Po La'i E - Silent Night

Aloha Kalikimaka e nā hoa makamaka! In keeping with the Christmas spirit that's in the air let's learn the Hawaiian words to a well known Christmas hymn, Silent Night. I like looking at early translations of mele because they are not translated literally, but instead, our kūpuna used words that expressed the mana'o of the mele. Let's take a look at this mele. Silent night, Holy night. Pō la'i ē, Pō kamaha'o. But let's look closely at each word. Pō is the word for night. La'i as we have learned has multiple meanings - calm, still, quiet and tranquility. Pō la'i ē. Kamaha'o is used here to express holy but it also means wonderful, surprising, astonising and marvelous. Pō kamaha'o. Maluhia, malamalama. All is calm all is bright. Maluhia means peace, quiet and serene. Malamalama translates as light, shining, radiant. Ka makuahine aloha ē, me ke keiki hemolele ē. Round yon virgin mother and child. Makuahine is mother and the word aloha is used here to express the this was a beloved, cherished, special mother. Moe me ka maluhia lani. Sleep in heavenly peace. Moe is to sleep and maluhia lani is the heavenly peace. Moe me ka maluhia lani. A beautiful mele with so much mana'o wrapped intricately in each line. Aloha nō, a hui hou.