Look Who it Was Random video

Hawaiian Tree Bones, Infrared Time-lapse

667 views · Published 22 September 2016 · 3:09 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: Gary Yost · 2016 · Film & Animation

Watch on YouTube

Ancestor akua (spirits) embodied by Māmane tree bones. These trees are on Kohala mountain, the first volcano that rose from the seabed to create the Big Island of Hawaii. For more information about Māmane, including how their branches are used by Hawaiians to create dry-land sled runners (yes, sled runners), see: tinyurl.com/qb4njbc

In the early 1900s, along with the Palila bird, Māmane trees sued the Hawaii Dept of Land and Resources for protection from overgrazing: tinyurl.com/pvjyxp5

Shot with a 650 nanometer infrared conversion by Lifepixel. Posted in After Effects and FCPX.

Special thanks to Nahua Guilloz at the Parker Ranch, Waimea.

Pre-European Chant: "Ku'u wahine i ka ua 'Ulalena" by Charles Albert Manu'alkohanaiki'illili Boyd

Translation below:

My lady in the 'Ulalena rain
That tears the blossom of the makahala
The travelers sitting by the trail
Chant of the grass blossoms at Lanihuli
My lady has turned by mistake
To dream, unintentionally of the kawelu grass 
Being jerked about at Lele-a-'anae
Perhaps she stands on Waipuhia
Where the Ki'owao wind blows
Tearing off the tips of the 'iihihi leaves
And leaving them at Ka'ana-ka-hinahina
The lady eschews the water of Kahaukomo
And goes to the flowing water of Kahua-i-Iana-wai 
Made cold is she by the rain that soaks the koa (tree) leaves 
Love for you has drawn itself to me
And is hiding here within the person
Settling itself in its house, the mind
In our lehua (tree blossom) laden house at Kinimakalehua.
My constant companion in the dark misty rain
The rain that makes Ko'olau almost as dark as night 
My companion in the shade of the ti and of the kulrui (tree)
The shade of the lrukui grove of Kaho'iwai
Your greatest gift to us is your love
And that is a gift I now cherish
Let it not be disregarded and treated as naught
A name chant ~ a name chant for Pauahi the chiefs.

To read about how this short film was made, see: tinyurl.com/k3lz2uc

More from this channel