Kalani Hiapo hails from Nānākuli and is a graduate of Leeward Community College.  A talented musician, singer, and dancer, Kalani honors Queen Lili’uokalani, the last reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, with this original mele.  He performs his mele as a hula noho, a sitting hula.  Aloha No Ke Aliʻi  won a Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo Native Hawaiian Achievement Award in Spring 2013.

Ka Mo`olelo:

Hō`ike `ia kēia mele ma ke `ano he hula kulima, `o ia ho`i he hula noho, pili koke kēia mele i nā nani o ke kapakai `o Wai`anae e kohu pono ai iā Lili`uokalani.  Ma ka paukū mua a me ka paukū hope, ua hāpai `ia ka inoa o Lili`uololoku ma muli o ka hālo’i `ana o ka waimaka i kona mau maka.  Na kona `anakē i kapa aku iā ia i ia inoa ma ka manawa āna i hānau `ia ai.  Kaena `o Mākua i kona kahakai i aloha nui ‘ia.  Ma ka paukū 2, ua ho`ohana `ia ka inoa `o Līhu’e kahi a Scholefield Barracks e noho nei.  Ma ka paukū 3, `o Ka’ala ka mauna keu a ke ki’eki`e ma O’ahu i nā kuahiwi ‘o Wai`anae.  Kū ‘o Ka’ala ma ka 4,000 kapua`i a ‘oi aku.  Ma lalo pono ‘o Ka`ala, aia lā `o Ko`iahi, he wahi kaulana o ka maile lauli`ili`i a kaulana ho’i ma nā mele o ia moku.

Credits: Performance video by Educational Media Center – Leeward Community College; bio video courtesy of Kalani Hiapo; feature photo from Hawaiʻi State Archives: Crown Princess Liliʻuokalani, photographed in London during Queen Victoriaʻs Golden Jubilee, 1887