Aloha Kauai

Aloha mohikana, pua o Kaua'i
Wili' ia me ka maile lau li'ili'i
Maile li'ili'i
He u'i, onaona, he aloha wau ai 'oe
Me a'u me 'oe i ka pu'uwai

Aloha no'o Kaua'i
Luana, ho' okipa malihini
Puana, kaulana ka inoa o Kaua'i
Ha' aheo he nani hiwahiwa
Kaua'i he nani no e ka 'oe

Beloved in the mohikana, flower of Kaua'i
Entwined with the dainty-leafed maile
Maile so dainty
A fragrant loveliness, I love you
Be close to my heart

Beloved indeed is Kaua'i
And the home, Luana so welcoming to visitors
The story is told of the fame of the name Kaua'i
Proud, a cherished beauty
Kaua'i you are beautiful indeed

Hawaiian Vocabulary

ahupua'a - land division
alakai'i - leader
ali'i - chief
halau - school; building in which hula was thought
hula - dance
hula kahiko - traditional dance using old chants or the old styles of chanting and dancing
hula pahu - drum dance
kapu - sacred; restricted; forbidden; illegal
kumu - teacher
maka 'ainana - commoner
pa hula - enclosure for nurturing the hula
paepae - terrace support for a hale; supportive assistant to the po'opua'a
pa'u - woman's skirt
po'opua'a - head pupil of a halau hula, so called because he/she provided a pig-head to the kumu hula as a ritual offering