Chants · Track 4 · 2026

Ancient Kahiko Chant

A powerful call-and-response chant that summons the ancestors and the land itself to stand and be counted. The rhythm moves with the deliberate pace of history — grounded, unwavering, ancient. The core truth: the past is not behind us; it lives in the wind, the waves, the sun, and the moon, waiting for us to call it forward.

Traditional Kahiko Indigenous Folk Sacred grounded

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The Feeling Inside "Ancient Kahiko Chant"

A powerful call-and-response that summons the ancestors and the land itself to stand and be counted. Each exchange builds like footsteps — deliberate, ceremonial, unstoppable. The rhythm is ancient and grounded, the kind that makes you feel like you are walking in the footsteps of a thousand generations before you.

Within Kai Mana, this song is one facet of love for Maui: gratitude, memory, longing, sensuality, reverence, playfulness, or release shaped for listeners who arrive with different moods and needs.

AlbumChants

Track4

Vocal PerformerLehua, Kaimana, Makani, Aukai, Makua Nui

Moodancestral, rhythmic

Emotional Temperaturegrounded

Narrative Rolelineage call

Images the Song Carries

walking pace tempo
guttural voice
ancient storytelling
deep lineage

Lyrics and Hawaiian Gloss

Call
E kū mai, e nā kūpuna
E ala mai, e ka ʻāina
E kū mai, e nā kūpuna
E ala mai, e ka ʻāina

Response
Kū mai! Ala mai
Ka leo o ka wā kahiko
Kū mai! Ala mai
Ka leo o ka wā kahiko

Call
E hoʻōho, e ka makani
E hāpai, e ka nalu

Response
Hōʻoho! Hāpai
Ka mana o ke kai

Call
E pūlama, e ka lā
E mālama, e ka mahina

Response
Pūlama! Mālama
Ka mālamalama o ke ao

Call
E hoʻomaikaʻi, e nā akua
E hoʻomaikaʻi, e ka honua

Response
Hoʻomaikaʻi! Hoʻomaikaʻi
Ka pōmaikaʻi mau loa

Translation

The Awakening (A Kahiko Chant)
(Call) Stand forth, O Ancestors!
Rise up, O living Land!
(Response) Stand forth! Rise up!
The voice of ancient times is here!

(Call) Give a great cry, O Wind!
Lift us high, O crashing Waves!
(Response) Cry out! Lift us high!
The power of the sea is here!

(Call) Cherish us, O Sun!
Protect and care for us, O Moon!
(Response) Cherish! Protect!
The light of the world is here!

(Call) Offer blessings, O Divine Ones!
Offer blessings, O Earth!
(Response) We give thanks! We give thanks!
The eternal blessing is here!

A Glimpse into the Chant
E ala mai: This isn't just "wake up." It is a command for the spirit of the land to become active and present. In a Kahiko chant, this is meant to stir the mana (power) of the environment around the chanters.

Hāpai: This means "to lift" or "to carry." When referring to the waves (nalu), it invokes the image of the ocean physically lifting a canoe or a surfer, but also spiritually lifting the people's spirits.

Mālamalama: You’ll notice the word Mālama (to care for) evolves into Mālamalama in the response. While they sound similar, Mālamalama specifically refers to the light of knowledge or spiritual enlightenment. It’s a beautiful play on words: by "caring" for the moon and sun, we receive "enlightenment."

Pōmaika'i: This is the word for "blessing," but its roots mean "a night of goodness." It suggests a deep, profound sense of well-being that lasts forever (mau loa).