Compositions By Liliuokalani - Pelekane By Elizabeth Kuahaia

Pelekane By Elizabeth Kuahaia

Another song of the same title, written by Elizabeth Kuahaia, is a song about the innocence lost in globalization/modernization. It is about the sinking of the ship, the Lusitania, in 1915. It was an event that helped create the concept of a "World War."

Pelekane means "Britain" and reveals the long-standing affinity that the Native Hawaiian people felt for England. It was the British that the Hawaiian Kingdom attempted to emulate and identify with – so much so that the royal contingent traveled to England to attend Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 and adopted the "Union Jack" symbol in the Kingdom of Hawaii flag. This song may refer to England owning the Lusitania.

Unlike most other Native Hawaiian songs, it is written without the beautiful imagery of nature. Instead, it describes the use of explosives and torpedos. This is warfare without warriors in hand-to-hand combat, with the concept of "civilians" redefined by wholesale destruction of places. In a way, this is a modern protest song is in the style of Kaulana Nā Pua. This piece foreshadows the militarization of Hawai`i as the Western outpost for United States military forces. This militarization of the islands is an important aspect of Native Hawaiian experience. Not only are many areas reserved by the military, but the island economy is dependent upon it.