Saturday, September 25, 2010

Dancing the Big Island of HAWAII

Aloha Welcome





"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems,

but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."



Herm Albright





Kamehameha II

“Being happy is better than being king”

African Proverb









These guys are gonna take us on a tour
of KONA on the Big Island of 'Hawaii'





Kona Kai `Opua

Lyrics by Henry Waiau

This mele tells of a love affair between Liholiho (Kamehameha II) and a woman of rank.


It sings of the places and activities of Kona and compares them to the deep emotions of love.




Known as Kona of the tranquil seas, the opua or pink cumulus cloud formations that hang low, are regarded as omens of good fortune and good weather.




Hinano is the blossom of the male pandanus tree and was used as an aphrodisiac.




Na`u is a game of Kona where the children chant "na`u" and hold their breath until the sun disappears.



On Nov. 27, 1823, the King and his Queen boarded the English ship L'Aigle.




They were the first of the Hawaiian Royals to travel abroad.




A state visit with King George of England was intended to establish a political and commercial understanding; The better to enable Liholiho to govern an island kingdom that attracted the avaricious interest of many foreigners.





Before they had an audience with the English Monarch,
the Hawaiians were struck with measles.



Queen Kamamalu died July 8, 1824



followed by the death of King Liholiho on July 14.



Like their subjects,, the Hawaiian Royals lacked immunity to western diseases.



"A Song About Kamehameha II"



Proud is Kona of Hawaii

The waters and thick clouds
Hualalai, the majestic mountain is high above
Kona is the best



This warm land
With the refreshing wind
The bright moonlight that
Beckons the visitors





Chorus:
Proud
The cloud banks over Kona's peaceful sea
Like the hinano flower
In the peaceful sea
The cloudbanks of Kona
Are incomparable, second to none
The cloudbanks of Kona
The streaked sea
The peaceful sea of Kona




The cloud bank over Kona's peaceful sea
Like the hinano flower in the calm
Where dusk descends with evening dew
The na'u is chanted by the playful children





Hold back the rays of the sun
The sun rays reflecting on the surface of the sea
Very warm is the land
Very loving the Ho`olulu progeny




Nothing compares to the love
O my beloved companion of all time
For my lovely chief, my last refrain
Liholiho, I praise your name





:)



29 comments:

Rosaria Williams said...

What a fitting title today! I'm sunning up and taking in the sounds and sights of the Islands. Love to you!

Myrna R. said...

I love how you love Hawaii.

I will do my best to be as annoying as I can.

s.m. said...

Excellent post, I am very glad to read your posts. I wish you all the best

Teresa said...

Thanks for this dance!! I needed it today.

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Warm aloha friend!

Nancy said...

A reminder how devastating that disease was at one time. Both the king and queen! How sad.

Feisty Crone said...

Great dance!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this lesson of life and history.

Please have a good Sunday.

daily athens

Fireblossom said...

Royalty felled by a germ. There's a fable in there someplace, for sure.

Jo said...

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

Love it, love it, love it...!

That is now my new motto.

Jo said...

P.S. I love visiting your blog. It's like a mini vacation for me. :-)

David Cranmer said...

Wonderful history and quotes today, Cloudia, Always a pleasure to stop by.

bichonpawz said...

Aloha Cloudia! Popping in to say hello!! Happy Sunday to you!

Charles Gramlich said...

a postive attitude can certainly irritate me.

Windsmoke. said...

G' Day From Australia, Having a positive attitude really annoys a lot of people because they can't understand why or are to negative.

Kay said...

Beautiful post, Cloudia. So tragic about King Liholiho and his queen.

Junosmom said...

Have a sunny day, Cloudia!

Full-On-Forward said...

COOL!

J

claude said...

Interesting post Cloudia ! I love the video and the quotations.
Have a nice week, my Friend !

Daryl said...

Catching up .. Blogger has been giving me 'service unavailable' errors ... and of course weekends are spent caring for the cats and cleaning .. what a nice way to escape for me visiting your blog ... ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Akelamalu said...

What a beautiful song and I just loved the dancing - so graceful. :)

Tammie Lee said...

such a beautiful sky
hawaii is a lovely place in many ways.

Freda said...

An excellent break in the day. What amazing dancing and how the crowd loved it too. /thanks

Cloudia said...

Thank you, my play friends :)

DeniseinVA said...

I enjoy learning about the Hawaiian Kings and Queens. How sadthey succumbed to measles.
An English Girl Rambles

Ileana said...

Your inspirational messages and zest for life continue to bring me back. Peace, love and light to you, my friend. :)

Cloudia said...

Thanks for visiting

and for inspiring me

Kate said...

Aloha Cloudia! Thanks for checking up on me, and for posting all this wonderful stuff. I especially enjoyed the singing and Dancing in the video. LOVE it when you post those! thanks.

irinapictures said...

Aloha!
I was away from blogging for a past week. Now I'm overtaking in full speed)) but I can not help stop here to say that your blog is vacation, feast of beauty and wisdom and humor (at a moment I'm still watching Kona with one eye.. Great!