Chapter XXXVIII: Hiiaka and Lohiau ... a Reunion (2)

[252] Iku-wa, the name of a month in the Hawaiian year, corresponding, according to one account, pretty closely to October; according to another nomenclature it corresponds pretty nearly to our April. The name etymologically connoted thunder and reverberations.

[253] Eka mua, literally, the first blast of a storm; here used figuratively to mean the first sexual ecstacy.

[254] Hoaka, a setting forth in figures. (Hoakaka).

[255] Ana-ku, the name of a cave situated somewhere in the caldera of Kilauea, a place of assembly for the gods. Its use here is evidently for a highly figurative purpose, and has, of course, to do with Pele and her affair with Kama-pua'a.

[256] Ha-amo, the name of the road to Ana-ku. (Peleioholani).

[257] Pahu. It is doubtful whether this means a drum or a post. In either case, in the smash-up of the one or the overthrow of the other, the figure evidently is designed to set forth the confusion caused by the catastrophe--Pele's debauchment. The other figures that follow have the same purpose.

[258] Halau ololo, literally, a long shed or canoe-house, meaning a place of common assembly for people. The figure is applied to Pele and is intended to declare that, through her affair with Kama-pua'a she had degraded herself and robbed her body of its tabu, its sanctity.

[259] Kiko, a mark to indicate a tabu. Two ti leaves placed crosswise, and held in place by a pebble, would constitute a kiko.

[260] Mo'a, literally, cooked; meaning that the tabu has expired, been abrogated.

[261] Pu'e-pu'e, the hills of taro. Kaele means the division or apportioning of them.

[262] Ne'ine'i, the more scattered, smaller, hills of taro, those that are nearer the bank.

[263] Pakikokiko, the scattered taro plants that grow in the water-course.

[264] These Honopu women, two in number, were mo'o, witches, related to Kilioe, a famous witch-mo'o of Hawaii, and their names were Kili-oe-i-ka-pua and Ka-lana-mai-nu'u.

[265] Kili-hau, the name given to a local wind accompanied by a fine rain.

[266] Kili-opu, a name descriptive of a wind and rain-shafts that, plunging into the water, made as little splash as a skillful diver.

[267] Pu'e. This word is here used in an unusual sense to mean cold.

[268] Hanehane, the shrill, seemingly far-off, wailing of a ghost; ghostly.

[269] Pololei, an archaic name applied to the land shell, now known as pupu-kanioi. This was supposed to utter a delicate trilling cry similar to that of the cricket.

[270] Lima-loa, the god Mirage.

[271] Wawae-nohu, the name given to a red cloud seen at sunset in the west from Mana, Kauai.

[272] Ka-halau-a-ola, literally, the hall of health. The more commonly used appellation Mauli-ola, was both the name of a deity and of a mystical place. One may infer from their use that Halau-a-ola meant rather a sort of house-of-refuge, a place of security from the attack of an enemy, while Mauli-ola had in view a mystical, beatific, condition. The former is illustrated in the line describing Kama-pua'a's escape from Pele's onslaught:

Noho ana Kama-pua'a i ka Halau-a-ola.
Kama-pua'a finds refuge in the hall of life.

[273] Hala-aniani, a small lake of fresh water in a cave at Haena, in which the writer has bathed.

[274] Koa maka-iwa, idols with eyes of mother o' pearl. To this class belonged Ku-kaili-moku, the famous war god of Kamehameha.

[275] Halawa, the largest valley on Moloka'i, a stronghold of priestcraft and sorcery. "Ua o'o na pule o Moloka'i," the incantations of Moloka'i are ripe, became a proverbial expression.

[276] Hea, a stream near Haena.

[277] Hana-ia-ka-malama, a benevolent goddess who presided over the tabus that were the birthright of certain chiefs. The rules and observances that etiquette prescribed in the life and conduct of such a chief were intricate and burdensome to the last degree. It was, for instance, required that an infant who inherited this sort of a tabu must not be placed in such a position that the sun's rays could shine on its vertex.

[278] Mai-u'u, Ma-a'a, two goddesses (of the wilderness) whose function it was to string or twine leis and wreaths for the decoration of the superior gods. All the gods here mentioned were sometimes grouped under the appellation Akua o ka wa po--gods of the night-time--the fact being, however, that they worked as much by day as by night.

[279] Nahinahi-ana, another name for the goddess Hina-ulu-ohi'a, under which appelation her function was to make the dyes used in coloring and printing the tapas.

[280] Kuhulu ma. The particle-affix ma indicates that this name, or cognomen rather, comprises a group--in this case a family group--of deities. Under the family cognomen Ku were ranged a large and important group of deities, to whom were given individual appelations appropriate to their functions. Thus, Ku-huluhulu and Ku-ka-ohi'a-laka were deities worshipped by the canoe-makers. Ku-hulu and his set (ma) exercised a function akin to that of the water-carrier. They had charge of the fabled, life-giving water of Kane, Wai a Kane, and served it out according to the needs of men.

[281] Hanau a Kane, offspring of Kane. This appellation is intended, apparently, to cover the whole list of names already mentioned and, perhaps, some to be mentioned later in the mele.

[282] Wahine. Who these women, goddesses, were is brought out in what follows.

[283] Na Wahine i ka pa'ipa'i, literally, the women who clapped, or applauded; but more closely specified as:

[284] Pa'i-kua, the goddess who slapped the back, as was done in the hula.

[285] Pa'i-alo, the goddess who slapped the chest, as was also done in the hula.

[286] Pa'i-kauhale, she who knocked at the doors of the village, i.e., who roused the people generally.

[287] Aha, the charm of a pule, its ceremonial correctness, its power as an incantation.

[288] Lele wale, to get off the track; to go astray; to fail to hit the point.

[289] A pa ia'u, pa ia oe, with results disastrous to me and to you.

[290] Wahine-kapu, a bluff in the north-western wall that surrounds the caldera of Kilauea, the tabu residence of god Ka-moho-alii, a brother of Pele.

[291] Hoali'i (Hoa, companion and alii, chief); a fellow chief.

[292] Ku-wa'a, a god who presided at the hauling of a canoe-log. The shout raised on such an occasion, though it sounds almost like a repetition of this god's name, being "ku maumau wa," had a different origin.

[293] Ku-haili-moe, one of the Ku gods, whose function it was to induce or preside over dreams at night.

[294] Naele o Hawaii, probably meaning the whole broad area of Hawaii. One view would make it refer specially to the swampy lands.

[295] Kui-kui, an archaic form of the word kukui; here meaning both the candle made from the kukui nut and the god who had the same under his special charge.

[296] Koli-koli, the god who presided over the snuffling of the kukui nut candles. These were made by stringing the roasted nuts on a coconut leaf-rib.

[297] Kaha-ula, the goddess who presided over erotic dreams.

[298] Lono-makua, a god one of whose functions was to act as guardian of fire. When Pele and Kama-pua'a fought together and Kama-pua'a had succeeded in extinguishing the fires of Kilauea, Pele, in dismay, appealed to Lono-makua, saying, "There is no fire left." Lono-makua calmly pointed to his armpit and said, "Here is the fire, in these fire-sticks," (aunaki and aulima). The armpit was his place for carrying these sticks. When the Hawaiians first saw a White man with a lighted pipe in his mouth, smoke issuing therefrom, they said, "Surely, this is the great god Lono-makua; he breathes out fire."

[299] Kane-kapolei, god of flowers and shrubs.

[300] Laka, a god, or demi-god of various functions, such as fishing, agriculture, and house-building. Malo mentions Ku-ka-ohi'a-Laka as a god invoked by canoe-makers. Laka is evidently derived from the name Rata, which in Tahiti, Raro-tonga and New Zealand is the name of the ohi'a tree. Laka is to be distinguished from Laka, the goddess of the hula.

[301] Haina-kolo, the same as Ha'i-wahine, the name used in the Hawaiian text. Ha'ina-kolo is a name that spells tragedy. She was a princess of Hawaii who married a mythical being, Ke-anini-ula-o-ka-lani and went with him to his home in the South. Being deserted by her husband, after the birth of her child she started to swim home to Hawaii. Arriving in a famished condition in Kohala, she ate of some ulei berries without first making an offering to the gods. For this offense she was afflicted with insanity, and being distraught, she wandered in the wilderness until her repentant husband sent for her and restored her by his returning love.

[302] Uli, the chief aumakua of sorcery, but at the same time having power as a healer if she would but exercise it.

[303] Alohi-lani (literally, the shining heavenly ones); the notions that prevail as to its precise meaning in this place are vague.

[304] Kupukupu, a benevolent deity who healed diseases and who caused vegetation to flourish.

[305] Uli. In this connection the word means black. Ilio is a cloud.

[306] Mea, yellow. Ilio mea, a yellow cloud.

[307] Ku-ke-ao-iki, a form of the god Ku, a small cloud--hand-size--that grew and grew until it became ominous and seemed to fill the heavens.

[308] Ku-ke-ao-loa, a cloud-omen grown to full size.

[309] Ku-ke-ao-poko, said to be a cloud that quickly dissolved itself in rain.

[310] Ku-ke-ao-apihapiha, a sky full of small clouds, probably the same as our "mackerel sky." All these different kinds of clouds are forms in which Ku showed himself.

[311] Kanaka o ka mauna. This undoubtedly means Ku-pulupulu, a god of the canoe-makers. He seems to have had much influence over the lawless Kini Akua. He it was who contracted for the building of a canoe for the hero Laka.

[312] Ulu laau, another form of ulu; a shady place.

[313] Hina, to sit or kneel for prayer.

[314] Omaka, a quiet, silent, place in the wilderness suitable for prayer.

[315] Kana, another form of kena, enough.

[316] Wai, the awa cup.

[317] Ka-hoalii, one of the gods who came with Pele from Kahiki.

[318] Piko. The operation of trimming the thatch over the door of a house was a ceremonious operation and was termed oki ka piko. No one would think of sitting in the doorway or of standing on the door sill; it was sacred to Ka-hoalii (mentioned in the 14th line.)

[319] Uli, the arch-goddess of sorcery and anaana (praying to death). It seems to be implied that she has healing power as well as power to kill. Or, it may be, she is invoked, retained, to keep her from enlisting on the side of the opposition.

[320] Ilio-uli o ka lani, the slaty-blue clouds, here appealed to as kupua, beings possessed of power for good or ill.

[321] Ilio-mea, a white cloud (cumulus).

[322] Ilio-ehu, a cloud having a ruddy tint from the light of the sun.

[323] Ku-ke-ao-iki, clouds broken up into small fragments, like our mackerel sky.

[324] Ku-ke-ao-loa, the long stratus clouds, here represented as an embodiment of Ku.

[325] Ku-ke-ao-poko, a small compact cloud standing detached from its fellows.

[326] Ku-ke-ao-awihiwihi-ula, a ruddy cloud, ragged at its border.

[327] Kanaka o ka mauna, probably the Kini Akua, the host of elfins, kobolds and brownies--godlings--that peopled the wilderness.

[328] Hoa hele o ka ulu-laau, an apposition clause that explains the previous appellations.

[329] Na Keo-lani, goddesses of healing.

[330] Maka'a-pule, a term applied to an ohi'a fruit (mountain apple) when so ripe that its seed rattled within the drupe. It was then in the finest condition for eating.

[331] Ku-haili-moe, the same god as Ku-haili-moku, who bedecked the land with greenery, a god also worshipped by the canoe-makers.

[332] Ha'iha'i-lau-ahea, said to be the same as Ha'ina-kolo.

[333] Wahine i kapa ku, the woman who stood in the outskirts of the assembly.

[334] Uhau, to lay down or offer a prayer, as, e.g., uhau i ka pule. The offering of the prayer is considered as a physical act, the same as laying down a pig or a fish on the altar of the god.

[335] Paeaea, a fishing rod; the act of fishing. Hiiaka is represented as fishing for a favor.

[336] Laka, a god, or demi-god, of various functions, including fishing, agriculture and a participation in house-building. He was also one of the gods invoked by canoe-builders. The name is evidently the same as Rata, the appellation, in Tahiti, Raro-tonga and New Zealand, of the lehua (Metrosideros lutea). N.B. This Laka is to be carefully distinguished from the female Laka, the goddess and patron of the hula as well as necromancy.

[337] Kai-a-ulu, a sea-breeze that comforted Waianae.

[338] Kane-pu-niu, a form of god Kane, now an uncarved bowlder; here used in a tropical sense to mean the head. The Hawaiians, impelled by the same vein of humor as ourselves, often spoke of the human head as a coconut (pu-niu).

[339] Kona, here used as a local name for the sea-breeze.

[340] Koolau-wahine, a wind, stronger, but from the same direction as the Kona.

[341] The author begs to remark that sunstroke is unknown in all Hawaii.

[342] Lau-a'e, a fragrant plant that grows in the woods of Kauai.

[343] Akua. The word akua was used not alone to designate the gods, it was also applied to any superhuman or supernatural being. The reference here is to the little creatures that swarmed in the land.

[344] Oe. This last line is evidently addressed to her traveling companion, Wahine-oma'o, whom she descried in the canoe in the offing.

[345] Huli ke alo i ka paia. To sleep with one's face turned to the wall was reckoned to indicate a high degree of confidence in one's safety.

[346] Ula, a tingling in the ears. Tinnitus aurium, a tingling in the ears, or any similar symptom in that organ was regarded as a sure sign that some person was making a communication from a distance. This superstition, or sentiment, in regard to tinnitus aurium was not peculiar to the Polynesian. In Der Trompeter von Säckingen I find the following:

Laut das Ohr klingt, als ein Zeichen,
Dass die Heimath sein gedenket,--

[347] Pahele-hala, literally, shaking the hala (pandanus tree). Hala also meant fault or sin. The figure is to be taken to mean a shaking of sins, in other words, a casting of them away, a disregarding of them.

[348] Wai-lua, an abyss in the water. The reference is, of course, to the shark-gods.

[349] Laau, wooden. The reference is to the shark-bodies of the two monsters which became dead, wooden, when discarded by them on their coming out of the ocean and resuming ordinary human form.

[350] Lehua. The full name is Moana-nui-ka-lehua, a goddess (mermaid) whose domain was in the abyss of the Ieie-waena channel. For further details see remarks in the text.

[351] Aina, to furnish food.

[352] Lahui, wholly, entirely.

[353] Huki, to fetch a wide course; to deviate from a direct course.

[354] Ilio, dog. It is explained that the meaning covered by this figure is a storm-cloud and that the stripping off of its garment, wehe ... i kona kapa, meant its break up into the fleecy white clouds of fair weather. It seems that if the head of this cloud-dog pointed to the west it meant rain, if to the east, fair weather.

[355] Hanai alualu, to fan with a gentle breeze. Alu-alu is another form for oluolu.

[356] Miki-kala and Puha-malo, names of places along the coast of Oahu in the region under observation.

[357] Kai-a-ulu, a wind felt on the leeward side of Oahu.

[358] Ha'ina na ihu. Ha'i, to break or be broken. The Hawaiian kiss was a flattening of nose against nose. The breaking of noses, as here, therefore, means excessive kissing.

[359] Lualua-lei, the name of a plain in this region.

[360] Barber's Point.

[361] Kua-mú, said to be the name of a wind, the blowing of which caused heavy rain in the woods back of Hilo.

[362] Hana-kahi, an ancient king of Hilo, frequently mentioned in poetry, whose name is used to designate the district.

[363] Hale Lehua, an evident allusion to the goddess, or mermaid, Moana-nui-ka-Lehua. She was a relative of Pele and had her habitation in the ocean caverns of Ie-ie-waena, the channel between Oahu and Kauai. Her story belongs to the time when the sun-hero Mawi was performing his wonderful exploits. (See account given on p. 104.)

[364] Pulelo, a word descriptive of the tremor of the flames that wrapped the trees.

[365] Maewa, to fork, or branch, said of the flames.

[366] Awa lau, leaf-shaped lagoon; a highly appropriate epithet, when applied to that system of lochs, channels and estuaries that form the famous "Pearl Lochs," as any one acquainted with the place will admit.

[367] Pe'e-kaua, the name applied to a portion of the plain west of Pu'u-loa.

[368] Kau-no'a, a parasitic plant (Cassytha filiformis) consisting of wiry stems that cling to other plants by means of small protuberances or suckers.

[369] Akuli-kuli, a low, vine-like plant, said to have fleshy leaves and minute flowers.

[370] Wili-wili (Erythrina monosperma), a tree having light, corky wood, much used in making the outrigger floats for canoes. Its flowers, of a ruddy flame-color, make a splendid decoration.

[371] Kane-hili, a name applied to a part of the plain west of Pu'u-loa[Pu'uloa?]. Notice the repetition of the word hili in the next verse. Hili means astray, or distressed.

[372] Hili, to go astray, to lose one's way. Assonance by word-repetition was a favorite device of Hawaiian poetry. The Hawaiian poet did not use rhyme.

[373] Mo-ewa'a, literally a canoe-dream. To dream of a canoe was an omen of ill luck. It was also unlucky to dream of having gained some valued possession and then wake to the disappointing reality.

[374] Wa'a-hila is said to have been the name of a favorite hula of Pele-ula; so called after a princess who, with her brother Ka-manu-wai, excelled in the performance of this dance. Her name has been perpetuated in an old saying that has come down to us: Ka ua Wa'a-hila o Nu'uanu. This is a gentle rain that extends only as far down Nu'uanu valley as to Wyllie or Judd street.

[375] Po Puna. Puna, as the home-center of volcanic action, knew what it was to be darkened by a volcanic eruption. Puna here stands for Hiiaka and her companion whose home it was. The night that overshadows Puna represents allegorically the intriguing designs of Pele-ula.

[376] Maka lehua. The lehua buds stand for the harmony, kindly affection and love that up to this time had existed between Lohiau and the two women escorting him. Pele-ula is the smoke that blights the lehua buds.

[377] Kihei-hei, frequentative form of kihei, to wear.

[378] Paü heihei. The pau heihei was a fringe of vegetable ribbons strung together and worn about the loins, thus serving as the conventional shield of modesty among the people of the olden time. The modifying expression, o uka, implies that the use of this particular form of pau was rather a sign of rusticity.

[379] Papa lohi o Mau-kele, glistening lava plates of Mau-kele. Mau-kele was a land in Puna. The implication is that these women, Pele-ula, Waikiki and the rest of them are plotting to steal away the affections of Lohiau.

[380] Ha'a ho'i ka papa, the lava plates rock: that is the plot is a shaky fabrication and will....

[381] Kahuli, topple over.

[382] Puna. There is a punning double entendre involved in the use of this word here. A puna-lua was one who shared with another the sexual favors of a third party. The implication is that Hiiaka and Wahine-oma'o stood thus towards Lohiau. See also note (a).

[383] Lau o ka lima, leaves of the hand. The spasmodic working (ha'a) of the fingers was deemed to be a sign of lustful passion. It is here attributed to Lohiau.

[384] Loha, to droop, to be fooled; here to be understood in the latter sense of Pele-ula.

[385] Wahine-kapu, one of the female deities of the Pele family who had her seat on an eminence at the brink of the caldera of Kilauea which was reverenced as a tabu place.

[386] Mai O'olu-eä. O'olu-ea, as a place-name calls for a preposition in mai. O'olu-ea, however, contains within it a verb, olu, to be easy, comfortable, and as a verb olu decides the mai to be an adverb of prohibition. In this meaning the caution is addressed to Lohiau.

[387] Ahi-a-Laka, a land in Puna. The double sense, in which it is here used, gives it a reference to the fires of passion.

[388] La anoano, literally, quiet day.

[389] The kilu, which gave name to the sport, was an egg-shaped dish made by cutting a coconut or small gourd from end to end and somewhat obliquely so that one end was a little higher than the other.

[390] Au-hula-ana. When the road along a steep coast is cut off by a precipice with the ocean tossing at its base, the traveler will often prefer to swim rather than make a wide inland detour. Such a place or such an adventure is called an au-hula or au-hula-ana.

[391] Laau ku'i, literally, spliced sticks; a ladder, or some contrivance of the sort to aid the traveler in climbing a pali.

[392] Lalo, below, to leeward; therefore to the west, meaning Lohiau, who came from the leeward island of Kauai.

[393] Manawa, the fontanelles; the heart and affections.

[394] Wai-lua, a river on Kauai.

[395] Lehua-wehe, a land in Honolulu; here meaning Pele-ula herself.

[396] Moe-awakea, a hill in Puna; here used for its etymological signification--literally, to sleep at noontime--which is brought out in the translation.

[397] The ami was a vigorous action of the body, often employed by dancers. Its chief feature was a rotation of the pelvis in circles of elipses. Though sometimes used with amorous intent, it was not necessarily an attempt to portray sexual attitudes. The ami honua, or ami ku'u pau, was an exaggerated action of the same description.

[398] Kalukalu, a place in Puna which supported extensive forests of hala (pandanus), a tree whose sword-shaped leaves were edged with fierce thorns. In contrast with the smart they produced the poet adduces the delights of the wilds in his own island of Kauai, instancing the laua'e, a fragrant vine that abounds in its mountains.

[399] Mohole, an unusual form for pohole, to be lacerated, but not quite so strong.

[400] Na-pali (the cliffs), a name given to the precipitous side of Kauai, where is the wild valley of Ka-lalau.

[401] Pu'u o Moe-awa. The full form is Moe-awakea (noonday sleep), the name of a hill in Puna. By omitting kea, the word awakea (noon) comes to mean bitter, thus imparting to the meaning a cutting irony. Cf. note (a), page 176.

[402] Hana-lei, literally, to make a wreath; a valley on Kauai.

[403] Hala. It was ill luck to wear a wreath of the hala drupe.

[404] According to one version of this story, Hiiaka made free use of her powers of enchantment in withdrawing from the presence of Pele-ula. At the proper psychological moment, with the wreath of victory crowning her brow, while Pele-ula was vainly intent on an effort to turn the tide of her own defeat and gain the shadow of a recognition as mistress of the game of Kilu, Hiiaka, with a significant gesture to her companions, spat upon the ground and, her example having been imitated by Wahine-oma'o and Lohiau, their physical bodies were at once transported to a distance while their places continued to be occupied by unsubstantial forms that had all the semblance of reality.

[405] Maka-pa, an expression used of stones that burst when placed in the fire.

[406] Makani holo ulá. The allusion is to a cold wind that chills the naked legs of the fisher-folk.

[407] Pau-kua, a place-name, meaning consumed in the back--a clear reference to the fact that the kahuna's black art very frequently made its fatal ravages by attacking first the back.

[408] Lele-iwi, the name of a cape that marked the coast of Puna. The word also has a meaning of its own, to express which seems to be the purpose of its use here. It connotes a grave-yard, a scaffold, one, perhaps, on which the body (literally the bones) of a human sacrifice are left exposed.

[409] Maka-hana-loa, the name of another cape, also on the Hilo-Puna coast.

[410] Lae Ohi'a, literally, ohi'a cape, meaning a forest growth that stretched out like a tongue.

[411] Apane, a species of lehua that has red flowers, much fed upon by the birds. (In the original newspaper-text the word was pane, evidently a mistake. There are, regretably, many such mistakes in the original text.)

[412] Manienie, smooth, meadow-like, a name given in modern times to the Bermuda grass--"fine grass"--said to have been imported by Vancouver, now extensively seen in Hawaiian lawns.

[413] Ke-ahi-a-Laka, literally, the fire of Laka, the name of a land.

[414] Ha'eha'e, the eastern Sun-gate, applicable to Puna as the easternmost district of Hawaii and of the whole group. In claiming Puna as hers--i.e., as her home-land--Hiiaka seems to have set up a claim to be the guardian of the Sun's rising, and therefore, by implication of Pele.

[415] "I hana ia ka ihu i mea honi."

[416] Muliwai o Lena. There is a stream of this name in Waianae, it is said. Lena is also said to be the name of a place in Kahiki. The word lena, yellow, strongly suggests the thought of sulphur.

[417] Moku po'o a Kane, literally, the fissured head of Kane. The first land formed by Kane.

[418] Kane-lau-apua, the same as Kane-apua. One of the numerous avatars or characters of Kane. He appeared in Kahiki--Kukulu o Kahiki--and gained a reputation as a benevolent deity, whose benign function--shared by Kane-milo-hai--was to pluck from the jaws of death those who lay at the last gasp (mauli-awa), or whose vital spark was at the last flicker (pua-aneane). He healed the palsied, the helpless and hopeless, those who were beyond the reach of human aid. On one occasion he restored himself to perfect health and soundness by the exercise of his own will; hence his name, Kane-apua. On another occasion he illustrated his power by restoring to life some okuhekuhe which the fisherman had already scaled and laid upon the fire. The motive for this act seems to have been that this fish was a form in which he sometimes appeared. The story of his adventure with Kane-lelei-aka is worthy of mention. At one time while standing on a headland that reached out into the ocean like the prow of a ship, his eye caught a gleam from something moving swiftly through the water. He saw it repeatedly passing and repassing and wondered what it was. It was the shadowy form of Kane-lelei-aka, but he knew it not. He scanned the surrounding mountains and cliffs, if perchance he might get sight of the body, bird, or spirit that produced this reflection. He discovered nothing. In pursuit of his quest, he started to go to Kukulu-o-Kahiki. On the way he met his relative Kane-milo-hai, out in mid ocean.

"Are you from Kanaloa?" asked Kane-milo-hai. That meant are you from Lana'i, Kanaloa being the name formerly given to that little island.

"Aye, I am from Kanaloa and in pursuit of a strange shadowy thing that flits through the ocean and evades me."

"You don't seem to recognize that it is only a shadow, a reflection. The real body is in the heavens. What you are pursuing is but the other intangible body, which is represented by the body of Kane-mano. He is speeding to reach his home in Ohe-ana" (a cave in the deep sea, in the Kai-popolohua-a-Kane).

"How then shall I overtake him?" asked Kane-pua.

"You will never succeed this way. You are no better off than a kolea (plover) that nods, moving its head up and down (kunou). Your only way is to return with me and start from the bread-fruit tree of Lei-walo (Ka ulu o Lei-walo). You must make your start with a flying leap from the topmost branch of that tree. In that way you can come up to him and catch him."

The rest of the story: how he followed the advice given him by Kane-milo-hai and succeeded is too long for insertion here.

[419] Nowai he wa'a? To speak of a lava flow as a wa'a, a canoe, is a familiar trope in Hawaiian mele. (See U. L. of H., p. 194). The canoe in this case is the eruption of fire sent against Lohiau, the hoapaio, against whom it is launched, Lohiau and Hiiaka.

[420] Aimoku wahine. An aimoku is one who eats up the land, a conqueror, a literal description of Pele.

[421] Kini maka o ka la. In the original text from which this is taken the form is Kini-maka, offering the presumption that it is intended as a proper name. Kini-maka was a malevolent kupua, demigod, against whom, it is charged that she was given to scooping out and eating the eyes of men and her fellow gods. Her name was then called Walewale-o-Ku. Kane, it is said, took her in hand and weaned her from her bad practice; after which she was called Kini-maka, Forty-thousand-eyes. The phrase o ka la affixed to her name discountenances the idea that she is the one here intended. It becomes evident that the whole expression means rather the many eyes of the Sun, i.e., the many rays that dart from the Sun; and this is the way I construe it.

[422] Pau o ka wahine? The question as to the kind of pau, skirt, worn by the women--those of Pele's fire-brigade, as I have termed them--is pertinent, from the fact that the answer will throw light on their mood and the character of their errand, whether peaceful, warlike, etc. The answer given in the text (line 20 of the translation) is Their skirts were fern and leaf of the ti. A pau of fern was said to be hanohano, dignified. Ua kapa ia ka palai he palai alii; o ka la-i, ua kapa ia he mea kala (the pau of fern was worn by chiefs; the pau of ti leaf was a sign of propitiation.) A woman wore a ti leaf during her period of monthly infirmity. The whole subject will bear further investigation.

[423] Kihi o ka Mahina, the horn of the Moon. The manner of fastening the pau, knotting or tucking it in at each hip, gave it a crescent shape, with an angle at each hip. This seems to have suggested to the poet a comparison with the horns of the young Moon.

[424] Akua lehe-oi, an undoubted reference to Pele,--the sharp devouring edge, lip, of her lava-flow.

[425] Akua lehe-ama. This also must refer to Pele--her gaping lips.

[426] Puke, this archaic form of pu'e, a hill of potatoes, yams and the like.

[427] The Hawaiians had no such thing as bread. The Hawaiian word ai, in line 20 of the original, means vegetable food. The necessities of the case seem to justify the use of the word bread in the translation. The reader will pardon the anachronism.

[428] Awa. The full expression would probably be ua awa, bitter rain, i.e., bad weather.

[429] Halelo, rough, jagged like aa. The following quotation is given:

Ku ke a, ka halelo o Kaupo,
I ho'okipa i ka hale o ka lauwili:
E-lau-wili. He lau-wili ka makani, he Kaua-ula.

TRANSLATION

How jagged stand the rocks of Kaupo,
That once held the house of the shiftless!

[430] Ihi-lani, literally, the splendor of heaven; said to be a god of lightning, also the name of a hill.

[431] Ihi-awaawa, said to be the name of a god of lightning, as well as the name of a hill.

[432] Huki-huki, literally, to pull, to haul with a succession of jerks. The action here figured is eminently descriptive of the manner of advance of a lava-flow. It is not with the uniform movement of a body of water. It shoots out a tongue of molten stuff here and there; and as this cools, or is for cause arrested, a similar process takes place at some other point. This movement bears a striking resemblance to the action of a body of skirmishers advancing under fire. Its progress is by fits and starts.

[433] Pua'a-kanu. In spite of the fact that this is claimed by Hawaiians to be a place-name, I must see in it an allusion to a swine, devoted to sacrifice, connoting Lohiau himself.

[434] Oa, a poetical contraction for loa, long.

[435] Haele. By a figure of speech--metonymy--the word haele, meaning to travel, is used to signify a fellow traveler, the companion, of course, is Hiiaka herself.

[436] Ku-mauna, a rain-god of great local fame and power; now represented by a monolithic bowlder about thirty feet high, partly overgrown with ferns and moss, situated in the lower edge of the forest-belt, that lies to the south and Kau of Mauna-loa, deserves more than passing mention. The region in which this rock is situated is declared by vulcanologists to have been one vast caldera and must have been the scene of tremendous disturbances.

Up to the present time the Hawaiians have continued to hold Ku-mauna in great reverence mingled with fear. The following modern instance isnot only a true story, and interesting, but also furnishes an illustration of the attitude of mind of the Hawaiian people generally,--or many of them--towards their old gods.

During a period of severe drought in the district of Kau, Hawaii, a gentleman named S----, while hunting in the neighborhood of the rock that bears the name Ku-mauna, took occasion to go out of his way and visit the rock. Standing before the rocky mass and calling it by name, he used towards it insulting and taunting epithets, professing to hold it responsible for the drought that was distressing the land. He concluded his tirade by discharging his rifle point blank against the face of the rock, resulting in the detachment of a considerable fragment.

The vaqueros in the employ of Mr. S.----, who were assisting in the hunt, horrified at the sacreligious act, at once put spurs to their horses and made off, predicting the direst consequences from the rash act of Mr. S----.

Now for the denouement: Within about ten days of this occurrence, the valley, on one side of which Mr. S---- had his residence, was visited by a violent rain-storm--such as would in popular speech be termed a cloud-burst. There was a mighty freshet, the waters of which reached so high as to flood his garden and threaten the safety of his house, which he saved only by the most strenuous exertions. The land which had been his garden was almost entirely washed away and in its place was deposited a pell-mell of stones.

Needless to say, that, by the natives, this incident was and is regarded to this day as conclusive evidence of the divine power of Ku-mauna and of his wrath at the audacious person who insulted him. Special significance is attached to the fact that as part of Ku-mauna's reprisal the place that had been a garden was turned into a field of rocks. The only wonder is that Mr. S---- got off with so light a punishment.

[437] Kani-a-hiku, a place-name--that of a village in the remote valley of Wai-manu--here used, apparently, for its meaning. To analyze its meaning, Kani = a sound, a voice, probably a bird-song; Hiku, a celebrated kupua, the mother of the famous mythical hero Mawi. It is said that when the wind, locally known as the Kapae, but more commonly named the Ho'olua--the same as our trade-wind--blew gently from the ocean, the listening ears of Kani-a-hiku heard, in the distance, the sound of hula drums and other rude instruments mingling with the voices of men chanting the songs of the hula. This seems to be the kani referred to.

[438] Wahine ai lehua, Pele. Who else would it be?

[439] Unu kupukupu (also written, it is said, haunu kupukupu), a hummock or natural rock-pile, such as would be selected by fishermen, with the addition, perhaps, of a few stones, as an altar on which to lay their offering and before which to utter their prayers. Kupukupu indicates the efficacy of such an altar as a luck-bringer.

[440] Pu'u-lena, a wind felt at Kilauea that blew from Puna. The word lena, yellow, suggests the sulphurous fumes that must have added to it their taint at such time as the wind passed over the volcanic pit.

[441] Ku-hala-kai, a plentiful fall of rain.

[442] Ku-hulu-ku, a chilling of the atmosphere.

[443] Pu'uku-akahi, Pu'uku-alua, names applied to hills on one or the other side of the fire-pit, whence seem to come those sonorous puffing or blowing sounds that accompany the surging of the fires.

[444] Kua-loi. This is probably shortened from the full form Kua-loiloi. The reference is to a law, or custom, which forbade any one to approach Pele from behind, or to stand behind her. He kua loiloi ko Pele, the meaning of which is, Pele has a fastidious back.

[445] Ka-hoa-lii, literally, companion of kings; the shark-god, a relation of Pele, who occupied a section of the plateau on the northwestern side of the caldera, a place so sacred that the smoke and flames of the volcano were not permitted to trespass there.

[446] Maiau pololei, land shells found on trees, generally called pupu-kanioi.

[447] Kanaka loloa, Ku-pulupulu, one of the gods of the canoe-makers; here spoken of as a tall man in contradistinction, perhaps, to the dwarfish Kini-akua, who were his followers.

[448] Kuli-pe'e-nui, a deity, or an idealization, of a lava flow. The feature that seems to be emphasized is the stumbling, crawling, motion, which as seen in a flow, may be compared to the awkward, ataxic movement of one whose knees are dislocated and leg-bones broken.

[449] Pi'i-kea, the god of the roaches, who is described as given to making certain tapping motions with his head which, I believe, are practiced by the roach at the present time.

[450] Mahao'o, an epithet applied to a dog that shows a patch of yellow hairs on each side of his face. It has somewhat the force of our expression, breathing out flames.

[451] Ama wa'a. The commotion in Kilauea is here compared to the upsetting of the canoe's outrigger (ama). When an outriggered canoe capsizes the outrigger, ama, as a rule, lifts out of the water.

[452] Wa'a. The reference seems to be to the masses of solid lava that, not infrequently may be seen to break off from the wall of the fire-pit and float away on the surface of the molten lake, even as an iceberg floats in the ocean.

[453] Na'ena'e, said of an object that looks small from a distance. The use of the particle emphatic o, placed before this word, implies that it performs the office of a proper name, here a place-name. Such a use of the particle emphatic before a noun not a proper name indicates that the word is used as an abstract term.

[454] Lama kau oni'oni'o. When two strings of kukui nuts are bound together to form one torch, the light given by it is said to be of varying colors. The word oni'oni'o alludes to this fact.

[455] Kukulu a awa, said of those in the rear of the company that came against Lohiau. I cannot learn that this is a military term.

[456] Kai-a-ka-hulu-manu, literally, the sea of the bird feathers. Some claim this as being the same as the Kai-a-ka-hinali'i; others, and I think rightly, claim that it was a distinct flood that occurred at a later period and that destroyed all birds and flying things.

[457] Opiopi. The waves of the sea in the season of Makali'i are compared to the wrinkles in a mat, the contrast with those of the Kai-a-ka-hulu-manu, and the kai a ka pohaku.

[458] Noho, a seat, or to sit. Here used for the people there living.

[459] Kua o ka makani (literally, at the back of the wind). Koolau, the windward side of an island, was its kua, back. The whole line contains an ingenious reference to the manner of fire-lighting. When the smouldering spark from the fire-sticks has been received on a bunch of dry grass, it is waved to and fro to make it ignite. To the old-fashioned Hawaiian familiar with this manner of fire-making this figure is full of meaning.

[460] Ulu o ka La, the figure of the Sun as it touched the horizon, or its glare.

[461] Akua, literally, a god. This is a generic term and includes beings that we would call heroes, as well as devils and demons.

[462] Ka-wai-hoa, the southern point of Niihau.

[463] Hoaka-lei, a hill on Niihau.

[464] Kiu, the name of a wind.

[465] Makalii, Kaelo and Ka-ulua are cold months. Lohiau found them hot enough.

[466] Ha'aha'a, literally, hanging low. I am reminded of an old song uttered, it is said, by a hero from the top of Kauwiki hill, in Hana, Maui: "Aina ua, lani ha'aha'a." Land of rain, where the heavens hang (ever) low.

[467] Wai-wela-wela, a hot lake in lower Puna.

[468] Ko'olau, a term applied generally to the windward side of an island, which was, of course, the stormy side. The expression au Ko'olau, or Ko'olau weather, is one of great significance.

[469] E ki'i mai oe ia'u; eia au la i ke au a ka hewahewa.

[470] Lawakua, an intimate companion, a friend.

[471] Ua a ka lipoa, a fine, cold rain; a Scotch mist.

[472] Lala, to bask in the sunlight.

[473] Oma'o-lala, a place in upper Ola'a, named from the bird oma'o.

[474] Aina i ka houpu a Kane, a proverbial expression applied to Puna, signifying the affection in which Puna was held.

[475] A'aka, an ocean cave (definition not given in the dictionary).

[476] Nawele ka maka o Hina-ulu-ohi'a. By metonymy, a figure of speech for which the Hawaiian poets showed great fondness, the name of the goddess, or superior being, Hina-ulu-ohi'a, is here used instead of the fruit which seems to have been her emblem. This fruit, the ohi'a puakea, is a variety of the ohi'a ai, or mountain apple, as it is commonly called. The common variety is of a deep red color shading into purple; but this variety, departing from the usual rule, is of a pale lemon color. This pale variety shows a faint pink or reddish ring about the maka, or eye where the flower was implanted. The poet's fancy evidently makes a comparison between this delicate aureole and the dim glow by which the volcanic fire made itself perceived in its periphery at Kahiki.

[477] Kahaea, a pile of white cumulus clouds, or a single large cloud, which was regarded by weather prophets, soothsayers and diviners as a significant portent.

[478] Ku-lani-ha-ko'i. The old Hawaiians imagined that somewhere in the heavens was an immense reservoir of water, and that a heavy downpour of rain was due to the breaking of its banks. When the clouds of storm and rain gathered thick and black, they saw in this phenomenon a confirmation of their belief, which gained double assurance when the clouds discharged their watery contents.

[479] Eleua ... Eleao. When a Hawaiian house had a door at each end, the door at one end was named Ele-ua, that at the other end Ele-ao.

[480] Kula-manu. A plain or tract of land that was flooded in wet weather and thus converted for a time into a resort for water-fowl, was termed a kula-manu or bird plain.

[481] Wahi'a ka lani. This passive form of the verb has here the force of entreaty almost equivalent to the imperative. The opening here spoken of was the parting and drawing aside of the dark clouds that shut in the heavens, an opening that would be equivalent to the restoration of peace and good will.

[482] Ku-lili-ka-ua, the name applied to a grove of pandanus in Puna.

[483] Pohaku-loa, the name of a rocky ledge or cliff in Puna.

[484] Lau-ahea. This was a deceitful voice, a vocal Will-o'-the-wisp, that was sometimes heard by travelers and that enticed them into the wilderness or thicket there to be entrapped in some lua meke or fathomless pit.

[485] Kuku-ena, a sister of Pele who, like Kahili-opua, was a physician and of a benevolent disposition. She was wont to act as the guide to travelers who had their way in the mazes of a wilderness. So soon, however, as the traveler had come clear into a clear place and was able to orient himself, she modestly disappeared.

[486] Ku kihikihi, to stand cornerwise or edgewise. In the ebullition that stirs the mass of a lava lake at seemingly rhythmical intervals the congealed crust that has formed on the surface is seen to break up, become tilted on edge, and then be sucked down into the depths by the vortex of the lava-pit. The allusion here is to the tilting of the plate on edge in this wonderful phenomenon.

[487] Olohe. This is explained and described as meaning a spectral appearance of human figures and of objects animate and inanimate moving about in the firmament. The description given of it almost leads one to think it a mirage or fata morgana.

[488] Kuahiwi haoa, a term applied in Kau to a forest-clump which a devastating lava flow has spared, after having laid waste the country on all sides of it.

[489] Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i, Hiiaka of the bounding billow. The number of the sisters in whose names that of Hiiaka formed a part was considerable, as may be inferred from the fact that the names here mentioned do not include the whole list of them.

[490] Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-enaena, Hiiaka of the burning flower. Her emblem was the little budlike pea-blossom flame. This name is sometimes given as Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-aneane, a more delicate but less striking epithet.

[491] Hiiaka-noho-lae, Hiiaka who dwells on the cape. She was recognized by a trickle of blood on the forehead.

[492] O ka la ko luna. O ka pahoehoe ko lalo. The sun overhead. The lava below.

[493] Aohe o kahi nana oluna o ka pali. Iho mai a lalo nei; ike i ke au nui me ke au iki, he alo a he alo; nana i ka makemake. The exact meaning of ke au iki and ke au nui is not clear.

[494] Keehi ... e nalo kapua'i. I am informed that Hawaiians, in order to conceal their goings, would erase their footprints by blurring them with their feet.

[495] Onohi ula i ka lani, a fragment of a rainbow.

[496] Lele kapu i kai. This may be put,--the old order has passed.

[497] Hoole akua, hoole mana. (To deny God, to deny supernatural power). It thus appears that the old Hawaiians were not unacquainted with those phases of skepticism that have flourished in all philosophic times.

[498] Ho'o-malau, to treat one's religious duties, or solemn things, with scorn.

[499] Ho'o-maloka, to be neglectful of one's religious duties, or of solemn things. In old times, how often did the writer hear the term ho'o-maloka applied as a stigma to those who persistently neglected and showed indifference to the services and ordinances of the church.

[500] Apapa-nu'u, the under-world and its spiritual powers.

[501] Apapa-lani, the heavens and their spiritual powers.

[502] Mano-ka-lani-po. This distinguished name was borne by that one of Kaua'i's kings who preceded its last independent monarch, Ka-umu-alii, by fourteen generations, which would bring his reign in the first half of the fifteenth century. He has the honor, unique among Hawaiian kings, of having his name affixed as a sobriquet to the island that was his kingdom. Whether the use of his name in this connection, apparently as a god, is to be regarded as antedating its occurrence in the Ulu genealogy (given by Fornander. See The Polynesian Race; vol. I, p. 195.), or whether, on the other hand, it is to be considered as an apotheosis of a name justly held in veneration, we cannot decide.

[503] Pahu-kapu a ka leo. The best-informed and most thoughtful among the Hawaiian authorities have poorly defined and contradictory notions as to the meaning of this term. Its literal meaning may be given as sacred (or tabu) pillar. Mr. Tregear, in his incomparable Maori Comparative Dictionary, gives one meaning of the word to be sanctuary. One thoughtful Hawaiian defines it as a pillar, such as Pele set up, due regard for which demanded silence. Another, equally well informed, defines it as an edict, or canon. To the writer it seems more logical and safer to adopt the material view regarding this phrase.

[504] Ala hele ... ala muku, (literally, a short path or road). This ala hele ... ala muku was probably the rainbow. It is said in Hawaiian story that when Hiiaka came down from the cave where she found the body of Lohiau she used a rainbow as her way of descent. In an old mele occurs this line: O ke anuenue ke ala o Kaha'i. The rainbow was the path of Kaha'i.

[505] Ki ho'iho'i. Hawaiian authorities differ as to the meaning of this phrase. After much cogitation and search, I concluded that the word ki has the same root-meaning as i, to utter. (I find myself supported in such an interpretation by no less an authority than Edward Tregear. Maori Comparative Dictionary.)

[506] Kai oki'a. Hawaiian authorities are quite at sea as to the meaning of these words. I think it means that the ocean is a gulf that swallows up and destroys. A very stringent tabu, says one, that regulated the diet, cutting off bananas and the like.

[507] Kua a. Pele is said to have had a back that was so hot that any fabric laid upon it was reduced to ashes. It was also said to be tabu for any one to approach Pele from behind.

[508] A calabash, often covered with a net, used by a fisherman to hold his spare hooks and lines and, by the traveler, his belongings.

End of Project Gutenberg's Pele and Hiiaka, by Nathaniel Bright Emerson