There were two protest/justice orientated songs that frankly shook me when I heard them. Here's the lyrics- I'll break them down for you.
Couldn't Take The Mana
Recorded by Mana Kaleilani Caceres
Another road built on sacred land
One more hotel gone upon our Birth Sands
Where have all of our Ali'i [chiefs, leaders] gone
Maybe they'll return when they hear this song.
Hawaii is a popular place for new construction, especially resorts and tourist attractions. There's also controversy over scientific construction.
They took the land, they took aloha [love]
they took the Queen even though
they didn't know her
Suppressed Ikaika [strength] and then Kupuna [elders]
broke the ohana, [family]
but they couldn't take the mana [power]
but they couldn't take the mana
Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown by Americans who owned large properties in Hawaii in the late 1800s. More on my InterVarsity posts.
Saying they took the aloha really makes me sad- it's still a huge part of their culture. Kanaka are very hospitable and loving. But, being taken advantage of many times damages that.
Another puka [hole] in the mountain Side
One more bone move for a faster ride
Where have all of our old ways gone
Maybe you'll bring them back
when you hear this song
I remember how things used to be
My Tutu [grandpa] used to say as I sat upon his knee
We didn't need a lot of money, we didn't have a lot of things
The only mau mea [things] we needed
was what the Akua [god] brings
Like the sunshine and the rain and the wind was so much stronger
the life of the land must live forever and longer
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono is a well-known Hawaiian phrase which was adopted in 1959 as the motto of the state of Hawaii. It is most commonly translated as "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."
Another ohana [family] must move away
the better prices and lifestyles so they say
Where have all of our people gone
one day they will return and sing this song
There's a lot of immigration, especially to Las Vegas (jokingly called "The Ninth Island") and also the Pacific Northwest.
He Kanaka
Most of this song is in Hawaiian, but here's the English section of the song (which of course is all I really understood driving in the car.)
According to my name which is Elijah
The one that I give praise to, his name is Jah
Sorry I don't believe in your religion
No offense to you it's just that I'm a Hawaiian
Ever since the day you landed on my island
Many of them passed away and many of them gone
All of them giving the praises to your holy begotten son
My people have to chant and sing "This is my song,"
I say... [Hawaiian lyrics]
I never gave my praises up to Jah
Cause the race of which I came from was raised on Hāloa so... [Hawaiian lyrics]
The only mau mea [things] we needed
was what the Akua [god] brings
Like the sunshine and the rain and the wind was so much stronger
the life of the land must live forever and longer
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono is a well-known Hawaiian phrase which was adopted in 1959 as the motto of the state of Hawaii. It is most commonly translated as "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."
Another ohana [family] must move away
the better prices and lifestyles so they say
Where have all of our people gone
one day they will return and sing this song
There's a lot of immigration, especially to Las Vegas (jokingly called "The Ninth Island") and also the Pacific Northwest.
He Kanaka
by Ka'ikena Scanlan
Most of this song is in Hawaiian, but here's the English section of the song (which of course is all I really understood driving in the car.)
According to my name which is Elijah
The one that I give praise to, his name is Jah
Sorry I don't believe in your religion
No offense to you it's just that I'm a Hawaiian
Ever since the day you landed on my island
Many of them passed away and many of them gone
All of them giving the praises to your holy begotten son
My people have to chant and sing "This is my song,"
I say... [Hawaiian lyrics]
I never gave my praises up to Jah
Cause the race of which I came from was raised on Hāloa so... [Hawaiian lyrics]
"Jah" is a commonly used name for God in reggae lyrics. It's a Hebrew word for God, along with Jehovah and Yahweh. Elijah has jah as a root word, so Elijah means, "Jah is my God." (The singer clarifies in the Hawaiian lyrics that he also isn't into Rasta.)
Hāloa is the Hawaiian creation story. So, he's saying his people's stories can't be reconciled with other stories.
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Queen Lili'uokalani holds the Kumilipo creation chant, her own music, and the new constitution she wrote for Hawaii. She was a Christian.
I don't blame anyone who would to reject everything from Christians, or everything from Americans. Yet, I'm grateful to the Native Hawaiian and extended community of locals and activists who taught me about how they make their Christian faith their own, rather than taking the white, western version that was given to them by colonizers. They remember the good things the missionaries brought, while also standing against the harm that they did.
