Keala Ishikawa
Kumulipo
Hanau kama a ka Powehiwehi
Ho‘oleilei ka lana a ka Pouliuli
O Mahiuma, o Ma‘apuia
O noho i ka ‘aina o Pohomiluamea
Kukala mai ka Haipu-aalamea
O naha wilu ke au o Uliuli
O ho‘ohewahewa a kumalamala
O pohouli a poho‘ele‘ele
O na wai ehiku e lana wale
Hanau kama a hilu, a holo
O ka hilu ia pewa Iala kau
O kau[l]ana a Pouliuli
O kuemiemi a Powehiwehi
O Pouliuli ke kane
O Powehiwehi ka wahine
–King Kalākaua
Start of life
A child is birthed by the dark night, Powehiwehi
Protected and cradled in the branches of the night forest, Pouliuli
A farmer, a spreader
A dweller, in the land of the fire goddess, Pohomiluamea
To proclaim the sacred scent from the gourd stem
The stench splits forth at the beginning of his life
He fails to recognize and stands, growing
The darkness and the blackness
The seven seas calmly float
A child of the reef fish,
Traveling with its spreading tail
A descendent of Pouliulu
A progeny of Powehiwei
The masculine dark night
The feminine night forest
–Translated from Hawaiian By Keala Ishikawa
Origin Tale
A child is born to Powehiwehi
Swinging in the mighty branches of Pouliuli
Oh, a contender, a distributor
Oh, a resident in the land of Pohomiluamea
To announce the sacred scent from the gourd stem
Oh, the scent comes at the time of Uliuli
Oh, he fails to recognize and stands growing
Oh, he is all the darkness and the blackness
All of the seven seas always and just float
Birth the child of the Hilu fish, he swims
Oh, the reef fish there with its spreading tail
Oh, a famous child of Pouliuli
Oh, a child of Powehiwehi
Oh, Pouliuli the man
Oh, Powehiwehi the night woman
–Translated from Hawaiian By Keala Ishikawa
Reviving
(An erasure of my interview with Charlie Ishikawa)
Those languages were integral
they resisted necessarily,
Nanny, at least she kept the language alive
in the songs that she sang.
Hawaiian Pigeon
forbidden
Could not speak
reasoning—?
people sound stupid.
proper English.
verbal abuse and anger is what it was.
in order to assimilate.
Well Cantonese was dominant.
Japanese was dominant.
Codominant languages.
the dominant languages
the language of trade
Which is English
commerce
dominant
co-dominant
pushed out.
We can move on.
No, wait, no.
inherit to those cultures.
Construct
Endangered
Yeah.
Revive it.
Well,
Especially over the war.
There was a lot of shame around being Japanese
in America.
The Japanese attacked
anger
It was terrifying. .
it's hard not to look.
—Keala Ishikawa
Translator’s Statement
King David Kalākaua was the last king of Hawaii and ruled from 1874 until his death in 1891. He was known as the “Merrie Monarch” because of his love for music, dance, and celebration. But he was more than just a joyful ruler. He was a strong supporter of Hawaiian traditions and worked hard to bring back parts of the culture that had been pushed away by missionaries and Western influence. During his time, many Hawaiians were forgetting their native language, beliefs, and stories, and Kalākaua believed that reviving these traditions was important for the survival of the Hawaiian identity. One of the ways he did this was through poetry. He wrote poems that honored the old gods, the stories of Hawaiian ancestors, and the beauty of the islands. His poetry was written in the Hawaiian language and focused on pride, strength, and tradition. Kalākaua believed that writing down chants and legends in poetic form would help preserve them for future generations. His poems were not just for fun or entertainment they had meaning and were part of a bigger plan to protect Hawaiian culture. Through his writing, Kalākaua proved that being a good leader also meant being a storyteller and protector of culture. His work still inspires people in Hawaii today to learn about their history and be proud of where they come from (Wikipedia).
Kalākaua also supported the writing of the Kumulipo, a long Hawaiian creation chant, and made sure it was published and remembered. This showed how serious he was about saving the stories of his people. His poetry gave Hawaiians a way to reconnect with their past at a time when their land, language, and leadership were being taken away. Kumulipo was first published in 1889 and later translated into English by the last monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili’uokalani. In Honolulu, 1889, there was a failed rebellion of Native Hawaiians, led by Rovert Wilcox and Robert Boyd. The rebellion was an attempt to replace the much disliked “Bayonet Constitution”. The constitution was hated because it stripped the monarchy of its power and was forced upon King Kalākaua. Wilcox wanted to revive powers to the monarch by forcing Kalākaua to reinstate this constitution (Wikipedia 1). As mentioned before, these times were of worry to the King, so he sought to remind his people of their true purpose in this world through his writing. It is a genealogical Hawaiian chant, which is rooted in the creation of everything, from the heavens to the Earth. About where everything and anything came from and how everything arose from the darkness. The entire Kumulipo is made out of 16 eras or “wā” in Hawaiian. There are a total of 2,102 lines in the whole chant (Cázares 3). From an unfamiliarized point of view, one might think of it as repetitive, but that is simply just the style of Hawaiian chants. I chose to focus on the first section (15 lines, one full sentence per line) of the second verse for my translation and interpretation. This section talks about the birth of Kumulipo by his parents, the dark night and the dark forest, as well as describing his place on the island and how the land worships him.
My overall translation process was very rewarding. I was able to gain a lot of knowledge and understanding about the poem and really analyze it on another level. Additionally, I was able to spend time with my grandma who was visiting from Hawaii (along with my grandpa). I had not seen her in a long time, so this project was a pleasant coincidence! I chose my grandma as my language mentor because she is one of the very few people I know who is familiarized enough with Hawaiian, and she was in town. We spent a long time translating the poem word by word, and resulted in a somewhat confusing jumble of phrases. I was still able to analyze the parts I was confused about after our meeting, which was somewhat helpful. Throughout this process of interviewing family members, I dove deeper into the history of Hawaiian and how it has been forgotten.
It is important to remember that just like animals, languages don't just disappear and become endangered, they are hunted by the dominant powers. I gathered this quote throughout this project, “These languages didn’t fade away naturally; they were actively suppressed, marginalized, or deemed impractical by invading cultures” (Gibb 1). Hawaiian was actively pushed out and taken over by English, during this, Hawaiian/English Pidgin emerged and other creole languages. More and more English speakers came to the islands, they deemed Native Hawaiians and the culture impractical and unnecessary. These actions have had a lasting impact on the use of Hawaiian.
The most helpful part of all was writing my interpretive translations, because that was when I got a chance to really dig deep into the meaning. In my first interpretation, I chose to focus on the nature themes that come up from the original. My goal was to highlight the mentions of ancient gods such as Pohomiluamea, now called Pelemiluamea or Pele for short. One line for example, the literal translation is “A dweller in the land of the Swamp pit.” But, after doing some research, I came to the conclusion that this line was referring to, the land of Pele (a.k.a Hawaii). So, in my first interpretation I wrote, “A dweller, in the land of the fire goddess, Pohomiluamea”, which I felt accurately articulated the meaning and respected Pele. I was challenged with how to focus on nature more than it already had been. But, by using the same technique as the previous example I was able to put the gods and the land in more of the spotlight.
For my second interpretation I chose to change my focal point completely, and instead focused on copying the syllables for each line. Which means I counted how many syllables were in each line in the original poem (Hawaiian) and applied that to my interpretation. By having the same number of syllables in each line in the English as the Hawaiian. This meant I had to eliminate, change, and add words to fit my criteria. An example of a change I made is having to add a word I didn’t want to (since it would affect the meaning I was trying to convey) so the syllables would be the right number. In this instance I knew I wanted to say “Oh, Pouliuli the man” for the second to last line, this matched the syllable number perfectly. Which meant I wanted to match up the following line to copy the: oh, (name) the (man/woman) format. However I needed 8 syllables for that line, but I needed 10 for the next. This confronted me with a difficult decision: add a word and mess up the format I really wanted, or do the format I wanted and not follow the syllable pattern. I chose to add a word instead, because I was really on a mission to follow through with my criteria. So, I ended up with this for the last line: “Oh, Powehiwehi the night woman.” At the end of the day I think it still sounds good and it puts even more depth into my poem.
Throughout this project, my understanding of what makes a “good” translation evolved significantly. At first, I believed a translation simply needed to be accurate on a word-for-word level. However, as I worked more closely with the Hawaiian language (especially through in-depth interpretation and collaboration with my grandma) I came to realize that strong translation is also about conveying emotional and cultural depth. Meaning doesn’t always live in the literal, sometimes it exists in rhythm, symbolism, and intention.
This process made me reflect on my own relationship with my heritage languages and how much of that connection has been eroded over generations. A quote I find really meaningful is, “If reading work in translation makes us wish we knew two or ten or thirty more languages, that’s a good thing” (Antena 1). I found myself wishing I knew more languages, but came to the realization that that is a good sign. It means I was working really deeply with the content. Engaging with the Kumulipo and having conversations with family allowed me to feel more rooted in my cultural identity, while also recognizing how fragile that connection truly is. It wasn’t just about translating lines of poetry, it was about reviving meaning, honoring tradition, and reclaiming a piece of my heritage.
My experience interviewing my dad for this project was really educational and inspiring. I learned a lot about his history and experiences with language. Not only did I learn about his life, but I also learned about my ancestors' experience with their languages getting suppressed. From being shamed for speaking Japanese, to Native Hawaiian becoming endangered, it became clear to me that my family is losing our connection to our cultural roots. So, in my poem I decided to include the most meaningful parts and the parts that stuck out to me the most. By recording our conversation, I was able to include sections of hesitation and filler words. I thought this was really important to include because it reflects my unsureness when it comes to the history of my ancestors. Since my family has been speaking English for four generations, I am not so educated about my family who actually spoke other languages. Through this experience of interviewing my dad and creating my erasure poem, I was able to find somewhat of an opening around my curiosity about my heritage. Lastly, I learned how often languages get erased by the dominant languages and cultures. This project has ignited a deeper desire to explore my family's linguistic past and connect with the endangered aspects of our heritage. It has also made me more aware of the broader issue of language endangerment and the importance of preservation.
Interviewing my dad was a truly insightful experience, expanding my understanding of his personal journey with language and illuminating the broader historical context of linguistic suppression faced by our ancestors. Hearing about the shame associated with speaking Japanese and the endangerment of Native Hawaiian underscored the gradual erosion of our family's connection to its cultural origins. This realization deeply influenced my approach to the erasure poem, guiding my selection of the most resonant and significant fragments of our conversation.
Works Cited
Antena. “A Manifesto for Ultratranslation” Antena Books, https://antenaantena.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ultratranslation_eng.pdf.
Càzares, César. “Hawai'i: Histories and Creation Stories.” huntington.org, The Huntington, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eakY6hNAP9j2VsIo5S-W6GWFhZ7cnIfS/view. Accessed 1 June 2025.
Gibb, Lorna. “Why Linguistic Diversity Matters.” Princeton.edu, Princeton, 29 April. 2025, press.princeton.edu/ideas/why-linguistic-diversity-matters. Accessed 28 May 2025.
Wikipedia. “Wilcox Rebellion of 1889.” Wikipedia, 13 July 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilcox_rebellion_of_1889. Accessed 1 June 2025.
Wikipedia. “Kal.” Wikipedia, 3 Feb. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kal. Accessed 1 June 2025.