<\/p>\n<\/article>\n <\/p>\n<\/article>\n <\/p>\n With Christmas almost here, Maui churches are encouraging the entire Maui community to gather at one of the many …<\/p>\n<\/article>\n
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The singers Ke\u2019eaumoku and Uilani Kapu (left, wearing caps) perform the song, \u201cE Ho\u02bbi ka Nani i Moku\u02bbula.\u201d The photograph for the cover includes members of the couple\u2019s \u2018ohana. Courtesy photo <\/p>\n
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A new recording of a 19th-century song celebrates the history and rebirth of Lahaina as once the center of Hawaiian royalty.<\/p>\n
Maui couple Ke\u2019eaumoku and Uilani Kapu\u2019s performance of the song, \u201cE Ho\u02bbi ka Nani i Moku\u02bbula\u201d (Return the beauty, the glory, the splendor to the sacred islet Moku\u2019ula), also serves as a call for the restoration of Moku\u2019ula island and Mokuhinia Pond, where King Kamehameha I established his center of power.<\/p>\n
The song, part of the future documentary \u201cEa,\u201d was released last week.<\/p>\n
The documentary is being produced by Lance D. Collins and directed by Noah Keone Viernes, with assistance by engineer Joel Katz. Both Collins and Katz are multiple N\u0101 H\u014dk\u016b Hanohano music award winners.<\/p>\n
The words to the song, composed in 1862 by P.H. Kekuaiwa, were put to music by Hawaiian cultural advocate Akoni Akana, who helped to organize the Friends of Moku\u2019ula group in the 1990s to support the pond\u2019s and island\u2019s restoration.<\/p>\n
The pond spanned 17 acres and was among West Maui\u2019s large network of coastal wetlands, according to www.mauirecovers.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the early 1900s, the pond and islet were filled and a portion eventually became the county\u2019s Malu\u2019ulu o Lele Park.<\/p>\n Akana helped to secure grants in the 1990s and to direct an archaeological study confirming the partial location of the pond and island beneath a ballpark and a parking lot.<\/p>\n Friends of Moku\u2019ula also conducted tours of Lahaina that included its efforts to restore the pond and islet.<\/p>\n In the early 2000s, Maui County Mayor James \u201cKimo\u201d Apana supported restoration efforts and successfully opposed development on part of the lands for a shopping center.<\/p>\n In 2024, Gov. Josh Green transferred some state lands at Moku\u2019ula and the pond to Maui County to help in cultural and economic restoration.<\/p>\n The Maui County Department of \u2018\u014ciwi Resources is developing long-term plans for the restoration of the island and pond as part of the Lahaina Royal Complex recovery.<\/p>\n The Kapus taught this mele for many years at N\u0101 \u02bbAik\u0101ne o Maui Cultural at the north edge of Mokuhinia pond.<\/p>\n In 2017, more than 140 representatives from every Hawaiian island and from 16 Pacific nations<\/p>\n learned the mele while visiting Moku\u02bbula, grounding their gathering in the presence of this sacred place.<\/p>\n To stream the song, go to https:\/\/ehoikanani.hearnow.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n