XLII. General review 260 · Part 2

There prevailed among the practitioners of the hula from one end of the group to the other a mutual understanding, amounting almost to a sort of freemasonry, which gave to any member of the guild the right of free entrance at all times to the hall, or halau, where a performance was under way. Admission was conditioned, however, on the utterance of a password at the door. A snatch of song, an oli, denominated _mele kahea_, or _mele wehe puka_, was chanted, which, on being recognized by those within, was answered in the same language of hyperbole, and the door was opened.

The verbal accuracy of any mele kahea that may be adduced is at the present day one of the vexed questions among hula authorities, each hula-master being inclined to maintain that the version given by another is incorrect. This remark applies, though in smaller measure, to the whole body of mele, pule, and oli that makes up the songs and liturgy of the hula as well as to the traditions that guided the maestro, or kumu-hula, in the training of his company. The reasons for these differences of opinion and of test, now that there is to be a written text, are explained by the following facts: The devotees and practitioners of the hula were divided into groups that were separated from one another by wide intervals of sea and land. They belonged quite likely to more than one cult, for indeed there were many gods and _au-makua_ to whom they sacrificed and offered prayers. The passwords adopted by one generation or by the group of practitioners on one island might suffer verbal changes in transmission to a later generation or to a remote island.

Again, it should be remembered that the entire body of material forming the repertory of the hula—pule, mele, and oli—was intrusted to the keeping of the memory, without the aid of letters or, so far as known, of any mnemonic device; and the human mind, even under the most athletic discipline, is at best an imperfect conservator of literary form. The result was what might be expected: as the imagination and emotions of the minstrel warmed under the inspiration of his trust, glosses and amendments crept in. These, however, caused but slight variations in the text. The substance remains substantially the same.

After carefully weighing the matter, the author can not avoid the conclusion that jealousy had much to do with the slight differences now manifest, that one version is as [Page 39] authoritative as another, and that it would be well for each kumu-hula to have kept in mind the wise adage that shines among the sayings of his nation: _Aohe pau ka ike i kau halau _[56]—“Think not that all of wisdom resides in you halau.”[57]

[Footnote 56: Sophocles (Antigone, 705) had said the same thing:[Greek: me nun en ethos pounon en sautô phorei ôs phes su, kouden allo, tout’ orphôs echein]—“Don’t get this idea fixed in your head, that what you say, and nothing else, is right.”]

[Footnote 57: _Halau._ As previously explained, in this connection _halau_ has a meaning similar to our word “school,” or “academy,” a place where some art was taught, as wrestling, boxing, or the hula.]

_Mele Kahea_

Li’u-li’u aloha ia’u, Ka uka o Koholá-lele, Ka nahele mauka o Ka-papala [58] la. Komo, e komo aku hoi au maloko. 5 Mai ho’ohewahewa mai oe ia’u; oau no ia, Ke ka-nae-nae a ka mea hele, He leo, e-e, A he leo wale no, e-e! Eia ka pu’u nui owaho nei la, 10 He ua, lie ino, he anu, he ko’e-ko’e. E ku’u aloha, e, Maloko aku au.

[Translation.]

_Password_

Long, long have I tarried with love In the uplands of Koholá-lele, The wildwood above Ka-papala. To enter, permit me to enter, I pray; 5 Refuse me not recognition; I am he, A traveler offering mead of praise, Just a voice, Only a human voice. Oh, what I suffer out here, 10 Rain, storm, cold, and wet. O sweetheart of mine, Let me come in to you.

[Footnote 58: _Ka-papala._ A verdant region on the southeastern flank of Mauna-Loa.]

Hear now the answer chanted by voices from within:

_Mele Komo_

Aloha na hale o makou i maka-maka ole, Ke alanui hele mauka o Pu’u-kahea la, e-e! Ka-he-a! E Kahea aku ka pono e komo mai oe iloko nei. Eia ka pu’u nui o waho nei, he anu.

[Page 40]

[Translation.]

_Song of Welcome_

What love to our cottage-homes, now vacant, As one climbs the mount of Entreaty! We call, We voice the welcome, invite you to enter. The hill of Affliction out there is the cold.

Another fragment that was sometimes used as a password is the following bit of song taken from the story of Hiiaka, sister of Pele. She is journeying with the beautiful Hopoe to fetch prince Lohiau to the court of Pele. They have come by a steep and narrow path to the brink of the Wai-lua river, Kauai, at this point spanned by a single plank. But the bridge is gone, removed by an ill-tempered naiad (witch) said to have come from Kahiki, whose name, Wai-lua, is the same as that of the stream. Hiiaka calls out, demanding that the plank be restored to its place. Wai-lua does not recognize the deity in Hiiaka and, sullen, makes no response. At this the goddess puts forth her strength, and Wai-lua, stripped of her power and reduced to her true station, that of a _mo’o_, a reptile, seeks refuge in the caverns beneath the river. Hiiaka betters the condition of the crossing by sowing it with stepping stones. The stones remain in evidence to this day.

_Mele Kahea_

Kunihi ka mauna i ka la’i e, O Wai-ale-ale[59] la i Wai-lua, Huki a’e la i ka lani Ka papa au-wai o ka Wai-kini; 5 Alai ia a’e la e Nou-nou, Nalo ka Ipu-ha’a, Ka laula mauka o Kapa’a, e! Mai pa’a i ka leo! He ole ka hea mai, e!

[Translation.]

Password—Song

Steep stands the mountain in calm, Profile of Wai-ale-ale at Wai-lua. Gone the stream-spanning plank of Wai-kini, Filched away by Nou-nou; 5 Shut off the view of the hill Ipu-ha’a, And the upland expanse of Ka-pa’a. Give voice and make answer. Dead silence—no voice in reply.

In later, in historic times, this visitor, whom we have kept long waiting at the door, might have voiced his appeal in the passionate words of this comparatively modern song:

[Footnote 59: _Wai-ale-ale_ (Leaping-water). The central mountain-mass of Kauai.] [Page 41]

_Mele Kahea_[60]

Ka uka holo-kia ahi-manu o La’a,[61] I po-ele i ka uahi, noe ka nahele, Nohe-nohea i ka makani luhau-pua. He pua oni ke kanaka— 5 He mea laha ole la oe. Mai kaua e hea nei; E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko, E hanai ai a hewa[62] ka wa’ha. Eia no ka uku la, o ka wa’a.[63]

Translation]

_Password—Song_

In the uplands, the darting flame-bird of La’a, While smoke and mist blur the woodland, Is keen for the breath of frost-bitten flowers. A fickle flower is man— 5 A trick this not native to you. Come thou with her who is calling to thee; A call to the man to come in And eat till the mouth is awry. Lo, this the reward—the canoe.

[Footnote 60: This utterance of passion is said to have been, the composition of the Princess-Kamamalu, as an address to Prince William Lunalilo, to whom she was at one time affianced and would have married, but that King Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) would not allow the marriage. Thereby hangs a tragedy.]

[Footnote 61: _La’a_. The region in Hawaii now known as Ola’a was originally called La’a. The particle _o_ has become fused with the word.]

[Footnote 62: _Hewa ka waha_. This expression, here tortured into “(till) the mouth awry,” is difficult of translation. A skilled Hawaiian scholar suggests, it may mean to change one from, an enemy to a friend by stopping his mouth with food.]

[Footnote 63: _Wa’a_. Literally a canoe. This is a euphemism for the human body, a gift often too freely granted. It will be noted that in the answering mele komo, the song of admission, the reward promised is more modestly measured—“Simply the voice.”]

The answer to this appeal for admission was in these words:

_Mele Komo_

E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko, E hanai ai a hewa waha; Eia no ka uku la, o ka leo, A he leo wale no, e!

[Translation.]

Welcoming-Song

Call to the man to come in, And eat till the mouth is estopt; And this the reward, the voice, Simply the voice.

The cantillation of the _mele komo_: in answer to the visitor’s petition, meant not only the opening to him of the halau door, but also his welcome to the life of the halau as a heart-guest of honor, trebly welcome as the bringer of fresh tidings from the outside world. [Page 42]

VII.—WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF THE HALAU

The first duty of a visitor on being admitted to the halau while the tabu was on—that is, during the conduct of a regular hula—was to do reverence at the kuahu. The obligations of religion took precedence of all social etiquette. He reverently approaches the altar, to which all eyes are turned, and with outstretched hands pours out a supplication that breathes the aroma of ancient prayer:

_Pule Kuahu_ (no Laka)

O Laka oe, O ke akua i ke a’a-lii[64] nui. E Laka mai uka! E Laka mai kai! 5 O hoo-ulu[65] o Lono, O ka ilio nana e haehae ke aha, O ka ie-ie ku i ka wao, O ka maile hihi i ka nahele, O ka lau ki-ele[66] ula o ke akua, 10 O na ku’i[67] o Hauoli, O Ha’i-ka-malama,[68] Wahine o Kina’u.[69] Kapo ula[70] o Kina’u. O Laka oe, 15 O ke akua i ke kuahu nei la, e! E ho’i, e ho’i a nolao i kou kuahu. Hoo-ulu ia!

[Footnote 64: _A’a-lii_. A deep-rooted tree, sacred to Laka or to Kapo.]

[Footnote 65: Hoo-ulu. Literally to make grow; secondarily, to inspire, to prosper, to bring good luck. This is the meaning most in mind in modern times, since the hula has become a commercial venture.]

[Footnote 66: _Ki-ele_. A flowering plant native to the Hawaiian woods, also cultivated, sacred to Laka, and perhaps to Kapo. The leaves are said to be pointed and curved like the beak of the bird _i-iwi_, and the flower has the gorgeous yellow-red color of that bird.]

[Footnote 67: It has been proposed to amend this verse by substituting _akua_, for _ku’i_, thus making the idea the gods of the hula.]

[Footnote 68: _Haí-ka-malama_. An epithet applied to Laka.]

[Footnote 69: _Kina’u_. Said to mean Hiiaka, the sister of Pele.]

[Footnote 70: _Kapo ula_. Red, _ula_, was the favorite color of Kapo. The _kahuna anaana_, high priests of sorcery, of the black art, and of murder, to whom Kapo was at times procuress, made themselves known as such by the display of a red flag and the wearing of a red malo.]

[Translation.]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

Thou art Laka, God of the deep-rooted a’a-lii. O Laka from the mountains, O Laka from the ocean! [Page 43] 5 Let Lono bless the service, Shutting the mouth of the dog, That breaks the charm with his barking. Bring the i-e that grows in the wilds, The maile that twines in the thicket, 10 Red-beaked kiele, leaf of the goddess, The joyous pulse of the dance In honor of Ha’i-ka-malama, Friend of Kina’u, Red-robed friend of Kina’u. 15 Thou art Laka, God of this altar here. Return, return and reside at your altar! Bring it good luck!

A single prayer may not suffice as the offering at Laka’s altar. His repertory is full; the visitor begins anew, this time on a different tack:

_Pule Kuahu_ (no Laka)

Eia ke kuko, ka li’a; I ka manawa he hiamoe ko’u, Hoala ana oe, O oe o Halau-lani, 5 O Hoa-lani, O Puoho-lani, Me he manu e hea ana i ka maha lehua Ku moho kiekie la i-uka. I-uka ho’i au me Laka 10 A Lea,[71] a Wahie-loa,[72], i ka nahelehele; He hoa kaana ia no’u, No kela kuahiwi, kualono hoi. E Laka, e Laka, e! E maliu mai! 15 A maliu mai oe pono au, A a’e mai oe pono au!

[Translation.]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

This my wish, my burning desire, That in the season of slumber Thy spirit my soul may inspire, Altar-dweller, 5 Heaven-guest, Soul-awakener, Bird from covert calling, Where forest champions stand. There roamed I too with Laka, [Page 44] 10 Of Lea and Loa a wilderness-child; On ridge, in forest boon companion she To the heart that throbbed in me. O Laka, O Laka, Hark to my call! 15 You approach, it is well; You possess me, I am blest!

[Footnote 71: _Lea_. The same as Laia, or probably Haumea.]

[Footnote 72: _Wahie loa_. This must be a mistake. Laka the son of Wahie-loa was a great voyager. His canoe (_kau-méli-éli_) was built for him by the gods. In it he sailed to the South to rescue his father’s bones from the witch who had murdered him. This Laka had his home at Kipahulu, Maui, and is not to be confounded with Laka, goddess of the hula.]

In the translation of this pule the author has found it necessary to depart from the verse arrangement that obtains in the Hawaiian text.

The religious services of the halau, though inspired by one motive, were not tied to a single ritual or to one set of prayers. Prayer marked the beginning and the ending of every play—that is, of every dance—and of every important event in the programme of the halau; but there were many prayers from which the priest might select. After the prayer specially addressed to Laka the visitor might use a petition of more general scope. Such is the one now to be given:

He Pule Kuahu (ia Kane ame Kapo); _a he Pule Hoolei_

Kane, hiki a’e, he maláma [73] la luna; Ha’aha’a, he maláma ia lalo; Oni-oni,[74] he málama ia ka’u; He wahine [75] lei, málama ia Kapo; 5 E Kapo nui, hala-hala [76] a i’a; E Kapo nui, hala-hala [77] a mea, Ka alihi [78] luna, ka alihi lalo; E ka poha-kú.[79] Noho ana Kapo i ka ulu wehi-wehi; 10 Ku ana i Moo-helaia,[80] Ka ohi’a-Ku iluna o Mauna-loa. Aloha mai Kaulana-a-ula [81] ia’u; Eia ka ula la, he ula leo,[82] He uku, he mohai, he alana, [Page 45] 15 He kanaenae na’u ia oe, e Kapo ku-lani. E moe hauna-ike, e hea au, e o mai oe. Aia la na lehua o Kaana[83] Ke kui ia mai la e na wahine a lawa I lei no Kapo— 20 O Kapo, alii nui no ia moku, Ki’e-ki’e, ha’a-ha’a; Ka la o ka ike e ike aku ai: He ike kumu, he ike lono; He ike pu-awa [84] hiwa, 25 He ike a ke Akua, e! E Kapo, ho’i! E ho’i a noho i kou kuahu. Ho’ulu ia! Eia ka wai,[85] la, 30 He wai e ola. E ola nou, e!

[Footnote 73: _Maláma_. Accented on the penult, as here, the word means to enlighten or a light (same in second verse). In the third and fourth verses the accent is changed to the first syllable, and the word here means to preserve, to foster. These words furnish an example of poetical word-repetition.]

[Footnote 74: _Onioni._ To squirm, to dodge, to move. The meaning here seems to be to move with delight.]

[Footnote 75: _Wahine lei._ A reference to _Laka_, the child of Kapo, who was symbolized by a block of wood on the altar. (See p. 23.)]

[Footnote 76: _Hala-hala a i’a._ Said to be a certain kind of fish that was ornamented about its tailend with a band of bright color; therefore an object of admiration and desire.]

[Footnote 77: _Hala-Hala a mea._ The ending _mea_ is perhaps taken from the last half of the proper name _Hau-mea_ who was Kapo’s mother. It belongs to the land, in contrast to the sea, and seems to be intended to intensify and extend the meaning of the term previously used. The passage is difficult. Expert Hawaiians profess their inability to fathom its meaning.]

[Footnote 78: _Alihi luna._ The line or “stretching cord,” that runs the length of a net at its top, the _a lalo_ being the corresponding line at the bottom of the net. The exact significance of this language complimentary to Kapo can not be phrased compactly.]

[Footnote 79: _Poha-kú._ The line that runs up and down at the end of a long net, by which it may be anchored.]

[Footnote 80: _Moo-helaia._ See note a, p. 33.]

[Footnote 81: _Kaulana-a-ula._ See note d, p, 33.]

[Footnote 82: _Ula leo._ See note e, p. 33.]

[Footnote 83: _Kaana._ A place on Mauna-loa, Molokai, where the lehua greatly flourished. The body of Kapo, it is said, now lies there in appearance a rock. The same claim is made for a rock at Wailua, Hana, Maui.]

[Footnote 84: _Pu-awa hiwa (hiwa_, black). A kind of strong awa. The gentle exhilaration, as well as the deep sleep, of awa were benefits ascribed to the gods. Awa was an essential to most complete sacrifices.]

[Footnote 85: _Wai._ Literally water, refers to the bowl of awa, replenished each day, which set on the altar of the goddess.]

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 38 PLATE V TI (DRACAENA TERMINALIS)]

Verses 9 to 15, inclusive, are almost identical in form with the first seven verses in the Mele Kuahu addressed to Laka, given on page 33.

[Translation.]

An _Altar-Prayer_ (to Kane and Kapo): _also a Garland-Prayer, used while decorating the altar_

Now, Kane, approach, illumine the altar; Stoop, and enlighten mortals below; Rejoice in the gifts I have brought. Wreathed goddess fostered by Kapo— 5 Hail Kapo, of beauty resplendent! Great Kapo, of sea and land, The topmost stay of the net, Its lower stay and anchoring line. Kapo sits in her darksome covert; 10 On the terrace, at Mo’o-he-laia, Stands the god-tree of Ku, on Mauna-loa. God Kaulana-ula twigs now mine ear, His whispered suggestion to me is This payment, sacrifice, offering, 15 Tribute of praise to thee, O Kapo divine. Inspiring spirit in sleep, answer my call. Behold, of lehua bloom of Kaana The women are stringing enough To enwreath goddess Kapo; 20 Kapo, great queen of that island, Of the high and the low. The day of revealing shall see what it sees: [Page 46] A seeing of facts, a sifting of rumors, An insight won by the black sacred awa, 25 A vision like that of a god! O Kapo, return! Return, and abide in your altar! Make it fruitful! Lo, here is the water, 30 The water of life! Hail, now, to thee!

The little god-folk, whom the ancients called Kini Akua—myriads of gods—and who made the wildwoods and wilderness their playground, must also be placated. They were a lawless set of imps; the elfins, brownies, and kobolds of our fairy world were not “up to them” in wanton deviltry. If there is to be any luck in the house, it can only be when they are dissuaded from outbreaking mischief.

The pule next given is a polite invitation to these little brown men of the woods to honor the occasion with their presence and to bring good luck at their coming. It is such a prayer as the visitor might choose to repeat at this time, or it might be used on other occasions, as at the consecration of the kuahu:

_He Pule Kuahu_ (no Kini Akua)

E ulu, e ulu, Kini o ke Akua! Ulu Kane me Kanaloa! Ulu Ohi’a-lau-koa, me ka Ie-ie! A’e mai a noho i kou kuahu! 5 Eia ka wai la, he wai e ola. E ola no, e-e!

[Translation.]

_An Altar-Prayer_ (to the Kini Akua)

Gather, oh gather, ye hosts of godlings! Come Kane with Kanaloa! Come leafy Ohi’a and I-e! Possess me and dwell in your altar! 5 Here’s water, water of life! Life, give us life!

The visitor, having satisfied his sense of what the occasion demands, changes his tone from that of cantillation to ordinary speech, and concludes his worship with a petition conceived in the spirit of the following prayer:

E ola ia’u, i ka malihini; a pela hoi na kamaaina, ke kumu, na haumana, ia oe, e Laka. E Laka ia Pohaku i ka wawae. E Laka i ke kupe’e. E Laka ia Luukia i ka pa-u; e Laka i ke kuhi; e Laka i ka leo; e Laka i ka lei. E Laka i ke ku ana imua o ke anaina. [Page 47]

[Translation.]

Thy blessing, O Laka, on me the stranger, and on the residents, teacher and pupils. O Laka, give grace to the feet of Pohaku; and to her bracelets and anklets; comeliness to the figure and skirt of Luukia. To (each one) give gesture and voice. O Laka, make beautiful the lei; inspire the dancers when they stand before the assembly.

At the close of this service of song and prayer the visitor will turn from the kuahu and exchange salutations and greetings with his friends in the halau.

The song-prayer “Now, Kane, approach, illumine the altar” (p. 45) calls for remark. It brings up again the question, previously discussed, whether there were not two distinct cults of worshipers, the one devoted to Laka, the other to Kapo. The following facts will throw light on the question. On either side of the approach to the altar stood, sentinel-like, a tall stem of hala-pepe, a graceful, slender column, its head of green sword-leaves and scarlet drupes making a beautiful picture. (See p. 24.) These are said to have been the special emblems of the goddess Kapo.

The following account of a conversation the author had with an old woman, whose youthful days were spent as a hula dancer, will also help to disentangle the subject and explain the relation of Kapo to the hula:

“Will you not recite again the prayer you just now uttered, and slowly, that it may be written down?” the author asked of her. “Many prayers for the kuahu have been collected, but this one differs from them all.”

“We Hawaiians,” she answered, “have been taught that these matters are sacred (_kapu_) and must not be bandied about from mouth to mouth.”

“Aye, but the time of the tabus has passed. Then, too, in a sense having been initiated into hula matters, there can be no impropriety in my dealing with them in a kindly spirit.”

“No harm, of course, will come to you, a _haole_ (foreigner). The question is how it will affect us.”

“Tell me, were there two different classes of worshipers, one class devoted to the worship of Laka and another class devoted to the worship of Kapo?”

“No,” she answered, “Kapo and Laka were one in spirit, though their names were two.”

“Haumea was the mother of Kapo. Who was her father?”

“Yes, Haumea was the mother, and Kua-ha-ilo [86] was the father:”

“How about Laka?”

[Footnote 86: _Kua-ha-ilo._ A god of the _kahuna anaana;_ meaning literally to breed maggots in the back.] [Page 48] “Laka was the daughter of Kapo. Yet as a patron, of the hula Laka stands first; she was worshiped at an earlier date than Kapo; but they are really one.”

Further questioning brought out the explanation that Laka was not begotten in ordinary generation; she was a sort of emanation from Kapo. It was as if the goddess should sneeze and a deity should issue with the breath from her nostrils; or should wink, and thereby beget spiritual offspring from the eye, or as if a spirit should issue forth at some movement of the ear or mouth.

When the old woman’s scruples had been laid to rest, she repeated slowly for the author’s benefit the pule given on pages 45 and 46, “Now, Kane, approach,” * * * of which the first eight lines and much of the last part, to him, were new.

[Page 49]

VIII.—COSTUME OF THE HULA DANCER

The costume of the hula dancer was much the same for both sexes, its chief article a simple short skirt about the waist, the pa-ú. (PL I.)

When the time has come for a dance, the halau becomes one common dressing room. At a signal from the kumu the work begins. The putting on of each article of costume is accompanied by a special song.

First come the _ku-pe’e_, anklets of whale teeth, bone, shell-work, dog-teeth, fiber-stuffs, and what not. While all stoop in unison they chant the song of the anklet:

_Mele Ku-pe’e_

Aala kupukupu[87] ka uka o Kane-hoa.[88] E ho-a![89] Hoa na lima o ka makani, he Wai-kaloa.[90] He Wai-kaloa ka makani anu Lihue. 5 Alina[91] lehua i kau ka opua— Ku’u pua, Ku’u pua i’ini e ku-i a lei. Ina ia oe ke lei ’a mai la.

[Translation.]

_Anklet-Song_

Fragrant the grasses of high Kane-hoa. Bind on the anklets, bind! Bind with finger deft as the wind That cools the air of this bower. 5 Lehua bloom pales at my flower, O sweetheart of mine, Bud that I’d pluck and wear in my wreath, If thou wert but a flower!

[Footnote 87: _Kupukupu_. Said to be a fragrant grass.]

[Footnote 88: _Kane-hoa_. Said to be a hill at Kaupo, Maui. Another person says it is a hill at Lihue, on Oahu. The same name is often repeated.]

[Footnote 89: _Ho-a_. To bind. An instance of word-repetition, common in Hawaiian poetry.]

[Footnote 90: _Wai-kaloa_. A cool wind that Wows at Lihue, Kauai]

[Footnote 91: _Alina_. A scar, or other mark of disfigurement, a moral blemish. In ancient times lovers inflicted injuries on themselves to prove devotion.]

The short skirt, _pa-u_, was the most important piece of attire worn by the Hawaiian female. As an article of daily wear it represented many stages of evolution beyond the primitive fig-leaf, being fabricated from a great variety of [Page 50] materials furnished by the garden of nature. In its simplest terms the pa-ú was a mere fringe of vegetable fibers. When placed as the shield of modesty about the loins of a woman of rank, or when used as the full-dress costume of a dancing girl on a ceremonious occasion, it took on more elaborate forms, and was frequently of _tapa_, a fabric the finest specimens of which would not have shamed the wardrobe of an empress.

In the costuming of the hula girl the same variety obtained as in the dress of a woman of rank. Sometimes her pa-ú would be only a close-set fringe of ribbons stripped from the bark of the hibiscus (_hau_), the _ti_ leaf or banana fiber, or a fine rush, strung upon a thong to encircle the waist. In its most elaborate and formal style the pa-ú consisted of a strip of fine tapa several yards long and of width to reach nearly to the knees. It was often delicately tinted or printed, as to its outer part, with stamped figures. The part of the tapa skirt thus printed, like the outer, decorative one in a set of tapa bed-sheets, was termed the _kilohana_.

The pa-ú worn by the danseuse, when of tapa, was often of such volume as to balloon like the skirt of a coryphée. To put it on was quite an art, and on that account, if not on the score of modesty, a portion of the halau was screened off and devoted to the use of the females as a dressing room, being known as the _unu-lau-koa_, and to this place they repaired as soon as the kumu gave the signal for dressing.

The hula pa-ú of the women was worn in addition to that of daily life; the hula pa-ú of the men, a less pretentious affair, was worn outside the malo, and in addition to it.

The method of girding on the pa-ú was peculiar. Beginning at the right hip—some say the left—a free end was allowed to hang quite to the knee; then, passing across the back, rounding the left hip, and returning by way of the abdomen to the starting point, another circuit of the waist was accomplished; and, a reverse being made, the garment was secured by passing the bight of the tapa beneath the hanging folds of the pa-ú from below upward until it slightly protruded above the border of the garment at the waist. This second end was thus brought to hang down the hip alongside of the first free end; an arrangement that produced a most decorative effect.

The Hawaiians, in their fondness for giving personal names to inanimate objects, named the two free ends (_apua_) of the pa-ú respectively _Ku-kápu-úla-ka-láni_ and _Léle-a-mahu’i_.

According to another method, which was simpler and more commonly employed, the piece was folded sidewise and, being gathered into pleats, a cord was inserted the length of the fold. The cord was passed about the waist, knotted at the hip, and thus held the garment secure. [Page 51] While the girls are making their simple toilet and donning their unique, but scanty, costume, the kumu, aided by others, soothes the impatience of the audience and stimulates their imagination by cantillating a mele that sets forth in grandiloquent imagery the praise of the pa-ú.

_Oli Pa-ú_

Kakua pa-ú, ahu na kikepa![92] I ka pa-ú noenoe i hooluu’a, I hookakua ia a paa iluna o ka imu.[93] Ku ka nu’a[94] o ka pali o ka wai kapu, 5 He kuina[95] pa-ú pali[96] no Kupe-hau, I holo a paa ia, paa e Hono-kane.[97]

Malama o lilo i ka pa-ú. Holo ilio la ke ala ka Manú[98] i na pali; Pali ku kahakó liaka a-i, 10 I ke keiki pa-ú pali a Kau-kini,[99] I hoonu’anu’a iluna o ka Auwana.[100]

[Page 52] Akahi ke ana, ka luhi i ka pa-ú: Ka ho-oio i ke kapa-wai, I na kikepa wai o Apua,[101] 15 I hopu ’a i ka ua noe holo poo-poo, Me he pa-ú elehiwa wale i na pali.

Ohiohi ka pali, ki ka liko o ka lama, Mama ula[102] ia ka malua ula, I hopu a omau ia e ka maino. 20 I[103] ka malo o Umi ku huná mai. Ike’a ai na maawe wai oloná,[104] E makili ia nei i Wahilau.[105] Holo ke oloná, paa ke kapa.

Hu’a lepo ole ka pa-ú; 25 Nani ka o-iwi ma ka maka kilo-hana.[106] Makalii ka ohe,[107] paa ke kapa.

Opua ke ahi i na pali, I hookau kalena ia e ka makani, I kaomi pohaku ia i Wai-manu, 30 I na alá[108] ki-óla-óla; I na alá, i alá lele Ia Kane-poha-ka’a.[109]

Paa ia Wai-manu,[110] o-oki Wai-pi’o; Lalau o Ha’i i ka ohe, Ia Koa’e-kea,[111] 35 I kauhihi ia ia ohe laulii, ia ohe. Oki’a a moku, mo’ ke kini,[112] [Page 53] Mo’ ke kihi, ka maiáma ka Hoaka,[113] I apahu ia a poe, 40 O awili[114] o Malu-ó.

He pola ia no ka pa-ú; E hii ana e Ka-holo-kua-iwa, Ke amo la e Pa-wili-wlli I ka pa-ú poo kau-poku—[115] 45 Kau poku a hana ke ao, Kau iluna o Hala’a-wili, I owili hana haawe.

Ku-ka’a, olo-ka’a wahie; Ka’a ka opeope, ula ka pali;[116] 50 Uwá, kamalii, hookani ka pihe, Hookani ka a’o,[117] a hana pilo ka leo, I ka mahalo i ka pa-ú, I ka pa-ú wai-lehua a Hi’i-lawe[118] iluna, Pi’o anuenue a ka ua e ua nei.

[Footnote 92: _Kikepa_. The bias, the one-sided slant given the pa-ú by tucking it in at one side, as previously described.]

[Footnote 93: _Imu_. An oven; an allusion to the heat and passion of the part covered by the pa-ú.]

[Footnote 94: _Hu’a_. Foam; figurative of the fringe at the border of the pa-ú.]

[Footnote 95: _Kuina_. A term applied to the five sheets that were stitched together (_kui_) to make a set of bed-clothes. Five turns also, it is said, complete a pa-ú.]

[Footnote 96: _Pali no Kupe-Hau_. Throughout the poem the pa-ú is compared to a _pali_, a mountain wall. Kupe-hau is a precipitous part of Wai-pi’o valley.]

[Footnote 97: _Hono-kane_. A valley near Wai-pi’o. Here it is personified and said to do the work on the pa-ú.]

[Footnote 98: _Manú_. A proper name given to this pa-ú.]

[Footnote 99: _Kau-kini_. The name of a hill back of Lahaina-luna, the traditional residence of a _kahuna_ named _Lua-hoo-moe_, whose two sons were celebrated for their manly beauty. Ole-pau, the king of the island Maui, ordered his retainer, Lua-hoo-moe, to fetch for his eating some young _u-a’u_, a sea-bird that nests and rears its young in the mountains. These young birds are esteemed a delicacy. The kahuna, who was a bird-hunter, truthfully told the king that it was not the season for the young birds; the parent birds were haunting the ocean. At this some of the king’s boon companions, moved by ill-will, charged the king’s mountain retainer with suppressing the truth, and in proof they brought some tough old birds caught at sea and had them served for the king’s table. Thereupon the king, not discovering the fraud, ordered that Lua-hoo-moe should be put to death by fire. The following verses were communicated to the author as apropos of Kau-kini, evidently the name of a man:

Ike ia Kau-kini, he lawaia manu. He upena ku’u i ka noe i Poha-kahi, Ua hoopulu ia i ka ohu ka kikepa; Ke na’i la i ka luna a Kea-auwana; Ka uahi i ke ka-peku e hei ai ka manu o Pu-o-alii. O ke alii wale no ka’u i makemake Ali’a la, ha’o, e!

[Translation.]

Behold Kau-kini, a fisher of birds; Net spread in the mist of Poha-kahi, That is soaked by the sidling fog. It strives on the crest of Koa-auwana. Smoke traps the birds of Pu-o-alii. It’s only the king that I wish: But stay now—I doubt. ] [Footnote 100: _Auwana_. Said to be an eminence on the flank of Haleakala, back of Ulupalakua.]

[Footnote 101: _Apua_. A place on Hawaii, on Maui, on Oahu, on Kauai, and on Molokai.]

[Footnote 102: _Mama ula ia ka malua ula_. The malua-ula was a variety of tapa that was stained with _hili kukui_ (the root-bark of the kukui tree). The ripe kukui nut was chewed into a paste and mingled with this stain. _Mama ula_ refers to this chewing. The _malua ula_ is mentioned as a foil to the pa-ú, being a cheap tapa.]

[Footnote 103: _I_. A contracted form of _ti_ or _ki_, the plant or, as in this case, the leaf of the _ti_, the Dracæna (pl. V). Liloa, the father Of Umi, used it to cover himself after his amour with the mother of Umi, having given his malo in pledge to the woman. Umi may have used this same leaf as a substitute for the malo while in the wilderness of Laupahoehoe, hiding away from his brother, King Hakau.]

[Footnote 104: _Oloná_. A strong vegetable fiber sometimes added to tapa to give it strength. The fibers of olona in the fabric of the pa-ú are compared to the runnels and brooklets of _Waihilau_.]

[Footnote 105: _Wai-hilau_. Name applied to the water that drips in a cave in Puna. It is also the name of a stream in Wai-pi’o valley, Hawaii.]

[Footnote 106: _Kilo-hana_. The name given the outside, ornamented, sheet of a set (_kuina_) of five tapas used as bed-clothing. It was also applied to that part of a pa-ú which was decorated with figures. The word comes from _kilohi_, to examine critically, and _hana_, to work, and therefore means an ornamental work.]

[Footnote 107: _Ohe_. Bamboo. In this case the stamp, made from bamboo, used to print the tapa.]

[Footnote 108: _Alá_. The hard, dark basalt of which the Hawaiian _ko’i_, adz, is made; any pebble, or small water-worn stone, such as would be used to hold in place the pa-ú while spread out to dry.]

[Footnote 109: _Kane-poha-ka’a_. Kane-the-hail-sender. The great god Kane was also conceived of as Kane-hekili, the thunderer; Kane-lulu-honua, the earthquake-sender, etc.]

[Footnote 110: _Wai-manu_ and _Wai-pi’o_ are neighboring valleys.]

[Footnote 111: _Ko-a’e-kea_. A land in Wai-pi’o valley.]

[Footnote 112: _Mo’ ke kihi_. Mo’ is a contracted form of _moku_.]

[Footnote 113: _Hoaka._ The name of the moon in its second day, or of the second day of the Hawaiian month; a crescent.]

[Footnote 114: _O awili o Malu-ó._ The most direct and evident sense of the word _awili_ is to wrap. It probably means the wrapping of the pa-ú about the loins; or it may mean the movable, shifty action of the pa-ú caused by the lively actions of the dancer. The expression _Malu-ó_ may be taken from the utterance of the king’s _ilamuku_ (constable or sheriff) or other official, who, in proclaiming a tabu, held an idol in his arms and at the same time called out _Kapu, o-o!_ The meaning is that the pa-ú, when wrapped about the woman’s loins, laid a tabu on the woman. The old Hawaiian consulted on the meaning of this passage quoted the following, which illustrates the fondness of his people for endless repetitions and play upon words:

Awiliwili i ka hale[119] o ka lauwili, e. He lauwili ka makani, he Kaua-ula,[120] I hoapaapa i ka hale o ka lauwili, e:

[Translation.]

Unstable the house of the shifty man, Fickle as the wind Kaua-ula. Treachery lurks in the house of Unstable. ]

[Footnote 115: _Kaupoku._ A variant of the usual form, which is _kaupaku_, the ridgepole of a house, its apex. The pa-ú when worn takes the shape of a grass house, which has the form of a haystack.]

[Footnote 116: _Ula ka pali._ Red shows the pali, i. e., the side hill. This is a euphemism for some accident by which the pa-ú has been displaced, and an exposure of the person has taken place, as a result of which the boys scream and even the sea-bird, the _a’o_, shrieks itself hoarse.]

[Footnote 117: _A’o._ A sea-bird, whose raucous voice is heard in the air at night at certain seasons.]

[Footnote 118: _Hi’i-lawe_. A celebrated waterfall in Wai-pi’o valley, Hawaii.]

[Footnote 119: Primitive meaning, house; second, the body as the house of the soul.]

[Footnote 120: Kaua-ula. A strong wind that shifted from one point to another, and that blew, often with great violence, at Lahaina, Maui. The above triplet was often quoted by the chiefs of olden time apropos of a person who was fickle in love or residence. As the old book has it, “The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (_O ke kanáka lolilua ka manao lauwili kona mau aoao a pau._)]

This is a typical Hawaiian poem of the better sort, keyed in a highly imaginative strain. The multitude of specific allusions to topographical names make it difficult to [Page 54] translate it intelligently to a foreign mind. The poetical units are often so devised that each new division takes its clue from the last word of the previous verse, on the principle of “follow your leader,” a capital feature in Hawaiian poetry.

[Translation.]

Pa-ú Song

Gird on the pa-ú, garment tucked in one side, Skirt lacelike and beauteous in staining, That is wrapped and made fast about the oven. Bubbly as foam of falling water it stands, 5 Quintuple skirt, sheer as the cliff Kupe-hau. One journeyed to work on it at Honokane.

Have a care the pa-ú is not filched. Scent from the robe Manú climbs the valley walls— Abysses profound, heights twisting the neck. 10 A child is this steep thing of the cliff Kau-kini, A swelling cloud on the peak of Auwana.

Wondrous the care and toil to make the pa-ú! What haste to finish, when put a-soak In the side-glancing stream of Apua! 15 Caught by the rain-scud that searches the glen, The tinted gown illumines the pali—

The sheeny steep shot with buds of lama— Outshining the comely malua-ula. Which one may seize and gird with a strong hand. 20 Leaf of ti for his malo, Umi[121] stood covered.

Look at the oloná fibers inwrought, Like the trickling brooklets of Wai-hilau. The oloná fibers knit with strength This dainty immaculate web, the pa-ú, 25 And the filmy weft of the kilo-hana. With the small bamboo the tapa is finished.

A fire seems to bud on the pali, When the tapa is spread out to dry, Pressed down with stones at Wai-manu— 30 Stones that are shifted about and about, Stones that are tossed here and there, Like work of the hail-thrower Kane.

At Wai-manu finished, ’tis cut at Wai-pi’o; Ha’i takes the bamboo Ko-a’e-kea; [Page 55] 35 Deftly wields the knife of small-leafed bamboo; A bamboo choice and fit for the work. Cut, cut through, cut off the corners; Cut round, like crescent moon of Hoaka; Cut in scallops this shift that makes tabu: 40 A fringe is this for the pa-ú.

’Tis lifted by Ka-holo-ku-iwa, ’Tis borne by Pa-wili-wili; A pa-ú narrow at top like a house, That’s hung on the roof-tree till morning,

45 Hung on the roof-tree Ha-la’a-wili. Make a bundle fitting the shoulder; Lash it fast, rolled tight like a log. The bundle falls, red shows the pali; The children shout, they scream in derision. 50 The a’o bird shrieks itself hoarse In wonder at the pa-ú— Pa-ú with a sheen like Hi’i-lawe falls, Bowed like the rainbow arch Of the rain that’s now falling.

[Footnote 121: _Umi_. It was Liloa, the father of Umi, who covered himself with a ti leaf instead of a malo after the amour that resulted in the birth of Umi. His malo he had given as a pledge to the woman, who became the mother of Umi.]

The girls of the olapa, their work in the tiring-room completed, lift their voices in a spirited song, and with a lively motion pass out into the hall to bloom before the waiting assembly in the halau in all the glory of their natural charms and adornments:

_Oli_

Ku ka punohu ula i ka moana; Hele ke ehu-kai, uhi i ka aina; Olapa ka uila, noho i Kahiki. Uina, nakolo, 5 Uwa, ka pihe, Lau[122] kánaka ka hula. E Laka, e!

[Translation.]

_Tiring Song_.

The rainbow stands red o’er the ocean; Mist crawls from the sea and covers the land; Far as Kahiki flashes the lightning; A reverberant roar, 5 A shout of applause From the four hundred. I appeal to thee, Laka!

[Footnote 122: _Lau_ (archaic). Four hundred.] [Page 56] The answering song, led by the kumu, is in the same flamboyant strain:

_Oli_

Lele Mahu’ilani[123] a luna, Lewa ia Kauna-lewa![124]

[Translation.]

_Song_

Lift Mahu’ilani on high; Thy palms Kauna-lewa a-waving!

[Footnote 123: _Mahu’ilani_. A poetical name for the right hand; this the _olapa_, the dancing girls, lifted in extension as they entered the halau from the dressing room. The left hand was termed _Kaohi-lani_.]

[Footnote 124: _Kauna-lewa_. The name of a celebrated grove of coconuts at Kekaha, Kauai, near the residence of the late Mr. Knudsen.]

After the ceremony of the pa-ú came that of the lei, a wreath to crown the head and another for the neck and shoulders. It was not the custom in the old times to overwhelm the body with floral decorations and to blur the outlines of the figure to the point of disfigurement; nor was every flower that blows acceptable as an offering. The gods were jealous and nice in their tastes, pleased only with flowers indigenous to the soil—the ilima (pl. VI), the lehua, the maile, the ie-ie, and the like (see pp. 19, 20). The ceremony was quickly accomplished. As the company knotted the garlands about head or neck, they sang:

_Oli Lei_

Ke lei mai la o Ka-ula i ke kai, e! Ke malamalama o Niihau, ua malie. A malie, pa ka Inu-wai. Ke inu mai la na hala o Naue i ke kai. 5 No Naue, ka hala, no Puna ka wahine.[125] No ka lua no i Kilauea.

[Translation.]

_Wreath Song_

Ka-ula wears the ocean as a wreath; Nii-hau shines forth in the calm. After the calm blows the wind Inu-wai; Naue’s palms then drink in the salt. 5 From Naue the palm, from Puna the woman— Aye, from the pit, Kilauea.

Tradition tells a pathetic story (p. 212) in narrating an incident touching the occasion on which this song first was sung.

[Footnote 125: _Wahine_. The woman, Pele.]

BULLETIN 38 PLATE VI [Illustration: ILIMA (SIDA FALLAX) LEI AND FLOWERS]

[Page 57]

IX.—THE HULA ALA’A-PAPA

Every formal hula was regarded by the people of the olden time as a sacred and religious performance (_tabu_); but all hulas were not held to be of equal dignity and rank (_hanohano_). Among those deemed to be of the noblest rank and honor was the _ala’a-papa_. In its best days this was a stately and dignified performance, comparable to the old-fashioned courtly minuet.

We shall observe in this hula the division of the performers into two sets, the _hoopa’a_ and the _olapa_. Attention will naturally bestow itself first on the olapa, a division of the company made up of splendid youthful figures, young men, girls, and women in the prime of life. They stand a little apart and in advance of the others, the right hand extended, the left resting upon the hip, from which hangs in swelling folds the pa-ú. The time of their waiting for the signal to begin the dance gives the eye opportunity to make deliberate survey of the forms that stand before us.

The figures of the men are more finely proportioned, more statuesque, more worthy of preservation in marble or bronze than those of the women. Only at rare intervals does one find among this branch of the Polynesian race a female shape which from crown to sole will satisfy the canons of proportion—which one carries in the eye. That is not to say, however, that the artistic eye will not often meet a shape that appeals to the sense of grace and beauty. The springtime of Hawaiian womanly beauty hastes away too soon. Would it were possible to stay that fleeting period which ushers in full womanhood!

One finds himself asking the question to what extent the responsibility for this overthickness of leg and ankle—exaggerated in appearance, no doubt, by the ruffled anklets often worn—this pronounced tendency to the growth of that degenerate weed, fat, is to be explained by the standard of beauty which held sway in Hawaii’s courts and for many ages acted as a principle of selection in the physical molding of the Hawaiian female.

The prevailing type of physique among the Hawaiians, even more marked in the women than in the men, is the short and thick, as opposed to the graceful and slender. One does occasionally find delicacy of modeling in the young and immature; but with adolescence fatness too often comes to blur the outline.

The hoopa’a, who act as instrumentalists, very naturally maintain a position between sitting and kneeling, the better [Page 58] to enable them to handle that strangely effective drumlike instrument, the _ipu_, the one musical instrument used as an accompaniment in this hula. The ipu is made from the bodies of two larger pear-shaped calabashes of unequal sizes, which are joined together at their smaller ends in such a manner as to resemble a figure-of-eight. An opening is left at the top of the smaller calabash to increase the resonance. In moments of calm the musicians allow the body to rest upon the heels; as the action warms they lift themselves to such height as the bended knee will permit.

The ala’a-papa is a hula of comparatively moderate action. While the olapa employ hands, feet, and body in gesture and pose to illustrate the meaning and emotion of the song, the musicians mark the time by lifting and patting with the right hand the ipu each holds in the left hand. If the action of the play runs strong and stirs the emotions, each hoopa’a lifts his ipu wildly, fiercely smites it, then drops it on the padded rest in such manner as to bring out its deep mysterious tone.

At a signal from the kumu, who sits with the hoopa’a, the _poo-pua’a_, leader of the olapa, calls the mele (_kahea i ka mele_)—that is, he begins its recitation—in a tone differing but little from that of ordinary conversation, a sing-song recitation, a vocalization less stilted and less punctilious than that usually employed in the utterance of the oli or mele. The kumu, the leader of the company, now joins in, mouthing his words in full observance of the mele style. His manner of cantillation may be either what may be called the low relief, termed _ko’i-honua_, or a pompous alto-relievo style, termed _ai-ha’a_. This is the signal for the whole company to chime in, in the same style as the kumu. The result, as it seems to the untutored ear, is a confusion of sounds like that of the many-tongued roar of the ocean.

The songs cantillated for the hula ala’a-papa were many and of great variety. It seems to have been the practice for the kumu to arrange a number of mele, or poetical pieces, for presentation in the hula in such order as pleased him. These different mele, thus arranged, were called _pale_, compartments, or _mahele_, divisions, as if they were integral parts of one whole, while in reality their relation to one another was only that of the juxtaposition imposed upon them by the kumu.

The poetical pieces first to be presented were communicated to the author as mahele, divisions—hardly cantos—in the sense above defined. They are, however, distinct poems, though there chances to run through them all a somewhat similar motive. The origin of many of these is referred to a past so remote that tradition assigns them to what the Hawaiians call the _wa po_, the night of tradition, or they say of them, _no ke akua mai_, they are from the gods. It [Page 59] matters not how faithful has been the effort to translate these poems, they will not be found easy of comprehension. The local allusions, the point of view, the atmosphere that were in the mind of the savage are not in our minds to-day, and will not again be in any mind on earth; they defy our best efforts at reproduction. To conjure up the ghostly semblance of these dead impalpable things and make them live again is a problem that must be solved by each one with such aid from the divining rod of the imagination as the reader can summon to his help.

Now for the play, the song:

_Mele no Ka Hula Alá’a-papa_

MAHELE-HELE I

PAUKU 1

A Koolau wau, ike i ka ua, E ko-kolo la-lepo ana ka ua, E ka’i ku ana, ka’i mai ana ka ua, E nu mai ana ka ua i ke kuahiwi, 5 E po’i ana ka ua me he nalu la. E puka, a puka mai ka ua la. Waliwali ke one i ka hehi’a e ka ua; Ua holo-wai na kaha-wai; Ua ko-ké wale na pali. 10 Aia ka wai la i ka ilina,[126] he ilio, He ilio hae, ke nahu nei e puka.

[Translation.]

_Song for the Hula Alá’a-papa._

CANTO I

STANZA 1

’Twas in Koolau I met with the rain: It comes with lifting and tossing of dust, Advancing in columns, dashing along. The rain, it sighs in the forest; 5 The rain, it beats and whelms, like the surf; It smites, it smites now the land. Pasty the earth from the stamping rain; Full run the streams, a rushing flood; The mountain walls leap with the rain. 10 See the water chafing its bounds like a dog, A raging dog, gnawing its way to pass out.

This song is from the story of Hiiaka on her journey to Kauai to bring the handsome prince, Lohiau, to Pele. The region is that on the windward, _Koolau_, side of Oahu.

[Footnote 126: _Ilina_. A sink, a place where a stream sinks into the earth or sand.]

[Page 60]

PAUKU 2

Hoopono oe, he aina kai Waialua i ka hau; Ke olelo[127] wale no la i ka lani. Lohe ka uka o ka pehu i Ku-kani-loko.[128] I-loko, i-waho kaua la, e ka hoa, 5 I kahi e pau ai o ka oni? Oni ana i ka manawa o ka lili. Pee oe, pee ana iloko o ka hilahila. I hilahila wale ia no e oe; Nou no ka hale,[129] komo mai maloko.

The lines from the fourth to the ninth in this stanza (_pauku_) represent a dialogue between two lovers.

[Translation.]

STANZA 2

Look now, Waialua, land clothed with ocean-mist— Its wilderness-cries heaven’s ear only hears, The wilderness-gods of Ku-kani-loko. Within or without shall we stay, friend, 5 Until we have stilled the motion? To toss is a sign of impatience. You hide, hiding as if from shame, I am bashful because of your presence; The house is yours, you’ve only to enter.

PAUKU 3

(Ko’i-honua)

Pakú Kea-au,[130] lulu Wai-akea;[131] Noho i ka la’i loa o Hana-kahi,[132] O Hilo, i olokea[133] ia, i au la, e, i kai, O Lele-iwi,[134] o Maka-hana-loa.[135] 5 Me he kaele-papa[136] la Hilo, i lalo ka noho. Kaele[137] wale Hilo i ke alai ia e ka ua. Oi ka niho o ka ua o Hilo i ka lani; Kua-wa’a-wa’a Hilo eli ’a e ka wai; Kai-koo, haki na nalu, ka ua o Hilo; [Page 61] 10 Ha’i lau-wili mai ka nahele. Nanalu, kahe waikahe o Wai-luku; Hohonu Waiau,[138] nalo ke poo o ka lae o Moku-pane;[139] Wai ulaula o Wai-anue-nue;[140] Ka-wowo nui i ka wai o Kolo-pule-pule;[141] 15 Halulu i ha-ku’i, ku me he uahi la Ka puá, o ka wai ua o-aka i ka lani. Eleele Hilo e, pano e, i ka ua; Okakala ka hulu o Hilo i ke anu; Pili-kau[142] mai Hilo ia ua loa. 20 Pali-ku laau ka uka o Haili[143] Ka lae ohi’a e kope-kope, Me he aha moa la, ka pale pa laau, Ka nahele o Pa-ie-ie,[144] Ku’u po’e lehua iwaena konu o Mo-kau-lele;[145] 25 Me ka ha’i laau i pu-kaula hala’i i ka ua. Ke nana ia la e la’i i Hanakahi. Oni aku Hilo, oni ku’u kai lipo-lipo, A Lele-iwi, ku’u kai ahu mimiki a ka Malua.[146] Lei kahiko, lei nalu ka poai. 30 Nana Pu’u-eo[147] e! makai ka iwi-honua,[148] e! Puna-hoa la, ino, ku, ku wau a Wai-akea la.

[Footnote 127: _Olelo_. To speak, to converse; here used figuratively to mean that the place is lonely, has no view of the ocean, looks only to the sky. “Looks that commerce with the sky.”]

[Footnote 128: _Ku-kani-loko_. A land in Waialua, Oahu, to which princesses resorted in the olden times at the time of childbirth, that their offspring might have the distinction of being an _alii kapu_, a chief with a tabu.]

[Footnote 129: _Hale_ House; a familiar euphemism of the human body.]

[Footnote 130: _Kea-au_. An _ahu-pua’a_, small division of land, in Puna adjoining Hilo, represented as sheltering Hilo on that side.]

[Footnote 131: _Waiakea_. A river in Hilo, and the land through which it flows.]

[Footnote 132: _Hana-kahi_. A land on the Hamakua side of Hilo, also a king whose name was a synonym for profound peace.]

[Footnote 133: _Olo-kea_. To be invited or pulled many ways at once; distracted.]

[Footnote 134: _Lele-iwi_. A cape on the north side of Hilo.]

[Footnote 135: _Maka-hana-loa_. A cape.]

[Footnote 136: _Kaele-papa_. A large, round, hollowed board on which to pound taro in the making of poi. The poi-board was usually long and oval.]

[Footnote 137: _Kaele_. In this connection the meaning is surrounded, encompassed by.]

[Footnote 138: _Waiau_. The name given to the stretch of Wailuku river near its mouth.]

[Footnote 139: _Moku-pane_. The cape between the mouth of the Wailuku river and the town of Hilo.]

[Footnote 140: _Wai-anue-nue_. Rainbow falls and the river that makes the leap.]

[Footnote 141: _Kolo-pule-pule_. Another branch of the Wailuku stream.]

[Footnote 142: _Pili-kau_. To hang low, said of a cloud.]

[Footnote 143: _Haili_. A region in the inland, woody, part of Hilo.]

[Footnote 144: _Pa-ieie_. A well-wooded part of Hilo, once much resorted to by bird-hunters; a place celebrated in Hawaiian song.]

[Footnote 145: _Mokau-lele_. A wild, woody region In the interior of Hilo.]

[Footnote 146: _Malua_. Name given to a wind from a northerly or northwesterly direction on several of the islands. The full form is Malua-lua.]

[Footnote 147: _Pu’u-eo_. A village in the Hilo district near Puna.]

[Footnote 148: _Iwi-honua_. Literally a bone of the earth: a projecting rock or a shoal; if in the water, an object to be avoided by the surf-rider. In this connection see note _e_, p. 36.]

[Translation.]

STANZA 3

(With distinct utterance)

Kea-au shelters, Waiakea lies in the calm, The deep peace of King Hana-kahi. Hilo, of many diversions, swims in the ocean, ’Tween Point Lele-iwi and Maka-hana-loa; 5 And the village rests in the bowl, Its border surrounded with rain— Sharp from the sky the tooth of Hilo’s rain. Trenched is the land, scooped out by the downpour— Tossed and like gnawing surf is Hilo’s rain— 10 Beach strewn with a tangle of thicket growth; A billowy freshet pours in Wailuku; Swoll’n is Wai-au, flooding the point Moku-pane; And red leaps the water of Anue-nue. A roar to heaven sends up Kolo-pule, [Page 62] 15 Shaking like thunder, mist rising like smoke. The rain-cloud unfolds in the heavens; Dark grows Hilo, black with the rain. The skin of Hilo grows rough from the cold; The storm-cloud hangs low o’er the land. 20 A rampart stand the woods of Haili; Ohi’as thick-set must be brushed aside, To tear one’s way, like a covey of fowl, In the wilds of Pa-ie-ie— Lehua growths mine—heart of Mokau-lele. 25 A breaking, a weaving of boughs, to shield from rain; A look enraptured on Hana-kahi, Sees Hilo astir, the blue ocean tossing Wind-thrown-spray—dear sea—’gainst Point Lele-iwi— A time-worn foam-wreath to encircle its brow. 30 Look, Pu’u-eo! guard ’gainst the earth-rib! It’s Puna-hoa reef; halt! At Waiakea halt!

PAUKU 4

(Ai-ha’a)

Kua loloa Kea-au i ka nahele; Hala kua hulu-hulu Pana-ewa i ka laau; Inoino ka maha o ka ohia o La’a. Ua ku kepakepa ka maha o ka lehua; 5 Ua po-po’o-hina i ka wela a ke Akua. Ua u-ahi Puna i ka oloka’a pohaku, I ka huna pa’a ia e ka wahine. Nanahu ahi ka papa o Olu-ea; Momoku ahi Puna hala i Apua; 10 Ulu-á ka nahele me ka laau. Oloka’a kekahi ko’i e Papa-lau-ahi; I eli ’a kahi ko’i e Ku-lili-kaua. Kai-ahea a hala i Ka-li’u; A eu e, e ka La, ka malama-lama. 15 O-na-naka ka piko o Hilo ua me ke one, I huli i uka la, i hulihia i kai; Ua wa-wahi ’a, ua na-ha-há, Ua he-hele-lei!

[Translation.]

STANZA 4

(Bombastic style)

Ke’-au is a long strip of wildwood; Shag of pandanus mantles Pan’-ewa; Scraggy the branching of Laa’s ohias; The lehua limbs at sixes and sevens— 5 They are gray from the heat of the goddess. [Page 63] Puna smokes mid the bowling of rocks— Wood and rock the She-god heaps in confusion, The plain Oluea’s one bed of live coals; Puna is strewn with fires clean to Apua, 10 Thickets and tall trees a-blazing. Sweep on, oh fire-ax, thy flame-shooting flood! Smit by this ax is Ku-lili-kaua. It’s a flood tide of lava clean to Kali’u, And the Sun, the light-giver, is conquered. 15 The bones of wet Hilo rattle from drought; She turns for comfort to mountain, to sea, Fissured and broken, resolved into dust.

This poem is taken from the story of Hiiaka. On her return from the journey to fetch Lohiau she found that her sister Pele had treacherously ravaged with fire Puna, the district that contained her own dear woodlands. The description given in the poem is of the resulting desolation.

PAUKA 5

No-luna ka Hale-kai[149] no ka ma’a-lewa,[150] Nana ka maka ia Moana-nui-ka-lehua.[151] Noi au i ke Kai, e mali’o.[152] Ina ku a’e la he lehua[153] ilaila! 5 Hopoe-lehua[154] kiekie. Maka’u ka lehua i ke kanáka,[155] Lilo ilalo e hele ai, e-e, A ilalo hoi. O Kea-au[156] ili-ili nehe ke kai, [Page 64] 10 Hoo-lono[157] ke kai o Puna I ka ulu hala la, e-e, Kai-ko’o Puna. Ia hooneenee ia pili mai[158] kaua, e ke hoa. Ke waiho e mai la oe ilaila. 15 Ela ka mea ino la, he anu, A he anu me he mea la iwaho kaua, e ke hoa; Me he wai la ko kaua ili.

[Footnote 149: _Hale-kai_. A wild mountain, glen back of Hanalei valley, Kauai.]

[Footnote 150: _Ma’alewa_. An aerial root that formed a sort of ladder by which one climbed the mountain steeps; literally a shaking sling.]

[Footnote 151: _Moana-nui-ka-lehua_. A female demigod that came from the South (_Ku-kulu-o-Kahiki_) at about the same mythical period as that of Pele’s arrival—If not in her company—and who was put in charge of a portion of the channel that lies between Kauai and Oahu. This channel was generally termed _Ie-ie-waena_ and _Ie-ie-waho_. Here the name _Moana-nui-ka-lehua_ seems to be used to indicate the sea as well as the demigoddess, whose dominion it was. Ordinarily she appeared as a powerful fish, but she was capable of assuming the form of a beautiful woman (mermaid?). The title _lehua_ was given her on account of her womanly charms.]

[Footnote 152: _Mali’o_. Apparently another form of the word _malino_, calm; at any rate it has the same meaning.]

[Footnote 153: _Lehua_. An allusion to the ill-fated’ young woman Hopoe, who was Hiiaka’s intimate friend. The allusion is amplified in the next line.]

[Footnote 154: _Hopoe-lehua_. The lehua tree was one of the forms in which Hopoe appeared, and after her death, due to the jealous rage of Pele, she was turned into a charred lehua tree which stood on the coast subject to the beating of the surf.]

[Footnote 155: _Maka’u ka lehua i ke kanaka_. Another version has it _Maka’u ke kanaka i ka lehua_; Man fears the lehua. The form here used is perhaps an ironical allusion to man’s fondness not only to despoil the tree of its scarlet flowers, but womanhood, the woman it represented.]

[Footnote 156: _Kea-au_. Often shortened in pronunciation to _Ke-au_, a fishing village in Puna near Hilo town. It now has a landing place for small vessels.]

[Footnote 157: _Hoolono_. To call, to make an uproar, to spread a report.]

[Footnote 158: _Ia hoo-nee-nee ia pili mai_. A very peculiar figure of speech. It Is as if the poet personified, the act of two lovers snuggling up close to each other. Compare with this the expression _No huli mai_, used by another poet in the thirteenth line of the lyric given on p. 204. The motive is the same in each case.]

The author of this poem of venerable age is not known. It is spoken of as belonging to the _wa po_, the twilight of tradition. It is represented to be part of a mele taught to Hiiaka by her friend and preceptress in the hula, Hopoe. Hopoe is often called _Hopoe-wahine_. From internal evidence one can see that it can not be in form the same as was given to Hiiaka by Hopoe; it may have been founded on the poem of Hopoe. If so, it has been modified.

[Translation.]

STANZA 5

From mountain retreat and root-woven ladder Mine eye looks down on goddess Moana-Lehua; I beg of the Sea, Be thou calm; Would there might stand on thy shore a lehua— 5 Lehua-tree tall of Ho-poe. The lehua is fearful of man; It leaves him to walk on the ground below, To walk the ground far below. The pebbles at Ke’-au grind in the surf. 10 The sea at Ke’-au shouts to Puna’s palms, “Fierce is the sea of Puna.” Move hither, snug close, companion mine; You lie so aloof over there. Oh what a bad fellow is cold! 15 ’Tis as if we were out on the wold; Our bodies so clammy and chill, friend!

The last five verses, which sound like a love song, may possibly be a modern addition to this old poem. The sentiment they contain is comparable to that expressed in the Song of Welcome on page 39:

Eia ka pu’u nui o waho nei, he anu. The hill of Affliction out there is the cold.

[Page 65]

MAHELE-HELE II

Hi’u-o-lani,[159] kii ka ua o Hilo[160] i ka lani; Ke hookiikii mai la ke ao o Pua-lani;[161] O mahele ana,[162] pulu Hilo i ka ua— O Hilo Hana-kahi.[163]

5 Ha’i ka nalu, wai kaka lepo o Pii-lani; Hai’na ka iwi o Hilo, I ke ku ia e ka wai. Oni’o lele a ka ua o Hilo i ka lani.

Ke hookiikii mai la ke ao o Pua-lani, 10 Ke holuholu a’e la e puka, Puka e nana ke kiki a ka ua, Ka nonoho a ka ua i ka hale o Hilo.

Like Hilo me Puna ke ku a mauna-ole[164] He ole ke ku a mauna Hilo me Puna. 15 He kowa Puna mawaena Hilo me Ka-ú; Ke pili wale la i ke kua i mauna-ole; Pili hoohaha i ke kua o Mauna-loa.

He kuahiwi Ka-ú e pa ka makani. Ke alai ia a’e la Ka-ú e ke A’e;[165] 20 Ka-u ku ke ehu lepo ke A’e; Ku ke ehu-lepo mai la Ka-ú i ka makani. Makani Kawa hu’a-lepo Ka-ú i ke A’e.

[Page 66] Kahiko mau no o Ka-ú i ka makani. Makani ka Lae-ka-ilio i Unu-lau, 25 Kaili-ki’i[166] a ka lua a Kaheahea,[167] I ka ha’a nawali ia ino.

Ino wa o ka mankani o Kau-ná. Nana aku o ka makani malaila! O Hono-malino, malino i ka la’i o Kona. 30 He inoa la!

[Footnote 159: _Hi’u-o-lani_. A very blind phrase. Hawaiians disagree as to its meaning. In the author’s opinion, it is a word referring to the conjurer’s art.]

[Footnote 160: _Ua o Hilo_. Hilo is a very rainy country. The name Hilo seems to be used here as almost a synonym of violent rain. It calls to mind the use of the word Hilo to signify a strong wind:

Pa mai, pa mai, Ka makani a Hilo![168] Waiho ka ipu iki, Homai ka ipu nui!

[Translation.]

Blow, blow, thou wind of Hilo! Leave the little calabash, Bring on the big one! ]

[Footnote 161: _Pua-lani_. The name of a deity who took the form of the rosy clouds of morning.]

[Footnote 162: _Mahele ana_. Literally the dividing; an allusion to the fact, it is said, that in Hilo a rain-cloud, or rain-squall, as it came up would often divide and a part of it turn off toward Puna at the cape named Lele-iwi, one-half watering, in the direction of the present town, the land known as Hana-kahi.]

[Footnote 163: _Hana-kahi_. Look at note _f_, p. 60.]

[Footnote 164: _Mauna-ole_. According to one authority this should be Mauna-Hilo. Verses 13, 14, 16, and 17 are difficult of translation. The play on the words _ku a_, standing at, or standing by, and _kua_, the back; also on the word _kowa_, a gulf or strait; and the repetition of the word _mauna_, mountain—all this is carried to such an extent as to be quite unintelligible to the Anglo-Saxon mind, though full of significance to a Hawaiian.]

[Footnote 165: _A’e_. A strong wind that prevails in Ka-u. The same word also means to step on, to climb. This double-meaning gives the poet opportunity for a euphuistic word-play that was much enjoyed by the Hawaiians. The Hawaiians of the present day are not quite up to this sort of logomachy.]

[Footnote 166: _Kaili-ki’i_. The promontory that shelters the cove _Ka-hewa-hewa_.]

[Footnote 167: _Ka-hea-hea_. The name of the cove _Ka-hewa-hewa_, above mentioned, is here given in a softened form obtained by the elision of the letter _w_.]

[Footnote 168: _Hilo_, or Whiro, as in the Maori, was a great navigator.]

[Translation.]

CANTO II

Heaven-magic, fetch a Hilo-pour from heaven! Morn’s cloud-buds, look! they swell in the East. The rain-cloud parts, Hilo is deluged with rain, The Hilo of King Hana-kahi.

5 Surf breaks, stirs the mire of Pii-lani; 5 The bones of Hilo are broken By the blows of the rain. Ghostly the rain-scud of Hilo in heaven;

The cloud-forms of Pua-lani grow and thicken. 10 The rain-priest bestirs him now to go forth, Forth to observe the stab and thrust of the rain, The rain that clings to the roof of Hilo.

Hilo, like Puna, stands mountainless; Aye, mountain-free stand Hilo and Puna. 15 Puna ’s a gulf ’twixt Ka-ú and Hilo; Just leaning her back on Mount Nothing, She sleeps at the feet of Mount Loa.

A mountain-back is Ka-ú which the wind strikes, Ka-ú, a land much scourged by the A’e. 20 A dust-cloud lifts in Ka-ú as one climbs. A dust-bloom floats, the lift of the wind: ’Tis blasts from mountain-walls piles dust, the A’e.

Ka-ú was always tormented with wind. Cape-of-the-Dog feels Unulau’s blasts; 25 They turmoil the cove of Ka-hea-hea, Defying all strength with their violence.

There’s a storm when wind blows at Kau-ná. Just look at the tempest there raging! Hono-malino sleeps sheltered by Kona. 30 A eulogy this of a name.

“What name?” was asked of the old Hawaiian.

“A god,” said he.

“How is that? A mele-inoa celebrates the name and glory of a king, not of a god.” [Page 67]

His answer was, “The gods composed the mele; men did not compose it.”

Like an old-time geologist, he solved the puzzle of a novel phenomenon by ascribing it to God.

MAHELE III

(Ai-ha’a)

A Koa’e-kea,[169] i Pueo-hulu-nui,[169] Neeu a’e la ka makahiapo o ka pali; A a’e, a a’e, a’e[170] la iluna Kaholo-kua-iwa, ka pali o Ha’i.[171] 5 Ha’i a’e la ka pali; Ha-nu’u ka pali; Hala e Malu-ó; Hala a’e la Ka-maha-la’a-wili, Ke kaupoku hale a ka ua. 10 Me he mea i uwae’na a’e la ka pali; Me he hale pi’o ka lei na ka manawa o ka pali Halehale-o-ú; Me he aho i hilo ’a la ka wai o Wai-hi-lau; Me he uahi pulehu-manu la ke kai o ka auwala hula ana. Au ana Maka’u-kiu[172] iloko o ke kai; 15 Pohaku lele[173] o Lau-nui, Lau-pahoehoe. Ka eku’na a ke kai i ka ala o Ka-wai-kapu— Eku ana, me he pua’a la, ka lae Makani-lele, Koho-lá-lele.

[Translation.]

CANTO III

(Bombastic style)

Haunt of white tropic-bird and big ruffled owl, Up rises the firstborn child of the pali. He climbs, he climbs, he climbs up aloft, Kaholo-ku’-iwa, the pali of Ha’i. 5 Accomplished now is the steep, The ladder-like series of steps. Malu-ó is left far below. [Page 68] Passed is Ka-maha-la’-wili, The very ridge-pole of the rain— 10 It’s as if the peak cut it in twain— An arched roof the peak’s crest Hale-hale-o-ú. A twisted cord hangs the brook Wai-hilau; Like smoke from roasting bird Ocean’s wild dance; The shark-god is swimming the sea; 15 The rocks leap down at Big-leaf[174] and Flat-leaf—[174] See the ocean charge ’gainst the cliffs, Thrust snout like rooting boar against Windy-cape, Against Koholá-lele.

[Footnote 169: _Koa’e-kea, Pueo hulu-nui_. Steep declivities, _pali_, on the side of Waipio valley, Hawaii. Instead of inserting these names, which would be meaningless without an explanation, the author has given a literal translation of the names themselves, thus getting a closer insight into the Hawaiian thought.]

[Footnote 170: _A’e_. The precipices rise one above another like the steps of a stairway, climbing, climbing up, though the probable intent of the poet is to represent some one as climbing the ascent.]

[Footnote 171: _Ha’i_. Short for _Ha’ina-kolo;_ a woman about whom there is a story of tragic adventure. Through eating when famished of some berries in an unceremonious way she became distraught and wandered about for many months until discovered by the persistent efforts of her husband. The pali which she climbed was named after her.]

[Footnote 172: _Maka’u-kiu_. The name of a famous huge shark that was regarded with reverential fear.]

[Footnote 173: _Pohaku lele_. In order to determine whether a shark was present, it was the custom, before going into the clear water of some of these coves, to throw rocks into the water in order to disturb the monster and make his presence known.]

[Footnote 174: _Big-leaf_. A literal translation of _Lau-nui_. _Laupahoehoe_, Flat-leaf.]

MAHELE IV

Hole[175] Waimea i ka ihe a ka makani, Hao mai na ale a ke Ki-pu’u-pu’u;[176] He laau kala-ihi ia na ke anu, I o’o i ka nahele o Mahiki.[177] 5 Ku aku la oe i ka Malanai[178] a ke Ki-puu-puu; Nolu ka maka o ka oha-wai[179] o Uli; Niniau, eha ka pua o Koaie,[180] Eha i ke anu ka nahele o Wai-ka-é, A he aloha, e! 10 Aloha Wai-ká, ia’u me he ipo la; Me he ipo la ka maka lena o ke Koo-lau,[181] Ka pua i ka nahele o Mahule-i-a, E lei hele i ke alo o Moo-lau.[182] E lau ka huaka’i-hele i ka pali loa; 15 Hele hihiu, puli[183] noho i ka nahele. O ku’u noho wale iho no i kahua, e-e. A he aloha, e-e! O kou aloha ka i hiki mai i o’u nei. Mahea la ia i nalo iho nei?

This mele, _Hole Waimea_, is also sung in connection with the hula _ipu_.

[Footnote 175: _Hole_. To rasp, to handle rudely, to caress passionately. Waimea is a district and village on Hawaii.]

[Footnote 176: _Kipu’u-pu’u_. A cold wind from Mauna-Kea that blows at Waimea.]

[Footnote 177: _Mahiki_. A woodland in Waimea, in mythological times haunted by demons and spooks.]

[Footnote 178: _Mala-nai_. The poetical name of a wind, probably the trade wind; a name much used in Hawaiian sentimental poetry.]

[Footnote 179: _Oha-wai_. A water hole that is filled by dripping; an important source of supply for drinking purposes in certain parts of Hawaii.]

[Footnote 180: _Pua o Koaie_, The koaie is a tree that grows in the wilds, the blossom of which is extremely fragrant. (Not the same as that subspecies of the _koa_ (Acacia koa) which Hillebrand describes and wrongly spells _koaia_. Here a euphemism for the delicate parts.)]

[Footnote 181: _Koolau_, or, full form, _Ko-kao-lau_. Described by Doctor Hillebrand as _Kokolau_, a wrong spelling. It has a pretty yellow flower, a yellow eye—_maka lena_—as the song has it. Here used tropically. (This is the plant whose leaf is sometimes used as a substitute for tea.)]

[Footnote 182: _Moolau_. An expression used figuratively to mean a woman, more especially her breasts. The term _Huli-lau_, is also used, in a slang way, to signify the breasts of a woman, the primitive meaning being a calabash.]

[Footnote 183: _Pili_. To touch; touched. This was the word used in the forfeit-paying love game, _kilu_, when the player made a point by hitting the target of his opponent with his _kilu_. (For further description see p. 235.)] [Page 69] The song above given, the translation of which is to follow, belongs to historic times, being ascribed to King Liholiho—Kamehameha II—who died in London July 13, 1824, on his visit to England. It attained great vogue and still holds its popularity with the Hawaiians. The reader will note the comparative effeminacy and sentimentality of the style and the frequent use of euphemisms and double-entendre. The double meaning in a Hawaiian mele will not always be evident to one whose acquaintance with the language is not intimate. To one who comes to it from excursions in Anglo-Saxon poetry, wandering through its “meadows trim with daisies pied,” the sly intent of the Hawaiian, even when pointed out, will, no doubt, seem an inconsequential thing and the demonstration of it an impertinence, if not a fiction to the imagination. Its euphemisms in reality have no baser intent than the euphuisms of Lyly, Ben Jonson, or Shakespeare.

[Translation.]

_Song—Hole Waimea_