Malupō Lum Lung Chung

Ka wai huʻihuʻi o ka pūnāwai

Mānaleo Series

These short clips of native speakers on Ka Leo Hawaiʻi talking about their lives and practices are invaluable windows into our past, our language, and ourselves. Our mahalo kūhohonu goes out to Larry Kimura and Puakea Nogelmeier for their foresight in preserving the voices of these hulu kupuna.

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Malupō Lum Lung Chung talks about gathering spring water in Kahakuloa.

Puakea Nogelmeier (PN): ʻO kēlā kahawai, ʻo ia ko ʻoukou wai e ʻinu ai?

Malupō Lum Lung (ML): ʻAe

PN: ʻO ia?

ML: Ma hea mākou e hele aku e kiʻi?

PN: Mai kahawai mai a…

ML: ʻAʻole ʻoe maopopo, maʻemaʻe paha, ʻaʻole paha.

PN: Inu wale.

ML: Hele ʻoe e kiʻi i ke kakahiaka nui loa. ʻAʻole ʻoe hele e kiʻi, awakea, or ahiahi. Hele e kiʻi i ka wai, kakahiaka nui.

PN: No ke aha kēlā?

ML: Ka wai huʻihuʻi, eh!

PN: Oh, ʻae, ʻae, ʻae. A maʻemaʻe paha?

ML: Maʻemaʻe. And then, kekahi manawa, get spring water.

PN: Oh, loaʻa ka pūnāwai?

ML: Oh, loaʻa!

PN: Pili i ko ʻoukou wahi, aia ka pūnāwai?

ML: Aia i ke kahawai. Aia i ke kahawai.

PN: ʻŌ. ʻO ia?

ML: Ma ke kahawai e loaʻa ai iā ʻoe kēlā spring water.

PH: ʻAe, he wai momona?

ML: ʻAʻole loaʻa iā ʻoe ma ʻō a ma ʻō, ʻaʻole.

PH: ʻO ia.

ML: Aia i ka pili kahawai.

PH: ʻO ia nō?

ML: Yeah, loaʻa mai kēlā spring water.

PH: A kēlā wai, momona?

ML: Oh yeah!

PH: ʻOno?

ML: Spring water, ʻono.

PH: Ua piʻi ʻoe i uka, ua piʻi i uka loa?

ML: ʻAe! You have to piʻi i uka loa.

PH: ʻAe, ʻae.

ML: I loko o ke kuahiwi. A loaʻa kēia spring water.

PH: ʻAe.

Mrs. Malupō Lum Lung Chung

Unuhina (Translation):

Puakea Nogelmeier (PN): That stream, is that the water you guys would drink?

Malupō Lum Lung (ML): Yes

PN: Really?

ML: Where else would we go to get water?

PN: From the stream, and…

ML: You wouldn’t know if it was clean, or maybe not clean.

PN: Just drink it.

ML: You go get it early in the morning. You don’t go get it in the afternoon or evening. You get the water in the early morning.

PN: Why is that?

ML: Cause, the water cold, eh!

PN: Oh, yes, yes, yes. And clean, perhaps?

ML: Clean. And then, sometimes, get spring water.

PN: Oh, there’s a spring?

ML: Oh, there is!

PN: Next to your guy's place, there’s a spring?

ML: It’s at the stream. At the stream.

PN: Oh really?

ML: At the stream you can get that spring water.

PN: Oh! Yes. Is it sweet water?

ML: You won’t get it over there, or off over there, no.

PN: Is that so?

ML: It’s right next to the stream.

PN: Really?

ML: Yeah, that’s where you get that spring water.

PN: And that water is sweet?

ML: Oh yeah!

PN: Delicious?

ML: Spring water. Taste good.

PN: Did you hike upland? Did you have to go way up?

ML: Yes! You have to hike far up.

PN: Yes, yes.

ML: Into the mountains. Then you find the spring water.

PN: Yes.

Malupō with her sister and neice.

Mrs. Malupō Lum Lung Chung

Malupō with her sister and neice.

He ʻĪnaʻi

The sound in Mrs. Chung's voice when she talks about the spring water she would collect in the early morning is pure magic. Her voice sparkles and the mahalo flows from her just like that cool, clear water that flowed into the jugs she'd haul back home so they had drinking water in their hale.

This aloha and respect that she had for her water must have come, in part, from the fact that she had to collect it. She knew just where to go and what time was best. She was fully connected to the wai that sustained her and her family. Most of us cannot say the same today.

Kahakuloa, Maui.

In fact, we are so separated from our water sources that we become unaware of threats to them. Such is the case with invasive species that cause damage to watersheds which are largely out of view. Folks in conservation have long talked about these problems, but few in positions of power seem to listen and it is our great grandchildren who will bear the brunt of the impact.

Perhaps this lack of education and awareness around wai, Kāne's most precious gift, is the reason most folks did not realize the threat posed by the fuel tanks deep in the ground at Kapūkaki (Red Hill), despite a long history of issues and reports of prior leaks.

You can read a wonderful interview on the issue in Flux magazine in both ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and English.

Na Hina Kneubuhl i kākau a hoʻonohonoho i kēia moʻolelo. Mahalo nui iā Helena Bakutis i ke kōkua ʻana mai ma ka palapala leo a me ka unuhi ʻōlelo.

These pieces are all working interpretations. Should you see a kuhihewa, kiko hewa, or have any sort of manaʻo to share, please email kauamelemele@gmail.com - Mahalo!

Click here to access the full recording on the University of Hawaiʻi's Evols website.

Kahakuloa, Maui.