“Puīa Ka Nahele” was composed by Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1868. In the second verse, ‘Palai’ means the same as Palapalai, which is a native fern (Microlepia Setosa). ‘Waʻahila’ refers to a particular rain that falls in the area of Nuʻuanu and Mānoa valley in Oʻahu. It also means the name of a ridge that separates the Mānoa and Pālolo valleys. In the Chorus, it talks about two kinds of birds, ‘ ‘Iwi’ and ʻ ‘Iwa’. These complementary names indicate two sweethearts and are an allusion to a love song. ʻIwi means same as ʻIʻiwi, which is bird called a Scarlet Hawaiian honey creeper. Its feathers were used extensively in feather work for ‘Kāhili’ , which are feathers that symbolise royalty, and lei. ʻIwa is Frigate or man-of-war bird, a word used figuratively to describe a handsome man. The translation is by Queen Liliʻuokalani.
