Onaona i ka Pot Roast

Oli Aloha - Welcoming Chant

Onaona i ka hala me ka lehua
He hale lehua no ia na ka noe
O ka`u no ia e `ano`i nei
E lia`a nei ho`i o ka hiki mai
A hiki mai no `okou
a Hiki pu no me ke aloha
Aloha e, aloha e

Fragrant with the breath of hala and lehua
This is the sight I long to see
Of this, my present desire
Your coming fills me with eagerness
Now that you have come
Loves comes with you
Greetings, greettings


Welcome to my first blog post. The chant above is something we learned in Hula class many moons ago. It was the first chant that Kumu taught us.

Although I understood what it meant, the chant didn't hold a special meaning to me until I started thinking about the words.

The air is filled with the scent of hala and lehua. This smell conjures up images of feeling welcome, feeling at peace, feeling loved. I'm so excited that you're coming, so pleased to bestow upon you the best welcome I can imagine. I can't wait. You are arriving surrounded by love.

I understood the sentiment, but hala and lehua, although they smelled nice, they didn't make me think of being welcomed, feeling loved, etc. I didn't grow up with these smells. I don't have an attachment to them that some of my hula brothers and sisters have. Then what does? What smells make me feel comforted? Pot Roast. I love the smell of pot roast. Pot Roast and that smell the heater gets the first time it's turned on in the winter.

Onaona i ka Pot Roast me ka the smell the heater gets the first time it's turned on in the winter . . . . .

Welcome to my blog.