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The Kolea is an important bird in Hawaiian chants, mele, 'olelo, and hula. Many of you may know this hula, which Moanalei Love taught us at the first Kolea Workshop:
| Kahuli Aku - Traditional |
Kahuli aku
Kahuli mai
Kahuli lei ula
Lei akolea
Kolea, kolea
Ki`i ka wai
Wai akolea
Wai akolea
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Turn little shell
Turn this way little shell
The tree shell is a red ornament in
The lei of the akolea fern
Little bird, little bird
Go down to the stream
Sip the sweet nectar
From the akolea fern
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Source: This old chant was set to music by Winona Beamer. The kahuli (tree snails) or pupu kanioe (land shells) are the singing snails of legend. The shells chirp in the evening and ask the birds to bring them a drink of water. The kolea is the Pacific Golden Plover (pluvialis dominca) that migrates to Hawaii in late August, stays until April, then returns home to Alaska and Siberia. The endemic snails, once numbering 35-40 different species, with their colorful patterns & designs were once abundant on all islands, but are rapidly declining and are now found only in mountain forests. The ground dwelling snail (amastridae) number only about 12 species as compared to the 300 species, a century ago. The pupumoeone, found only on Niihau and Kauai live underground in sand dunes far removed from the ocean. From the website: http://www.huapala.org/Kahuli_Aku.html
John Cummings opened the first Kolea Workshop with a chant. He also found for us a wealth of cultural references to the Kolea, for example, the following 'olelo and hula:
| 'Olelo No'eau: |
Ai keke na hulu o ka umauma
ho'i ke kolea i Kahiki e hanau ai
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When the feathers darken on the breasts,
the kolea returns to Kahiki to breed
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'Ai no ke kolea a momona ho'i i Kahiki!
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The kolea eats until he is fat, then returns to the land from which he came!
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I ho'okauhua i ke kolea,
no Kahiki ana ke keiki
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When there is a desire for plovers,
the child to be born will travel to Kahiki
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Kolea no ke kolea i knoa inoa iho
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The plover can only cry its own name
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O ka hua o ke kolea aia i Kahiki
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The egg of the kolea is laid in a foreign land
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-from Mary Kawena Pukui, '0lelo No'eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings, Bishop Museum Press 1983
| The Hula Kolea |
Kolea kai piha!
I aha mai nei?
Kunou mai nei.
E aha kakou?
E ai kakou.
Nohea ka ai?
No Kahiki mai.
Hiki mai ka lani.
Olina Hawaii,
Mala'eal'e ke ala,
Nou e ka lani.
Puili pu ke aloha.
Pili me ka'u manu.
Ka puana a ka moe?
Moe oe a ho'olana.
Ka hal'a a hiki mai;
O'oe pu me a'u
Noho pu i ka wai aliali
Ha'ina ia ka puana
O ka hua o ke kolea, aia i Kahiki.
Hiki mai lou aloha. Ma'ele au.
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A plover eating at the edge of the sea!
What is it saying to me?
It keeps bobbing its head.
To do what would you counsel?
Why, eat its plump body!
Whence comes this sweet morsel?
From the land of Kahiki.
When our sovereign appears,
Hawai'i gathers for play.
Stumble blocks cleared from the way,
Fit rule of the kings highway.
Let each one embrace then his love;
For me, I'll keep to my dove.
Hark now, the signal for bed!
Atentive then to loves tread,
While a wee bird sings I the soul.
My love comes heat-whole.
Then quaff the waters of bilss.
Say, what is the key to all this?
The plover eggs laid in Kahiki.
Your love. When it comes, finds me dumb.
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-Unwritten Literature of Hawai'i The Sacred Songs of the Hula, Nathaniel B. Emerson
John told us, "the hula kolea was in a class of hula named after animals, in each one the performer would mimic the movements of or characteristics of the animal. Dancers seated in a kneeling position performed the hula kolea. Their gestures and movements would imitate the movements of the kolea itself. There was no musical instrument accompaniment for this hula."
Think about the range of biological knowledge expressed or hinted at in these hula and 'olelo, as well as the range of emotion and subtle plays on words (look again -- there are many meanings here!). Were people who might insult a vain person by saying "The kolea can only cry its own name" keen observers of nature? Sayings link the fattening and darkening of the birds to their impending migration. Did the entire population of ancient Hawai'i observe the departure of the birds, kind of like we are doing in Kolea Watch?
We would love to post more stories, sayings, and knowledge about this bird in the culture of Hawai'i or other places. Send it to us if you like! Have you ever heard someone called a "Kolea"? What did they mean by it?
Hawaiian Language notes:
Kolea is a Hawaiian word based on the flight call of the bird. To be spelled correctly, it must have a line over the "o" called a kahako (or a macron). Most fonts cannot display this symbol correctly, so it is left out here. Some people underline vowels to show the presence of a kahako, as in Kolea.
You may notice single quotation marks used as 'okina. 'Okina are pronounced as a glottal stop (like the pause in "Oh-oh!"). The 'okina takes the place of what used to be a "k" in the history of the Hawaiian language. Like kahako, 'Okina are necessary for correct Hawaiian spelling, but you don't always see them used. The names of all the main Hawaiian islands except Maui have 'okina: Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i, Maui, Lana'i, Kaho'olawe, and Hawai'i.
© 2003 Hawaii Nature Center
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