Ka Puke Mele ʻO Eddie Kamae: He Huakaʻi: Free Online Songbook is a New ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi Resource

By Myrna J. Kamae, Kapena Shim and Lilinoe Andrews, Hawaiian Legacy Foundation

The Hawaiian Legacy Foundation (HLF) is proud to announce the upcoming release of Ka Puke Mele ʻO Eddie Kamae: He Huakaʻi Mele, the Hawaiian language version of the previously published Eddie Kamae Songbook: A Musical Journey.

The songbook will enable community, families, learners, musicians, and educators to learn about the songs published in the songbook in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, our mother tongue and official state language. To celebrate this milestone, HLF will host three community events this fall to preview the new ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi website and highlight songs from the songbook.

Ka Puke Mele ʻO Eddie Kamae will be released in January 2026. The funding necessary to complete the project was generously provided by the Abigail Kawānanakoa Foundation with additional support from the Cooke Foundation. As she has since the beginning of the work on the original songbook, UH West Oʻahu Chancellor Maenette Benham has provided encouragement and support.

The songbook explores and expands upon 34 songs that were key to Eddie Kamae’s journey as a Hawaiian musician and son. Each song, presented as a pūʻolo or bundle, is complete with lyrics and translations, music sheets, the story behind the song, video footage, a bibliography, educational questions, and rarely seen resources from the Kamae Archive, such as handwritten lyrics by Mary Kawena Pukui and others.

Three Events, One Legacy

The first of the three HLF community events will be held at ʻIolani Palace as part of its Kamaʻāina Sunday festivities on September 14. These include a screening of the documentary The Sons of Hawaiʻi; a rare public performance by Eddie Kamae’s Sons of Hawaiʻi; and a panel discussion on the creation of the Puke Mele ʻO Eddie Kamae and an exploration into Queen Liliʻuokalani’s composition Kuʻu Pua i Paoakalani.

In October, HLF will partner with ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive at UH West Oʻahu for an evening of film clips and conversation. Attendees will have the opportunity to view segments from the Kamae ʻOhana’s 10 award-winning documentaries and join in a discussion of the song Heha Waipiʻo.

On November 4, Koʻolaupoko Hawaiian Civic Club will host the Puke Mele team during their membership meeting at Windward Community College. The presentation will feature a discussion on the song Tūtū, highlighting Eddie Kamae’s connection to Koʻolaupoko and the role of music in cultural transmission. (see sidebar for more information about these events)

A Lifelong Commitment to Cultural Preservation

Eddie Kamae was not only one of Hawaiʻi’s most respected musicians but also a passionate filmmaker. He and his wife, Myrna, dedicated decades to preserving the voices and values of Hawaiʻi’s kūpuna through music and film. The release of the Puke Mele continues their life’s work of sharing Hawaiian knowledge and song with future generations.

He realized the importance of documenting the wealth of traditional knowledge shared by his many kumu. This songbook ensures that the songs shared with Eddie Kamae – and those that he composed – can be played and sung by families, children, students, musicians, and lovers of Hawaiian music.

HLF hopes the ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi version of the songbook will encourage Hawaiian language learners, students, and teachers to embrace mele as a way to engage with history, values, and place. More than a songbook, this publication is a vessel of aloha and cultural memory.

To explore the current (English version) songbook and learn more about the upcoming release, visit eddiekamaesongbook.org.

In addition to Kamae, Shim and Andrews, the team behind the songbook also includes ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi translators Pāʻani Kelson and Pōkiʻi Seto.