Jeremy Kamakaneoaloha Hopkins gleefully dances to "Miloli'i" at last year's Hawai'i Tourism Authority "Keep It Hawai'i" awards. Hopkins' Facebook post, made while stuck in traffic, inspired his friend, Keola Donaghy, to compose a mele poking fun at Internet social media fans. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom

'Enehana 'Ōiwi: Facebook
update inspires mele

By T. Ilihia Gionson / Ka Wai Ola Loa

Whether you're in the Kona crawl, caught on Kūhiō, waiting to get to Wai'anae, meandering down to Mākena, or enjoying the fragrance of hala while sitting at the Puna bottleneck, traffic is a common experience across Hawai'i. And although you shouldn't, who hasn't updated his or her Facebook status while sitting motionless?

Kama Hopkins did just that on April 20 while sitting on O'ahu's Pali Highway.

Hopkins' Facebook (and real life) friend Keola Donaghy of Hilo, Hawai'i was surprised to see what he thought was a live traffic update.

"I thought to myself, 'why the heck is he updating his status while he's driving?'," Donaghy said. "I wrote a single verse to tease him about it and to remind him not to do such dangerous things."

Of course, Hopkins was not moving during the status update in question.

"As I was writing that verse I began to hum, and noticed that the rhythm of the verse sat very well with the melody of 'Hilo Hula.' Within about 15 minutes I had 7 verses," Donaghy said. And a day later, Hopkins had a recording of Facebook Hula.

Donaghy, when not busy with his day job as assistant professor of Hawaiian Studies at UH Hilo's Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikōlani, is a composer with about 50 mele to his name. He was Kenneth Makuakāne's main songwriting partner on his "Makuakāne" album, and his compositions have also been recorded by Kelly Boy DeLima and his 'ohana ("Aia I Ka La'i"), Kainani Kahaunaele ("Nā Hōkū Pio 'Ole"), and Keali'i Reichel ("Ke Aloha Kalikimaka").

There are a handful of other songs about Facebook – go check YouTube if you're curious – but this is the first I've seen in Hawaiian. And believe it or not, this is a heavy-duty mele.

Hula ku'i – a musical form with all verses and no chorus – dates back to the 1860s with well-known examples like "Hi'ilawe", "Ka Manu", and the tune donor for this mele, "Hilo Hula." "I didn't name it a 'hula' because I intended it to be danced to, but it would sure be interesting to see. I'm sure a creative kumu hula could do it, but I don't know why they would want to," Donaghy jokes.

"Even though it is about a modern subject, it does contain traditional compositional elements. It requires that the listener have some insider knowledge to understand it. A lot of the subtleties would be lost on someone who doesn't use or know Facebook. They'd say, 'What is this red box with numbers?,' or 'Why is he reaching for his cell phone in the last verse?' People who use Facebook laugh because they've been there and done that," Donaghy said.

Facebook has over 200 million active users worldwide, and nearly 200,000 Facebookers are self-identified as being from Hawai'i. There could be more, but Facebook doesn't keep detailed statistics regarding the geography of its users. In any case, there are lots of Facebookers in Hawai'i.

"I think it is important for us to document our lives today in song. We know so much about the past because we so many mele that document the people, places and events those era," Donaghy said. "There are more important and serious things to write mele about, but we also should document the lighter side of life."

So can we expect a Twitter Hula anytime soon?

"I've been thinking about it, but nothing yet," Donaghy said. "Too busy working on my Ph.D. research."