This book expresses the second wā or time period of Kumilpo.  We continue to find our relations on the land and in the sea. Wā 'alua takes us deeper into the ocean and the forests, and even deeper into our own atomic makeup. Like the first wā, balance is show primarily through the dualism between male and female, and life born in the ocean and on land. Although not present in this second wā of Kumulipo, human figures with the examples of plant and ocean life are depicted in some illustrations to further reinforce humanity's dependence on the natural world around us.

The artist, Douglas Po'oloa Tolentino, and his 'ohana facilitated research available via their own personal genealogy to bring to life those plants and aquatic creatures that are no longer with us or exist today by different names.

This new printing adapts the Hawaiian text from King David La‘amea Kalākaua and the Hale Nauā. To ensure that Kalākaua’s mana‘o is represented we chose to print the Hawaiian as it was written and published. Accompanying Kalākaua’s Hawaiian text is the English text written by his sister, Queen Lydia Loloku Walania Wewehi Kamaka‘eha Lili‘uokalani Dominis.