BIG ISLAND MUSIC

The two tall mountains on Hawaii, which is also known, with good reason, as The Big Island, are Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. They are the tallest mountains on earth when measured from the ocean's floor. The former has been dormant for eons. But Mauna Loa is the site of Kilauea volcano. On the rim of the fire pit, Halemaumau, sits the world famous lodge, The Volcano House.

Nearby is Pu'u O'o vent, which has been in a state of eruption since 1983. That's a lot of magma, mama. We were taught that Hawaiian volcanos are "rim flow, which means that the hot lava surges to the top of the rim and then flows makai, to the sea. These are spectacular to see, feel and smell. Often a lava flow can be a quarter-mile wide. It can rumble down the mountain side at speeds up to 20 miles an hour. Now that is something truly "awesome," in every sense of the word. When the red hot lava hits the ocean it sends boiling sea water up as high as 1500 feet into the air. 

In the past year, the Mauna Loa's volcanic activity has turned into the type it is not supposed to be: Explosive. The lava does not just crest and flow. It tosses chunks (some boulder-size) into the sky, often landing hundreds of feet from the vent. The increased activity has generated considerably more "vog," as the smoggy volcanic dust that it creates is known. This vog has become so dense that, when the winds blow their way, the vog travels to Mauai, and sometimes to the leeward side of Oahu, which includes Honolulu and Waikiki. This is the unleashed power of Nature on the Big Island, reaching up and out beyond its shores. Since the begining of time, Hawaiians have believed in the spirits that rule their land. None of them is more powerful than Pele, the fire goddess. As with everything else in Polynesian culture, the actions of the amakua (the demigods) are reflected in the changes they bring to life. land and sea.

The recent violent action at Pu'u O'o inspried me to assemble some of the songs inspired by the Big Island--and its volcanos. They are: Fires of Pele, Big Island Conspiracy; Ka Nani A'o Kilauea, Weldon Kekauoha; Volcano!, Peter Moon Band; Kilauea, Kuuipo Kumukahi; Big Island Medley, Ledward Kaapana & Ikona; Akaka Falls, Darlene Ahuna; Kilauea, Maile Serenaders; Pohukuloa, Ledward Kaapana: Mauna Loa, Mike Kaawa; E Aloha Mai E Pele, Billy Gonsavles; Honanau Paka, Ledward Kaapana & Ikona; I Iwi A O Hilo, Kawai Cockett; which is about the small town, Hilo, still the biggest "city" on the Big Island.

Then some songs about the "other" (east) side of the island: Kohala March, Robi Kahakalau; Kona Daze, Dennis Pavao; Love Hilo, Ernie Cruz, Sr.; No Kohala Kamakani Apa'apa'a, Lim Family; Pele Trilogy, Keola Beamer; Kona Kai Opua, Richard Kauhi; Mauna Loa, Genoa Keawe; Kona Wind, Ohta-San; Paniolo, Moses Kahumoku; Maikai Ka Makani Aloha, Makapuu Sand Band; Honaunau, Millicent Cummings; Kona, Kawai Cockett.

Back to Hilo, which has always inspired songwriters, located on a bay, with a view of the majestic mountains: Hilo March, Moana Chang; Hilo Rain, Kapena; Hilo One, Hookena; Waiomina, Na Mele O Paniolo; Big Island, Gordon Frietas; Moonlight In Hilo, Kahauanu Lake Trio; Kaulana O Hilo Hanakahi, Kalima Brothers: Paniolo Ona Slack Key, Barry Flanagan; Hilo E, Gabby Pahinui & Sons Of Hawaii; Hilo Rag, Dennis Kamakahi; Mauna Loa Street Slack, Ernie Cruz, Jr.; Hilo Hula, Holunape; Hilo Mosquito, Olomana; Paniolo Song, Millicent Cummings; Mauna Loa Blues, George Kuo; Hilo Hanakahi, Cyril Pahinui & Bob Brozman.

More songs about the mountains and the paniolo (cowboys) who roam Parker Ranch, one of the world's largest cattle ranges: Kaula Ili (The Lariat), Keola Beamer; Old Mauna Loa, Leonard Kwan; Beauty Of Mauna Kea, George Winston & Keola Beamer; Snows Of Mauna Kea, Jay Larrin; Mauna Kea, George Kainapau; Mauna Kea, Eddie Kamae & Sons Of Hawaii; The Slopes Of Mauna Kea, Aunty Agnes Malabey Weisbarth & The Makahu Serenaders; and Poliahu (The Mauna Kea Snow Goddess), Keola Beamer.

If you are reading this (and listening to these melodies) away from our islands, I hope you are able to visit the Big Island. The many dormant volcano flows that cover a landscape like nothing else on the planet, the hollow lava tube, some large enough to enter and walk through and the sight of the heaving, glowing lava rumbling down the mountain side and crashing into the Pacific is a once in a lifetime experience. As we say in Pidgin English: Try come!