The taro lands of Kukanono at the foot of Ulupō are the setting for this video presentation of a name song for Pauahi composed by Kahikina de Silva (words) and Chad Takatsugi (music) and danced by seven Kamehameha graduates of Hālau Mōhala ‘Ilima. A glimpse of Kahi and her daughter Ka‘illi‘ula can be had in a background lo'i shot at about :58 in; they are kneeling on the left kuauna.
Kahikina and Chad received the 2016 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Haku Mele award for "He Wehi no Pauahi," and this video is their attempt at presenting something more tied to the ‘āina than the shimmery-hula-on-the-shore-at-sunset productions that weʻre used to seeing. The clip played through the holiday season on the Hawaiian Air in-flight program. Although I would have preferred a little more foregrounding of Hāloa and those tending to him (especially since much of our day was actually spent in the lo‘i), the video still succeeds in sharing an important perspective -- dirty-feet hula from those who know and love that dirt and all it means.
– Kīhei de Silva