E tu i ta hoe uli
I tohi i ta pale tai
I stop the boat with the steering paddle
And press it against the boat’s side
The prophetic “‘Ūlei Pahu i ka Moku” was voiced on the eve of Cook’s arrival
in Waimea, Kaua‘i, by a priest who foresaw the coming of the foreigner and
the drastic changes that would ensue: “Our sacred councils will be no more…The
images will be useless…They [foreigners] will circle the coral islands…And
you will be as nothing…You [Hawaiians] will be as nothing” (Mary Kawena Pūku‘i, Ancient Hulas of Kauai, Kaua‘i Historical Society, 59-60). A pair of lines at the mele’s midpoint –
its na‘au, if you will – gut-punches us with an admonition and avenue of recourse: "E tu i ta hoe uli / I tohi i ta pale tai." Seize the steering paddle and press it to the side of your canoe; resist the
onslaught of tide and current; steer free; steer clear.
E Kū i ka Hoe Uli is an online literary journal dedicated to the publication of new Hawaiian writing.
By “Hawaiian writing” we mean work that satisfies at least one
of the following requirements: writing in the Hawaiian language,
writing by the descendants of those who predate Cook’s arrival
in this pae ‘āina, and writing about matters relevant to Hawaiian
identity. We are interested in mele and mo‘olelo, in poetry,
creative prose, essays, reviews, and interviews. We are interested
in work that takes up the hoe uli and aims us at a place where
we will be as something maoli.
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He hilu na Pauahi, he i‘a no‘eno‘e 
