Hāwane Rios Shares Her Soul’s Purpose
By Ma‘ata Tukuafu
The first time Hāwane Rios fully comprehended a legend told in the Hawaiian language, it touched her so deeply that she wrote a song to remember it. It is the love story between Poli‘ahu (goddess of the snow) and Kukahau‘ula (a god personifying the male force in the form of the rising sun), whose meeting caused Poli‘ahuʻs heart to melt, resulting in the snowmelt which formed streams and springs, providing life to the people.
“When I wrote the song, it sounded to me like their love,” Hāwane says, “and when I sing the song, I remember what that story means to me.”
Hāwane Rios, who grew up in Waimea, began writing songs at the age of 20 while studying Hawaiian language in college. In her second year of classes she felt a calling to write music in Hawaiian rather than in English. She says she woke up one day with a feeling in her chest that signaled a song was coming.
“I heard this voice saying, ‘Pick up the ‘ukulele and learn it,’ and I felt the need to go inward, to create a bunch of songs,” says Hāwane.
After releasing a number of singles, she became a kia‘i, a protector for Mauna Kea, which took much of her time and energy. Now, 12 years later, she has rewritten many of her earlier songs and Hāwane’s album Kū Kia‘i Mauna—Together We Rise (Religious Records A&C), features both Hawaiian and English songs. The album was nominated three times in the 43rd Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards: Female Vocalist of the Year, Most Promising Artist of the Year, and Contemporary Album of the Year. The awards aired on October 10, 2020, with Hāwane winning for Contemporary Album of the Year.
In the Female Vocalist category, Hāwane was named alongside Amy Hānaiali‘i, one of Hāwane’s musical inspirations when she was growing up.
“I feel so deeply honored being nominated in the same category as Amy Hānaiali‘i,” says Hāwane. “When I was really young, I was watching her at the awards and listening to her powerful voice singing in Hawaiian. When she won, and I heard her speech, I wanted to be like her.”
It took four years for her to complete the full CD, and she has also released a “3D” version of it, which is a mixing technique to give listeners wearing headphones a feeling of being in the room with the musicians.
Adding to her recent accomplishments, she was asked to sing with Mark Yamanaka in a prerecorded session for the 2020 Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards show, which was broadcast on October 10.
A Community of Creative Musicians
Some of the best experiences Hāwane has had creating music are working with other musicians and hearing her songs come together.
“I love hearing Uncle Sonny [Lim] play his interpretation of my songs, and then the bass player fits her bass to his guitar,” says Hāwane. “It’s like a recipe, it brings in everybody’s energy and talent with their own connection to my song, and we are a community in creating music.”
Growing up, Hāwane was a dancer, and now it brings her great pleasure to watch others dance to her songs. She is quick to say that she is still learning, and is not the best musician. She has much respect for those who spend their lives honing their music. Much of Hāwane’s inspiration has come from musicians like the Keli‘iho‘omalu family from Kalapana, Lorna Lim, Kainani Kahaunaele, Genoa Keawe, India Arie, and Maisey Rika, among many others. The peoples of Oceania have also inspired and shaped her music, “because they read, speak and sing in both English and in their own languages,” she shares.
Inspiration
Hāwane’s creative flow depends on what she is thinking about. Because English is her first language, sheʻll write out the words quickly, as they come to her, and then the melody will come. She sits with her guitar or ‘ukulele and records herself playing the song. Sheʻll often go back and edit it, adding Hawaiian lyrics.
“I feel in my body and soul, the Hawaiian words that make me feel warm. I get this beautiful, ‘ono feeling, like a really good bite of texture and flavor,” says Hāwane. “I’ll start with the words, and then I’ll hear a melody that makes me feel like eating dessert and that’s how I know that this is the one.”
In one of her original songs, “Mana Wahine”, meaning empowered women, Hāwane says, “I wrote this song after spending some very heartfelt and womb-felt time with one of my beloved sisters, Ngahuia Murphy from Aotearoa. Her work is so powerful and is centered around the liberation of the womb and the liberation of our blood ties as women. I just felt this calling within me to write about the strength of women and how, from us, from this feminine energy, comes all life. It’s really an ode to the goddesses, that creative energy that we come from and a dedication to the long lineage of women that we descend from. Every single verse gives honor to this incredible energy that has the power to give life. The first verse talks about giving birth to the sky, the sky realm, the heavenly realm. The second verse is about giving birth to the ocean realm. The third verse, to the land realm. It’s a reminder that we descend from these great powers that is in all that we see, and all that we are. And to not forget this truth, and to know it deeply. This is my way of saying, ‘I see you.ʻ We’re singing into all the wounds of the earth and of women, and lifting us and praying us to Light and back to a space of real Mana within us because that is who we are. And so, I dedicate this song to the many generations before and the many generations that will come after. May we know that we are mana wahine.”
Another musical influence was Hāwane’s biological father, who passed away earlier this year. Although she didn’t know him, she found out that he played ‘ukulele and loved to sing. He was from the Chamorro people, and she says their women never stopped singing. That legacy of music lives through her.
The Business of Music
One of the least favorite parts of working in the music business for Hāwane is not being able to sustain herself financially solely from her music. She expresses that the music industry has been a competitive, male-dominated business and her goal is to continue to advocate for equality in pay, in opportunities, and representation. She believes all musicians should be supported, loved, and cared for as they work every day at their craft bettering themselves and the art they produce.
“I worked four years on a project, and it’s made available to the public for one dollar per song. We get cents on the dollar when we finally get paid,” says Hāwane. “Music is healing and unifying. I donʻt know many people who go throughout their days without listening to music. So how come we have to work 9-to-5 jobs to pay our bills and then find extra time for our true passions? Musicians, artists, and creatives don’t even have basic health insurance. I want to create a new way. I want people to know this can be a career you can be sustained by.”
Hāwane feels it is her responsibility to continue the oral legacy that people have passed down through song and chant, and trusts that this is her soul’s purpose. She hopes to honor her family lineage, and Mauna Kea, and wants her music to gather people when she is “long gone.” She adds that when people honor themselves, the land, and community, it creates a more healed and unified world for the next generation to enter into.
“I believe we need to write about this time so the next generations will know through all our arts, how we lived during these times, what we stood for, and how we changed things.” ❖
For more information: hawanerios.com
Together We Rise
By Hāwane Rios
Words of the wise echo in my soul
Whispering aloha is a firm commitment to pono
And we’ll keep singing
Ho‘okahi ka umauma
Ho‘okahi pu‘uwai
Together we rise
Together we rise
E ala ē
E ala ho‘i
Chorus
And we’ll keep chanting
Kū kia‘i
Kū kia‘i mauna
Kū kia‘i
Kū kia‘i mauna
E kū, e kū, e kū, e kū
Linked arm in arm, one in mind, light in heart
Remembering we’re stronger united than apart
And we’ll keep singing
Ho‘okahi ka umauma
Ho‘okahi pu‘uwai
Together we rise
Together we rise
E ala ē
E ala ho‘i
Chorus
Chant – Kualena ka hei kapu
Bridge
Hale Makua
Hale Makua
Hale Makua
Hale Makua
Chorus
Ho‘okahi ka umauma
Ho‘okahi pu‘uwai
Together we rise
