Kumulipo

Hawaiian creation chant 

At the time that turned the heat of the earth,
At the time when the heavens turned and changed,
At the time when the light of the sun was subdued
To cause light to break forth,
At the time of the night of Makalii (winter)
Then began the slime which established the earth,
The source of deepest darkness.
Of the depth of darkness, of the depth of darkness,
Of the darkness of the sun, in the depth of night,
                                It is night,
                                So was night born
 



O ke au i kahuli wela ka honua
O ke au i kahuli lole ka lani
O ke au i kukaiaka ka la.
E hoomalamalama i ka malama
O ke au o Makali’i ka po
O ka walewale hookumu honua ia
O ke kumu o ka lipo, i lipo ai
O ke kumu o ka Po, i po ai
O ka lipolipo, o ka lipolipo
O ka lipo o ka la, o ka lipo o ka po
                        Po wale hoi
                        Hanau ka po

Credit

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on May 22, 2021, by the Academy of American Poets.

About this Poem

This is the first epoch in the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant. Recorded under King David Kalākaua, this translation by Queen Liliʻuokalani was originally published in 1897. It appears in When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through (W. W. Norton, 2020).