Joseph Keola Donaghy, a University of Hawai‘i music professor, as well as an esteemed Hawaiian music composer and performer, has given us a focused study of the way in which Hawaiian mele (song/chant) has been used by Kānaka ‘Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) kia‘i (protectors). The latter term is preferred by those involved to indicate their status as peaceful guardians of the mauna (mountain)—rather than the media portrayals of them as belligerent protestors—in their stand against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Maunakea (also known to Kānaka ‘Ōiwi as Mauna a Wākea). Fluent in ‘olelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian language), as well as enjoying long-term relationships with prominent Hawai‘i musicians, Donaghy carefully details the events that unfolded in the period surrounding the arrests of kūpuna, or elders, on July 17, 2019.

Heeding ethnomusicologist Svanibor Pettan’s call for scholars to use their “knowledge and understanding of music in the broadest sense for the betterment of humanity” (2), Donaghy highlights the active role of University of Hawai‘i faculty and students in these efforts. They were joined by faculty, staff, and students from other universities and colleges from around the world, indicating the heterogeneity of the kia‘i—this was not simply the actions of a few Kānaka ‘Ōiwi but a concerted effort alongside settler- and non-settler allies who recognized the significance of protecting an indigenous sacred site from further exploitation.

Donaghy responded admirably to Pettan’s call, not only by actively participating in some of the events he describes, but in writing Mele on the Mauna as well. In other words, this book is not simply an objective study of a significant political action with musicking as an affective corollary. Rather, it is an insider’s exploration of the effectiveness of musicking in active social transformation by someone who provided online Hawaiian music classes for participants as well as by traveling to the mauna as part of the University of Hawai‘i’s Pūko‘a Council.

The book is organized thematically with Chapter 1, “I Pa‘a Maila Ke Kahua,”Footnote ¹ providing the theoretical grounding for Donaghy’s analyses as well as a thoughtful meditation on his own positionality as a non-Kanaka ‘Ōiwi settler-ally. He also parses out the meanings the term mele can connote, arguing for its primacy, along with leo (voice), in the meanings Kānaka ‘Ōiwi have ascribed to musicking. The second chapter, “Lohe ‘Ia Mai ‘Ō A ‘Ō,” zooms in on the soundscapes of Maunakea, detailing not only the musicking but also the sounds of the wind, the rain, the prosaic activities of the encampment, as well as the kia‘i engaging with law enforcement officials. This attention to sound is ultimately an appeal to officials to listen carefully to the voices of the kia‘i and, by implication, the broader appeals by Kānaka ‘Ōiwi for self-determination. The third chapter, “Kolo Ke Ewe I Ke Ewe,” is an analysis of the terms aloha ‘āina (love of the land) and aloha ‘āina ‘oia‘i‘o (a true lover of the land) and the ways the terms have been articulated by political action through mele and its utilization by Kānaka ‘Ōiwi in their struggles for territorial sovereignty.

The fourth chapter, “Kapu Aloha,” is central to the book. Donaghy recalls his initial questioning of the term, having not heard it until its use in the 2015 struggles over the construction of TMT. He posits that while one could translate kapu aloha as “nonviolent direct action,” this misapprehends the “complex Hawaiian cultural precepts embodied” in the phrase (78). Acknowledging that defining the term is difficult, including the fact that many individuals who practiced it on the mauna gave varying definitions, Donaghy surveys the most prominent articulations. Citing an interview given by two kumu hula (hula teachers), Hōkūlani Holt and Pualani Kanahele, Donaghy emphasizes the term’s ethical and embodied performative aspects. Kanahele offered that kapu aloha, a portmanteau of kapu, or prohibited, and aloha, or love, encapsulated “the idea of the way you behave should be sacred to not only yourself but the people around you” (80), a reciprocal relationship between individuals as well as the more-than-human that requires one to act ethically and empathetically. Donaghy then turns to the mele composed in the spirit of kapu aloha to assess the poetics of the music—recall the importance of ‘olelo to mele—and how Lee Ann Ānuenue Pūnua adhered to the admonition by kumu to use “positive words” while “avoiding negative expressions” (86) in the composing of “Lei Ana Maunakea I Ka ‘Ohu,” a mele composed in response to the events of July 17.

The fifth chapter, “Paio No Ka Pono Ē,” focuses on music’s role in “conflict and the potential resolution of conflict” (95). While Donaghy spends time analyzing a mele composed by the late and laudable Kanaka ‘Ōiwi musician Palani Vaughn entitled “Ka Māmakakaua,” he notes that “older and contemporary forms of Hawaiian music, including chant, hula, ‘island music,’ and reggae were among the more frequently heard genres of music on the mauna” (107). In other words, mele was part of a larger soundscape and musicking scene at the encampment on the mauna. Donaghy’s discussion of the effects of social media on the events on the mauna is a highlight of the book, weighing the pros and cons of using a platform that has too often been a source of disinformation and a locus of anti-indigenous racism. At the same time, however, Donaghy points out that social media facilitated “kia‘i to quickly respond to and disprove allegations such as those made by Governor Ige when he characterized the encampment as an ‘unsafe situation’ without having visited it,” as well as in promoting and circulating Kānaka ‘Ōiwi creativity (110).

In the sixth chapter, “Kū Ha‘aheo E Ku‘u Hawai‘i,” Donaghy turns his ears to the creation of “anthemic” mele on the mauna. Defining anthems as the musical rallying of a collective sense of belonging and affiliation, Donaghy traces a historical lineage of Hawaiian anthems, including “He Mele Lāhui Hawai‘i” composed by Hawai‘i’s last ruler, Queen Lili‘uokalani, in 1866, up through Liko Martin’s “Hawai‘i Loa,” better known as “All Hawai‘i Stand Together,” composed in 1977. He then analyzes Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu’s mele, “Kū Ha‘aheo e Ku‘u Hawai‘i,” which was taken up by Maunakea kia‘i alongside the older mele because it spoke to Kānaka ‘Ōiwi territorial dispossession and the denigration of their values, sensibilities, and culture. Modeling her mele on an older anthemic mele, “Kaulana Nā Pua,” Donaghy compares the two mele to position “Kū Ha‘aheo e Ku‘u Hawai‘i” as having “reached an anthemic status” (135). Concluding the chapter with an account of the internet broadcasting of a performance of Wong-Kalu’s mele by Maunakea kia‘i and allies in the wake of the arrests of kūpuna (he assisted in the broadcast’s technical support), Donaghy uses this positive use of digital technologies by Kānaka ‘Ōiwi as a “potent example of the power of digital media” to underscore the points he makes in the previous chapter about its use by indigenous groups.

The short “Panina” concludes the book with an update on the status of TMT in the Hawai‘i legislature. Donaghy ends the chapter with a meditation on the continuing resonance of the Maunakea encampment on Kānaka ‘Ōiwi attitudes and actions regarding the maintenance and cultivation of aloha ‘āina, along with other deep-rooted Hawaiian values, including the impact on his own sense of kuleana (responsibility) “to contribute to a future filled with aloha ‘āina for all lands, particularly sacred spaces like Maunakea” (151).

Donaghy’s thoughtful analysis of the role of mele on the Maunakea encampment is a welcome addition to the literature on indigenous survivance, Native Hawaiian studies, and ethnomusicology. Accordingly, his sensitive attention to the various Kānaka ‘Ōiwi voices heard throughout the book is a model of conscientious ethnography. His fluency in ‘olelo Hawai‘i lends an authoritative weight not only to his lyrical analyses but, just as significantly, to his explanations of Kānaka ‘Ōiwi aesthetics, cosmology, spirituality, and epistemological and ontological perspectives. In short, through a focused discussion of Kānaka ‘Ōiwi mobilization against the construction of the TMT on the sacred Mauna a Wākea, Donaghy provides us with a knowledgeable and insightful exemplar on the enduring mana (power) of Kānaka ‘Ōiwi musicking. His valuable book can be productively applied to the broader scholarship engaged with indigenous issues, including political self-determination and accompanying territorial reclamation efforts, the sociopolitical valences of musicking, including the efficacy of musicking in shaping political discourse, and the relationship between indigeneity and digital technology.