Yeah, "he inoa" is hawaiian for "the name". The first chant that I did is called "E ho mai".. It's an all inclusive chant that was written by Auntie Edit Kanak'ole:
E ho mai i ka ‘ike mai luna mai e
O na mea huna no’eau o na mele e
E ho mai, e ho mai, e ho mai e
Grant us knowledge from above
The things of knowledge hidden in the chants
Grant us these things
this is said three times with ascending tone.
the next chant that I did was a brief one
"e kia'i e alaka'i e ho'onauao, e ho'olanakila, a pae ka wa'a i ke kula me ka lanakila."
Basically saying, "guard us, lead us, be wise, be a victorious, the canoe rides the wave to triumph"
Next was actually the chant that I performed at Merrie Monarch / E Hula Mau, Ao koa pule.
Eo'u mau kia'ai
mai te po me e nana ia mai na pulapula 'oukou ke ohana o na pua me kealoha
mai luna a lalo
mai loko a waho
mai kahikina a ke komo hana
mai uka a ke kai
mai kahikihi a kahikihi
eo'u mau kia'i
e ola ka ohua
e ola ke 'ohana o na pua me kealoha
e ola ko'u mau makua
kia'ai ia malama ia
ka ialana honua
e pale aku i na ho'opilikia ana ko kakou nohona
i ke aloha, i ka la'akea
e ko'u mau tupuna e mauli ola
Amama noa
This chant is basically asking our gaurdians to watch over us as we are about to go off into batte (competition).
The next one , O kuwa o ka lani, is a chant tha is said as a new wa'a, canoe is launched for the first time, and is paddled out for the first time, and as it's paddled out offering a gift. The gift usually is comprised of pig snout, pig ears, tail, and pork, an bananan. But for our purposes it's really about the makana, the gift.
then the last chant, Noho ana:
E noho ana ke akua i ka nahelehele
I alai 'ia e ke ki'ohu'ohu e ka ua koko
'O na kino malu i ka lani
Malu e ho e
E ho'oula kona mau kau,
o makou no, o makou no, o makou noa
this is a chant that seeks na akua to inspire us....
Kama
