A translation of the title "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" is "Hawaii's Own [true sons and daughters]". It's a call for citizens to look to their traditional leaders, chiefs, and lands as the source of patriotism: to basically, resist the U.S. expansion.
The (literally) majestic lyrics were penned in 1874 by King David Kalākaua, the penultimate reigning monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom. It directly replaced a previous anthem called "He Mele Lāhui Hawaiʻi", which had been composed by Kalākaua's equally talented musical sister, Queen Liliʻuokalani.
King David Kalākaua was known as the "Merry Monarch" for reviving the outlawed cultural practice of hula. Kalākaua wanted an anthem with authentic Hawaiian identity. To bring his creation to life, the melody was arranged by Captain Henri Berger, a Prussian military bandmaster whom the king hired to lead the Royal Hawaiian Band.
Unlike most American state songs and anthems, "Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī" is a royal salute to a monarch rather than to the United States. The song is anchored around the praise of King Kamehameha I, the warrior-king who successfully unified all the warring islands under a single crown in 1810. Because it was officially adopted as the national anthem of the independent Kingdom of Hawaii in 1876, the center of the piece remains tethered to native Hawaiian self-governance and ancestral royalty.
Following the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy and subsequent annexation by the United States, the anthem was held on to by the people, eventually becoming the official state song of Hawaii in 1967. Today, it is performed widely across the islands at high school assemblies, graduation ceremonies, and major sporting events, typically playing immediately after the "Star-Spangled Banner". While formal English translations of the text do exist for educational purposes (I got this one from a .org called Hawaiian Kingdom Government), the anthem is never officially sung in English. Singing exclusively in the native ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi language serves as a reclamation of indigenous heritage and respect. It also hides the fact that this is a specifically anti-American anthem...a bit like the French version of "O Canada".
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor trident before going online.
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