Poli'ahu i ke kapu Mahalo
By email from Kure Atoll, Hawane extends her gratitude to everyone who voted for Poli’ahu i ke kapu, a tribute to the divine snow goddess of Mauna Kea which recently won in the category of Single, Hawaiian Language for this year’s Big Island Music Awards. She also sends a deeply felt mahalo to Dennis Soares for sponsoring the Awards . “This is so awesome. Please send out my greatest appreciation to all of those who have supported Poli'ahu i ke Kapu and Mauna a Wakea. I feel very honored to be apart of this movement with all of you.” Hawane dedicates this, her first award to mentor, friend, and fellow musician Uncle Puna Keli’iho’omalu from Kaimu, Kalapana.
In September, Hawane departed to Kure Atoll, the Northwestern most Hawaiian Island, volunteering for seven months to assist with the island’s native habitat restoration and protection of endangered species. Before she left, she recorded the mele (song) which was engineered and mastered by Sonny Lim and assisted by his daughter, Anuhea Lim. Hawane will be singing with Sonny Lim at the Awards Banquet on April 2 in Hilo.
Knowing the aloha Hawane feels for Mauna Kea, Sonny shared, “I am humbled by her passion in what she believes is pono and how she carries it like a torch in the darkness...for me it was a blessing to help her sustain, and fuel her light into the future..”
Please be encouraged to purchase Poliʻahu i ke kapu, available on iTunes and other online music stores as proceeds from sales are being donated to the KAHEA Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance Mauna Kea Legal Defense Fund for the protection of Hawaiian cultural practices as well as the sacred sites and landscape on Mauna Kea.
The lyrics and music video of Poliʻahu i ke kapu can also be found on the YouTube online site that was created by Auliʻi Case, Pua Case, and Kapulei Flores.
