (Anonymous)<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n
\n<\/td>\n\nHawaiian (Anonymous)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Hawaii (17th Century) Timeline<\/a>
\nPrimal\/Tribal\/Shamanic<\/a> : Hawaiian<\/a>
\n<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Hawaiian chant can be compared to Hindu Sanskrit mantra in that to truly say it properly can take a great deal of training. The inflections are important. The breath is important. Most of all, the sense of personal presence is important.<\/p>\n

Hawaiian chant must be said with force and with heart. It is a prayer, but it is not passive. It is a calling forth, a reaching out and a drawing in \u2014 of wisdom, of knowledge, of truth. It evokes in us pono, rightness.<\/p>\n

Try sounding out the Hawaiian. Slowly at first, until the sounds become familiar. Then louder, with confidence. Say it over and over again. Imagine repeating this chant in a group. Let it ring through your body and your day!<\/p>\n

More poetry by Hawaiian (Anonymous)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ho\u2019opuka E Ka La (Rise, O Sun) by Hawaiian (Anonymous) Ho\u2019opuka e ka la ma ka hikina Me ka huaka`i hele no Kumukahi Ha\u2019a mai na \u2018iwa me Hi\u2019iaka Me Kapo-Laka i ka uluwehiwehi Ne\u2019e mai na \u2018iwa ma ku\u2019u alo Me ke alo kapu o ka aiwaiwa Ho\u2019i no e ke kapu me na […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[181,2060,762],"class_list":["post-5729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-hawaiian-chant","tag-hula","tag-sun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5730,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5729\/revisions\/5730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}