Michael Groner
Prior to the writing of “He Mele Lahui Hawaii,” Queen Liliuokalani was baptized as a Christian and had significant musical training in Western styles, composing over two hundred Hawaiian works. This song, which translates into “Song of the Hawaiian Nation,” is one such work that draws its influence from Western classical music. As a song composed in ternary form (ABA), where each section lasts eight bars, Liliuokalani indicates the emphasis on a simple two-bar motif that repeats nearly every four measures. In the published score, Liliuokalani indicates the tempo at which to be played – “Moderato” – a tempo that indicates a moderate pace in Western classical music and transcribes the song in the form of a SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass) four-part chorus. Each of the harmonies and chord progressions Liliuokalani utilizes also highlights the strictly conventional way at which this song flows, for example the use of the cadential six-four in an authentic cadence and the movement of chords accepted by Western classical standards (i.e. I-IV-I or I-vi-V). It is this careful analysis of “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” as seen as a four-part chorale that suggests how much of her choice of harmony, melody, and structure had significant influence from Western classical music.
Although this song represents a part of indigneous Hawaiian history, many of the elements that create the backbone of the song all point to the strong impact of the Western classical genre, relating to the broader question of whether Hawaiian culture itself is truly independent of Western civilization. In the article, “Our Sea of Islands,” Epeli Hau’ofa makes the case for how he believes imperialism allowed misconceptions of Pacific societies such as those in Fiji, Polynesia, and Micronesia to persist in Western stereotypes. He believes that these societies must stop viewing themselves as a part of colonial confinement, when their own resources, people, and cultures are located across the globe, not exclusively within the national boundaries of their countries. He claims how the “idea that the countries of Polynesia and Micronesia are too small, too poor, and too isolated to develop any meaningful degree of autonomy is an economistic and geographic deterministic view of a very narrow kind that overlooks culture history” (151). Although Hau’ofa argues that indigenous Pacific societies are able to assert themselves and effectively claim independence from Western civilization, Liliuokalani’s work and its prominence in Hawaiian culture demonstrates how Pacific Natives want to express their own value to Western society by showing how they too can play a role in Western culture. In the example of “He Mele Lahui Hawaii,” the fact that Lilioukalani composed a four-part chorus song, which serves as the basic foundations for Western classical music, highlights not only the desire of Hawaiians to explore the outside world, but also the idea of how they wanted to prove themselves to a more “cultured” and dominant civilization. When considering the ideas of the use of Western harmony, form, and structure and the title’s translation into “Song of the Hawaiian Nation,” Liliuokalani’s composition demonstrates what Hau’ofa claims – the ability to assert their own independence from the West – while suggesting that in order to do so, they have to recognize Western superiority.
In addition to the strong influences of Western classical music in establishing structure and harmony, another key element of Liliokalani’s “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” is the lyrics in the Hawaiian language. Although the lyrics highlights a distinctly Hawaiian element to this song, the translations of the different verses of the song to English truly highlight that the audience of this song is not only indigenous Hawaiians, but also those with an English background – hence Western civilization. The lyrics themselves additionally support more of the argument of how this composition is an attempt to prove their own legitimacy to a world that is dominated by America and Europe. For example, Lilioukalani writes in Hawaiian: “Ka Makua Mana Loa, Maliu mai ia makou [. . .] E mau ka maluhia” (2). These same lyrics are offered in English: “Almighty Father bend thine ear, And list a nations prayer [. . .] Grant thou peace thro’out the land” (Liliuokalani 2-3). As a national anthem, this song reveres a figure, “Almighty Father,” which references God from Christianity, pointing to the widespread influence of the Western religion in Hawaii during the nineteenth century. Considering that this comes from the first published score of the song, the lyrics prove that Hawaiian culture is inextricably linked with Western culture, including the views of superiority they hold over indigenous Pacific societies. Although this does not mean that Hawaii is incapable of being a self-sufficient, independent nation and removing the Western stereotypes associated with them, it does indicate that with such an important piece of music reflecting the standards of Western culture, there is the inability for Pacific Natives to break the grip from Western dominance, something Hau’ofa does not mention in his essay.
Although Queen Liliuokalani combines distinctly Hawaiian melodies and sounds with a Western framework, “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” is an example of how Hawaiians will be able to control their own autonomy as a nation if they do not try to reject Western influence. Hau’ofa mentions near the end of his argument: “I saw in it the future of Oceania, our sea of islands. That future lies in the hands of our own people, not of those who would prescribe for us, get us forever dependent and indebted because they can see no way out” (159). The idea that Hau’ofa emphasizes “in the hands of our own people” specifically denotes how Pacific island communities must use their own abilities and strengths to determine how the world views them, disproving Western stereotypes of Pacific islands as subordinate or dependent. “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” supports this claims by proving to Western societies how independent Hawaii can be as a nation, with a distinct national anthem and a harmony and structure that Western countries are familiar with. However, what Hau’ofa fails to mention is how Pacific island communities will go about determining their own future against more dominant Western societies. The idea that “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” has significant Western classical material, contains influence from Christianity, and becomes Hawaii’s first national anthem, demonstrates Hawaii’s acknowledgement of how Hawaiians proving themselves as an independent nation to the world is equivalent to Hawaiians proving themselves to Western civilization. Of course, this does not imply that Hawaiians are “forever dependent and indebted” as Hau’ofa mentions. Rather, to prevent contradicting their own history and culture, Hawaiians must recognize that the world they live in is dominated by the West and that cultures around the world, including part of Hawaii’s, are linked to the success of Western civilization.
At the end of the essay “Our Sea of Islands,” Hau’ofa emphasizes his single most important claim, arguing “We are the sea, we are the ocean, we must wake up to this ancient truth and together use it to overturn all hegemonic views that aim ultimately to confine us again, physically and psychologically” (160). Hau’ofa’s use of “hegemonic views” highlights his perspective of how Hawaiians have the power to pursue their own interests, disregarding ideas of Western dominance. In the performance of “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” by the Rose Ensemble as part of the album “Nā Mele Hawai'i: A Rediscovery of Hawaiian Vocal Music,” Liliuokalani’s composition shows there are distinctly Hawaiian musical elements, such as the use of the Hawaiian language and the disregard for the rigidness in its key, an element that is not associated with Western classical music. This aspect highlights the ability for Hawaiians to express their own independence from Western dominance, as Hau’ofa mentions. However, the idea that this song was published in a written score as other works of Western classical music would and the more-contemporary Rose Ensemble performed this song based on the documentation in the score, demonstrates the limitations for how Hawaiians can express themselves as part of a distinct Pacific identity. This idea of having limitations to ignoring ideas of Western dominance is an important point that Hau’ofa fails to mention in his argument. The inability to become an independent nation without acknowledging how they fit into a Western-dominanted world questions to what extent Pacific island communities can escape these “hegemonic views” (Hau’ofa 160).
Overall, “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” as a Western-influenced composition and the first national anthem for Hawaii demonstrates the power of Western civilization in the world while highlighting the ability of Pacific island communities to express their independence with limitations. The essay “Our Sea of Islands” by Epeli Hau’ofa makes the case for how Pacific island communities must reject ideas of being “small, poor, and isolated” to establish their own autonomy as a nation (155). However, Liliuokalani’s harmony, form, and structure from the Western classical genre makes clear that despite “He Mele Lahui Hawaii” being a distinctly Hawaiian work, as suggested by the Rose Ensemble’s performance and the lyrics written in the Hawaiian language, there are still ties to the West that Hawaii must accept, whether it be the introduction of Christianity or the idea of creating written published scores. Although Hau’ofa may believe Pacific island communities have the power to refute ideas of dependence and subordination, Liliuokalani’s influence and significant role in the Hawaiian culture and music demonstrates that this desire for autonomy is possible only within accepting the authority of Western civilization.
Works Cited
Hau’ofa, Epeli. “Our Sea of Islands.” The Contemporary Pacific, vol. 6, no. 1, 1994, pp. 148-161. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23701593. Accessed 4 Apr. 2021.
Princess Liliuokalani, composer. He Mele Lahui Hawaii. 1866. The Pacific Music Co., 1884. Score.
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