Mele
Hawaiian mele and chants
recount the origins of the Hawaiian people and the islands on which they live,
as well as the origins of the universe.
There are tales of migrations, genealogies, myths, customs and
traditions. There are also stories of
love, of longing for loved ones, stories of grief over deaths, and heroic
explorations. Hawaiian chants and hula acknowledge the ‘āina and the history of
the Hawaiian culture, a culture sustained by an oral tradition captured in the
lyrics of the chants. Hawaiian mele,
including family mele, are saturated with kaona or double meaning representing
a surface meaning as well as a secondary meaning understood by those for whom
it is intended.
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