Chapter XVII: Canto II (4)

The Hawaiian drama could lay hold of no worthier theme than
that offered by the story of Pele. In this epic we find the
natural and the supernatural, the everyday events of nature
and the sublime phenomena of nature’s wonderland, so
interwoven as to make a story rich in strong human and deific
coloring. It is true that the genius of the Hawaiian was not
equal to the task of assembling the dissevered parts and of
combining into artistic unity the materials his own
imagination had spun. This very fact, however, brings us so
much nearer to the inner workshop of the Hawaiian mind.

The story of Pele is so long and complicated that only a
brief abstract of it can be offered now:

Pele, the goddess of the volcano, in her dreams and
wanderings in spirit-form, met and loved the handsome Prince
Lohiau. She would not be satisfied with mere spiritual
intercourse; she demanded the sacrament of bodily presence.
Who should be the ambassador to bring the youth from his
distant home on Kauai? She begged her grown-up sisters to
attempt the task. They foresaw the peril and declined the
thankless undertaking. Hiiaka, the youngest and most
affectionate, accepted the mission; but, knowing her
sister’s evil temper, strove to obtain from Pele a guaranty
that her own forests and the life of her bosom friend Hopoe
should be safeguarded during her absence.

Hiiaka was accompanied by Wahine-oma’o—the woman in green—a
woman as beautiful as herself. After many adventures they
arrived at Haena and found Lohiau dead and in his sepulchre,
a sacrifice to the jealousy of Pele. They entered the cave,
and after ten days of prayer and incantation Hiiaka had the
satisfaction of seeing the body of Lohiau warmed and animated
by the reentrance of the spirit; and the company, now of
three, soon started on the return to Kilauea.

The time consumed by Hiiaka in her going and doing and
returning had been so long that Pele was moved to
unreasonable jealousy and, regardless of her promise to her
faithful sister, she devastated with fire the forest parks of
Hiiaka and sacrificed the life of Hiiaka’s bosom friend, the
innocent and beautiful Hopoe.

Hiiaka and Lohiau, on their arrival at Kilauea, seated
themselves on its ferny brink, and there, in the open view of
Pele’s court, Hiiaka, in resentment at the broken faith of
her sister and in defiance of her power, invited and received
[Page 187] from Lohiau the kisses and dalliance which up to that time
she had repelled. Pele, in a frenzy of passion, overwhelmed
her errant lover, Lohiau, with fire, turned his body into a
pillar of rock, and convulsed earth and sea. Only through the
intervention of the benevolent peacemaking god Kane was the
order of the world saved from utter ruin.

The ancient Hawaiians naturally regarded the Pele hula with
special reverence by reason of its mythological importance,
and they selected it for performance on occasions of gravity
as a means of honoring the kings and alii of the land. They
would have considered its presentation on common occasions,
or in a spirit of levity, as a great impropriety.

In ancient times the performance of the hula Pele, like that
of all other plays, was prefaced with prayer and sacrifice.
The offering customarily used in the service of this hula
consisted of salt crystals and of luau made from the delicate
unrolled taro leaf. This was the gift demanded of every pupil
seeking admission to the school of the hula, being looked
upon as an offering specially acceptable to Pele, the patron
of this hula. In the performance of the sacrifice teacher and
pupil approached and stood reverently before the kuahu while
the former recited a mele, which was a prayer to the goddess.
The pupil ate the luau, the teacher placed the package of
salt on the altar, and the service was complete.

Both olapa and hoopaa took part in the performance of this
hula. There was little or no moving about, but the olapa did
at times sink down to a kneeling position. The performance
was without instrumental accompaniment, but with abundant
appropriate gestures. The subjects treated of were of such
dignity and interest as to require no extraneous
embellishment.

Perusal of the mele which follows will show that the story of
Pele dated back of her arrival in this group:

_He Oli—O ka mele mua keia o ka hula Pele_

Mai Kahiki ka wahine, o Pele,
Mai ka aina i Pola-pola,
Mai ka punohu ula a Kane,
Mai ke ao lalapa i ka lani,
5 Mai ka opua lapa i Kahiki.

Lapa-ku i Hawaii ka wahine, o Pele;
Kalai i ka wa’a Houna-i-a-kea,
Kou wa’a, e Ka-moho-alii.
I apo’a ka moku i pa’a;
10 Ua hoa ka wa’a o ke Akua,

Ka wa’a o Kane-kalai-honua.
Holo mai ke au, a’ea’e Pele-honua-mea;
A’ea’e ka Lani, ai-puni’a i ka moku;
A’ea’e Kini o ke Akua,
[Page 188] 15 Noho a’e o Malau.
Ua ka ia ka liu o ka wa’a.
Ia wai ka hope, ka uli o ka wa’a, e ne hoa ’lii?
Ia Pele-honua-mea.
A’ea’e kai hoe oluna o ka wa’a.

20 O Ku ma, laua o Lono,
Noho i ka honua aina,
Kau aku i hoolewa moku.
Hiiaka, noiau, he akua,
Ku ae, hele a noho i ka hale o Pele.

25 Huahua’i Kahiki, lapa uila, e Pele.
E hua’i, e!

[Translation.]

_A Song—The first song of the hula Pele_

From Kahiki came the woman, Pele,
From the land of Pola-pola,
From the red cloud of Kane,
Cloud blazing in the heavens,
5 Fiery cloud-pile in Kahiki.

Eager desire for Hawaii seized the woman, Pele;
She carved the canoe, Honua-i-a-kea,
Your canoe, O Ka-moho-alii.
They push the work on the craft to completion.
10 The lashings of the god’s canoe are done,
The canoe of Kane, the world-maker.

The tides swirl, Pele-honua-mea o’ermounts them;
The god rides the waves, sails about the island;
The host of little gods ride the billows;
15 Malau takes his seat;
One bales out the bilge of the craft.
Who shall sit astern, be steersman, O, princes?
Pele of the yellow earth.
The splash of the paddles dashes o’er the canoe.

20 Ku and his fellow, Lono,
Disembark on solid land;
They alight on a shoal.
Hiiaka, the wise one, a god,
Stands up, goes to stay at the house of Pele.

25 Lo, an eruption in Kahiki!
A flashing of lightning, O Pele!
Belch forth, O Pele!

Tradition has it that Pele was expelled from Kahiki by her
brothers because of insubordination, disobedience, and
disrespect to their mother, _Honua-mea_, sacred land. (If
Pele in Kahiki conducted herself as she has done in Hawaii,
rending and scorching the bosom of mother
earth—Honua-Mea—it is not to be wondered that her brothers
were anxious to get rid of her.) She voyaged north. Her
[Page 189] first stop was at the little island of Ka-ula, belonging to
the Hawaiian group. She tunneled into the earth, but the
ocean poured in and put a stop to her work. She had the same
experience on Lehua, on Kiihau, and on the large island of
Kauai. She then moved on to Oahu, hoping for better results;
but though she tried both sides of the island, first mount
Ka-ala—the fragrant—and then Konahuanui, she still found
the conditions unsatisfactory. She passed on to Molokai,
thence to Lanai, and to West Maui, and East Maui, at which
last place she dug the immense pit of Hale-a-ka-la; but
everywhere she was unsuccessful. Still journeying east and
south, she crossed the wide Ale-nui-haha channel and came to
Hawaii, and, after exploring in all directions, she was
satisfied to make her home at Kilauea. Here is (_ka piko o ka
honua_) the navel of the earth. Apropos of this effort of
Pele to make a fire-pit for herself, see the song for the
hula kuolo (p. 86), “A pit lies (far) to the east.”

_Mele_

A Kauai, a ke olewa [332] iluna,
Ka pua lana i kai o Wailua;
Nana mai Pele ilaila;
E waiho aku ana o Ahu.[333]
5 Aloha i ka wai niu o ka aina;
E ala mai ana mokihana,
Wai auau o Hiiaka.
Hoo-paapaa Pele ilaila;
Aohe Kau [334] e ulu ai.
10 Keehi aku Pele i ka ale kua-loloa,

He onohi no Pele, ka oaka o ka lani, la.
Eli-eli, kau mai!

[Translation.]

_Song_

To Kauai, lifted in ether,
A floating flower at sea off Wailua—
That way Pele turns her gaze,
She’s bidding adieu to Oahu,
5 Loved land of new wine of the palm. 5
There comes a perfumed waft—mokihana—
The bath of the maid Hiiaka.
Scene it was once of Pele’s contention,
Put by for future attention.
10 Her foot now spurns the long-backed wave; 10
The phosphor burns like Pele’s eye,
Or a meteor-flash in the sky.
Finished the prayer, enter, possess!

[Footnote 332: _Olewa_. Said to be the name of a wooded region
high up on the mountain of Kauai. It is here treated as if it
meant the heavens or the blue ether. Its origin is the same
with the word _lewa_, the upper regions of the air.]

[Footnote 333: _O Ahu_. In this instance the article still
finds itself disunited from its substantive. To-day we have
_Oahu_ and _Ola’a_.]

[Footnote 334: _Kau_, The summer; time of warm weather; the
growing season.]
[Page 190]
The incidents and allusions in this mele belong to the story
of Pele’s journey in search of Lohiau, the lover she met in
her dreams, and describe her as about to take flight from
Oahu to Kauai (verse 4).

Hiiaka’s bath, _Wai auau o Hiiaka_ (verse 7), which was the
subject of Pele’s contention (verse 8), was a spring of water
which Pele had planted at Huleia on her arrival from Kahiki.
The ones with whom Pele had the contention were
Kukui-lau-manienie and Kukui-lauhanahana, the daughters of
Lima-loa, the god of the mirage. These two women lived at
Huleia near the spring. Kamapua’a, the swinegod, their
accepted lover, had taken the liberty to remove the spring
from the rocky bed where Pele had planted it to a neighboring
hill. Pele was offended and demanded of the two women:

“Where is my spring of water?”

“Where, indeed, is your spring? You belong to Hawaii. What
have you to do with any spring on Kauai?” was their answer.

“I planted a clean spring here on this rock,” said Pele.

“You have no water here,” they insisted; “your springs are on
Hawaii.”

“If I were not going in search of my husband Lohiau,” said
Pele, “I would set that spring back again in its old place.”

“You haven’t the power to do that,” said they. “The son of
Kahiki-ula (Kama-puaa) moved it over there, and you can’t
undo his action.”

The eye of Pele, _He onohi no Pele_ (verse 11), is the
phosphorescence which Pele’s footfall stirs to activity in
the ocean.

The formal ending of this mele, _Elieli, kau mai_, is often
found at the close of a mele in the hula Pele, and marks it
as to all intents and purposes a prayer.

_E waiho aku ana o Ahu_ (verse 4). This is an instance of
the separation of the article _o_ from the substantive _Ahu_,
to which it becomes joined to form the proper name of the
island now called Oahu.

_Mele_

Ke amo la ke ko’i ke akua la i-uka;
Haki nu’a-nu’a mai ka nalu mai Kahiki,
Po-po’i aku la i ke alo o Kilauea.[335]
Kanaka hea i ka lakou puaa kanu;
5 He wahine kui lei lehua i uka o Olaa,
Ku’u moku lehua i ke alo o He-eia.
O Kuku-ena[336] wahine,
Komo i ka lau-ki,
[Page 191] A’e-a’e a noho.
10 Eia makou, kou lau kaula la.
Eli-eli, kau mai!

[Footnote 335: The figure in the second and third verses, of
waves from Kahiki (_nalu mai Kahiki_) beating against the
front of Kilauea (_Po-po’i aku la i ke alo o Kilauea_), seems
to picture the trampling of the multitude splashing the mire
as if it were, waves of ocean.]

[Footnote 336: _Kukuena_. There is some uncertainty as to who
this character was; probably the same as Haumea, the mother
of Pele.]

[Translation.]

_Song_

They bear the god’s ax up the mountain;
Trampling the mire, like waves from Kahiki
That beat on the front of Kilauea.
The people with offerings lift up a prayer;
5 A woman strings wreaths in Olaa—
Lehua grove mine bord’ring He-eia.
And now Kukuena, mother god,
Covers her loins with a pa-ú of ti leaf;
She mounts the altar; she sits.
10 Behold us, your conclave of priests.
Enter in, possess us!

This has the marks of a Hawaiian prayer, and as such it is
said to have been used in old times by canoe-builders when
going up into the mountains in search of timber. Or it may
have been recited by the priests and people who went up to
fell the lehua tree from which to carve the Makahiki[337] idol;
or, again, may it possibly have been recited by the company
of hula folk who climbed the mountain in search of a tree to
be set up in the halau as a representation of the god whom
they wished to honor? This is a question the author can not
settle. That it was used by hula folk is indisputable, but
that would not preclude its use for other purposes.

_Mele_

Ku i Wailua ka pou hale[338]
Ka ipu hoolono i ka uwalo,
Ka wawa nui, e Ulupo.
Aole uwalo mai, e.
5 Aloha nui o Ikuwa, Mahoena.
Ke lele la ka makawao o ka hinalo.
Aia i Maná ka oka’i o ka ua o Eleao;
Ke holu la ka a’ahu o Ka-ú [339] i ka makani;
Ke puhi a’e la ka ale kumupali o Ka-ú, Honuapo;
10 Ke hakoko ka niu o Paiaha’a i ka makani.
Uki-uki oukou:
Ke lele la ke kai;
Lele iao,[340] lele!
O ka makani Koolau-wahine,
[Page 192] 15 O ka Moa’e-ku.
Lele ua, lele kawa! [341]
Lele aku, lele mai!
Lele o-ó,[342] o-ó lele; [343]
Lele opuhi,[344] lele;
20 Lele o Kauná,[345] kaha oe.
E Hiiaka e, ku!

[Footnote 337: For an account of the Makahiki idol see Hawaiian
Antiquities, p. 189, by David Malo; translated by N.B.
Emerson, A.M., M.D., Honolulu, Hawaiian Gazette Company
(Limited), 1903.]

[Footnote 338: _Pou hele_. The main post of a house, which is
here intended, was the _pou-haná_; it was regarded with a
superstitious reverence.]

[Footnote 339: _A’hu o Ka-u_. A reference, doubtless, to the
long grass that once covered Ka-ú.]

[Footnote 340: _I-áo_. A small fish that took short flights in
the air.]

[Footnote 341: _Lele kawa_. To jump in sport from a height into
the water.]

[Footnote 342: _Lele o-ó_. To leap feet first into the water.]

[Footnote 343: _O-ó lele_. To dive head first into the water.]

[Footnote 344: _Lele opuhi_. The same as _pahi’a_, to leap
obliquely into the water from a height, bending oneself so
that the feet come first to the surface.]

[Footnote 345: _Kauná_. A woman of Ka-ú celebrated for her
skill in the hula, also the name of a cape that reaches out
into the stormy ocean.]

[Translation.]

_Song_

At Wailua stands the main house-post;
This oracle harks to wild voices,
Tumult and clamor, O Ulu-po;
It utters no voice to entreaty.
5 Alas for the prophet that’s dumb!
But there drifts the incense of hala.
Maná sees the rain-whirl of Eleao.
The robe of Ka-ú sways in the wind,
That dashes the waves ’gainst the sea-wall,
10 At Honu-apo, windy Ka-ú;
The Pai-ha’a palms strive with the gale.
Such weather is grievous to you:
The sea-scud is flying.
My little i-ao, O fly
15 With the breeze Koolau!
Fly with the Moa’e-ku!
Look at the rain-mist fly!
Leap with the cataract, leap!
Plunge, now here, now there!
20 Feet foremost, head foremost;
Leap with a glance and a glide!
Kauná, opens the dance; you win.
Rise, Hiiaka, arise!

The meaning of this mele centers about a phenomenon that is
said to have been observed at Ka-ipu-ha’a, near Wailua, on
Kauai. To one standing on a knoll near the two cliffs Ikuwa
and Mahoena (verse 5) there came, it is said, an echo from
the murmur and clamor of the ocean and the moan of the wind,
a confused mingling of nature’s voices. The listener,
however, got no echoing answer to his own call.

The mele does not stick to the unities as we understand them.
The poets of old Hawaii felt at liberty to run to the ends of
their earth; and the auditor must allow his imagination to be
transported suddenly from one island to another; in this
[Page 193] case, first from Wailua to Maná on the same island, where he
is shown the procession of whirling rain clouds of Eleao
(verse 7). Thence the poet carries him to Honuapo, Hawaii,
and shows him the waves dashing against the ocean-walls and
the clashing of the palm-fronds of Paiaha’a in the wind.

The scene shifts back to Kauai, and one stands with the poet
looking down on a piece of ocean where the people are wont to
disport themselves. (Maka-iwa, not far from Ka-ipu-ha’a, is
said to be such a place.) Verses 12 to 19 in the Hawaiian (13
to 21 in the translation) describe the spirited scene.

It is somewhat difficult to determine whether the Kauná
mentioned in the next poem is the name of the woman or of the
stormy cape. In the mind of a Hawaiian poet the inanimate and
the animate are often tied so closely together in thought and
in speech as to make it hard to decide which is intended.

_Mele_

Ike ia Kauná-wahine, Makani Ka-ú,
He umauma i pa ia e ka Moa’e,
E ka makani o-maka o Unulau.
Lau ka wahine kaili-pua o Paía,
5 Alualu puhala o ka Milo-pae-kanáka, e-e-e-e!
He kanáka ke koa no ka ehu ahiahi,
O ia nei ko ka ehu kakahiaka—
O maua no, me ka makua o makou.
Ua ike ’a!

[Translation.]

_Song_

Behold Kauná, that sprite of windy Ka-ú,
Whose bosom is slapped by the Moa’e-kú,
And that eye-smiting wind Unulaú—
Women by hundreds filch the bloom
5 Of Paía, hunt fruit of the hala, a-ha!
That one was the gallant, at evening,
This one the hero of love, in the morning—
’Twas our guardian I had for companion.
Now you see it, a-ha!

This mele, based on a story of amorous rivalry, relates to a
contest which arose between two young women of rank regarding
the favors of that famous warrior and general of Kamehameha,
Kalaimoku, whom the successful intrigante described as _ka
makua o makou_ (verse 8), our father, i.e., our guardian. The
point of view is that of the victorious intrigante, and in
speaking of her defeated rival she uses the ironical language
of the sixth verse, _He kanáka ke koa no ka ehu ahiahi_
meaning that her opponent’s chance of success faded with the
evening twilight, whereas her own success was crowned with
[Page 194] the glow of morning, _O ia neí ko ka ehu kakahiaka_ (verse
7). The epithet _kanáka_ hints ironically that her rival is
of lower rank than herself, though in reality the rank of her
rival may have been superior to her own.

The language, as pointed out by the author’s informant, is
marked with an elegance that stamps it as the product of a
courtly circle.

_Mele_

E oe mauna i ka ohu,
Kahá, ka leo o ka ohi’a;
Auwe! make au i ke ahi a mau
A ka luahine[346] moe naná,
5 A papa enaena, wai hau,
A wa’a kau-hí.[347]
Haila pepe[348] mua me pepe waena,
O pepe ka muimui:
O kiele[348] i na ulu[348]
10 Ka makahá kai kea
O Niheu[349] kolohe;
Ka makaha kai kea!
Eli-eli, kau mai.

[Translation.]

_Song_

Ho! mountain of vapor-puffs,
Now groans the mountain-apple tree.
Alas! I burn in this deathless flame,
That is fed by the woman who snores
5 On a lava plate, now hot, now cold;
Now ’tis a canoe full-rigged for sea;
There are seats at the bow, amidships, abaft;
Baggage and men—all is aboard.

And now the powerful thrust of the paddle,
[Page 195] 10 Making mighty swirl of wat’ry yeast,
As of Nihéu, the mischief-maker—
A mighty swirl of the yeasty wave.
In heaven’s name, come aboard!

[Footnote 346: Pele is often spoken of as _ka luahine_, the old
woman; but she frequently used her power of transformation to
appear as a young woman of alluring beauty.]

[Footnote 347: Lava poured out in plates and folds and coils
resembles many diverse things, among others the canoe, _wa’a_
here characterized as complete in its appointments and ready
for launching, _kauhí_. The words are subtly intended, no
doubt, to convey the thought of Pele’s readiness to launch on
the voyage of matrimony.]

[Footnote 348: _Pepe_, a seat; _kiele_, to paddle; and _ulu_, a
shortened form of the old word _oulu_, meaning a paddle, are
archaisms now obsolete.]

[Footnote 349: Nihéu. One of the mythological heroes of an
old-time adventure, in which his elder brother Kana, who had
the form of a long rope, played the principal part. This one
enterprise of their life in which they joined forces was for
the rescue of their mother, Hina, who had been kidnaped by a
marauding chief and carried from her home in Hilo to the bold
headland of Haupu, Molokai. Nihéu is generally stigmatized as
_kolohe_ (verse 11), mischievous, for no other reason
apparently than that he was an active spirit, full of
courage, given to adventure and heaven-defying audacities,
such as put the Polynesian Mawi and the Greek Prometheus in
bad odor with the gods of their times. One of these offensive
actions was Nihéu’s theft of a certain _ulu_, breadfruit,
which one of the gods rolled with a noise like that of
thunder in the underground caverns of the southern regions of
the world. Nihéu is represented as a great sport, an athlete,
skilled in all the games of his people. The worst that could
be said of him was that he had small regard for other
people’s rights and that he was slow to pay his debts of
honor.]

After the death of Lohiau, his best friend, Paoa, came before
Pele determined to invite death by pouring out the vials of
his wrath on the head of the goddess. The sisters of Pele
sought to avert the impending tragedy and persuaded him to
soften his language and to forego mere abuse. Paoa, a
consummate actor, by his dancing, which has been perpetuated
in the hula Pele, and by his skillfully-worded prayer-songs,
one of which is given above, not only appeased Pele, but won
her.

The piece next appearing is also a song that was a prayer,
and seems to have been uttered by the same mouth that
groaned forth the one given above.

It does not seem necessary to take the language of the mele
literally. The sufferings that the person in the mele
describes in the first person, it seems to the author, may be
those of his friend Lohiau; and the first person is used for
literary effect.

_Mele[350]_

Aole e mao ka ohu:
Auwe! make au i ke ahi a mau
A ka wahine moe naná,
A papa ena-ena,
5 A wa’a kau-hí.
Ilaila pepe mua me pepe waena,
O pepe ka mu’imu’i,
O lei’na kiele,
Kau-meli-eli: [351]
10 Ka maka kakahi kea
O Niheu kolohe—
Ka maka kaha-kai kea.
Eli-eli, kau mai!

[Translation.]

_Song_

Alas, there’s no stay to the smoke;
I must die mid the quenchless flame—
Deed of the hag who snores in her sleep,
Bedded on lava plate oven-hot.
5 Now it takes the shape of canoe;
[Page 196] Seats at the bow and amidships,
And the steersman sitting astern;
Their stroke stirs the ocean to foam—
The myth-craft, Kau-meli-eli!
10 Now look, the white gleam of an eye—
It is Nihéu, the turbulent one—
An eye like the white sandy shore.
Amen, possess me!

[Footnote 350: The remarks on pp. 194 and 195 regarding the
mele on p. 194 are mostly applicable to this mele.]

[Footnote 351: _Kau-meli-eli_. The name of the double canoe
which brought a company of the gods from the lands of the
South—Kukulu o Kahiki—to Hawaii. Hawaiian myths refer to
several migrations of the gods to Hawaii; one of them is that
described in the mele given on p. 187, the first mele in this
chapter.]

The mele now to be given has the form of a serenade.
Etiquette forbade anyone to wake the king by rude touch, but
it was permissible for a near relative to touch his feet.
When the exigencies of business made it necessary for a
messenger, a herald, or a courtier to disturb the sleeping
monarch, he took his station at the king’s feet and recited a
serenade such as this:

_Mele Hoala _(no ka Hula Pele)

E ala, e Kahiki-ku;[352]
E ala, e Kahiki-moe; [352]
E ala, e ke apapa nu’u;[353]
E ala, e ke apapa lani.[353]
5 Eia ka hoala nou, e ka lani[354] la, e-e!
E ala oe!

E ala, ua ao, ua malamalama.
Aia o Kape’a ma,[355] la, i-luna;
Ua hiki mai ka maka o Unulau; [356]
[Page 197] 10 Ke hóolalé mai la ke kupa holowa’a o Ukumehame,[357]
Ka lae makani kaohi-wa’a o Papawai,[358]
Ka lae makani o’Anahenahe la, e-e!
E ala oe!

E ala, ua ao, ua malamalama;
15 Ke o a’e la ke kukuna o ka La i lea ili o ke kai;
Ke hahai a’e la, e like me Kumukahi [359]
E hoaikane ana me Makanoni;
Ka papa o Apua, ua lohi i ka La.
E ala oe!

20 E ala, ua ao, ua malamalama;
Ke kau aku la ka La i Kawaihoa:
Ke kolii aku la ka La i ka ili o ke kai;
Ke anai mai la ka iwa auai-maka o Lei-no-ai,
I ka lima o Maka-iki-olea,
25 I ka poli wale o Lehua la.
E ala oe!

[Footnote 352: Hawaiians conceived of the dome of heaven as a
solid structure supported by walls that rested on the earth’s
plain. Different names were given to different sections of
the wall. _Kahiki-ku_ and _Kahiki-moe_ were names applied to
certain of these sections. It would, however, be too much, to
expect any Hawaiian, however intelligent and well versed in
old lore, to indicate the location of these regions.]

[Footnote 353: The words _apapa nu’u_ and _apapa lani_, which
convey to the mind of the author the picture of a series of
terraced plains or steppes—no doubt the original
meaning—here mean a family or order of gods, not of the
highest rank, at or near the head of which stood Pele.
Apropos of this subject the following lines have been quoted:

Hanau ke apapa nu’u:
Hanau ke apapa lani;
Hanau Pele, ka hihi’o na lani.

[Translation.]

Begotten were the gods of graded rank;
Begotten were the gods of heavenly rank;
Begotten was Pele, quintessence of heaven.

This same expression was sometimes used to mean an order of
chiefs, _alii. Apapa lani_ was also used to mean the highest
order of gods, _Ku, Kane, Kanaloa, Lono_. The kings also were
gods, for which reason this expression at times applied to
the alii of highest rank, those, for instance, who inherited
the rank of _niau-pi’o_ or of _wohi._]

[Footnote 354: _Lani_. Originally the heavens, came to mean
king, chief, _alii_.]

[Footnote 355: There is a difference of opinion as to the
meaning of _Kape’a ma_. After hearing diverse opinions the
author concludes that it refers to the rays of the sun that
precede its rising—a Greek idea.]

[Footnote 356: _Unulau_. A name for the trade-wind which, owing
to the conformation of the land, often sweeps down with great
force through the deep valleys that seam the mountains of
west Maui between Lahaina and Maalaea bay; such a wind squall
was called a _mumuku_.]

[Footnote 357: _Ukumehame_. The name of a deep valley on west
Maui in the region above described.]

[Footnote 358: _Papawai_. The principal cape on west Maui
between Lahaina and Maalaea bay.]

[Footnote 359: _Kumu-kahi_. A cape in Puna, the easternmost
part of Hawaii; by some said to be the sun’s wife, and the
object of his eager pursuit after coming out of his eastern
gate Ha’eha’e. The name was also applied to a pillar of stone
that was planted on the northern border of this cape.
Standing opposite to it, on the southern side, was the
monolith Makanoni. In summer the sun in its northern
excursion inclined, as the Hawaiians noted, to the side of
Kumukahi, while in the season of cool weather, called
Makalii, it swung in the opposite direction and passed over
to Makanoni. The people of Puna accordingly said, “The sun
has passed over to Makanoni,” or “The sun has passed over to
Kumukahi,” as the case might be. These two pillars are said
to be of such a form as to suggest the thought that they are
phallic emblems, and this conjecture is strengthened by
consideration of the tabus connected with them and of the
religious ceremonies peformed before them. The Hawaiians
speak of them as _pohaku eho_, which, the author believes,
is the name given to a phallus, and describe them as plain
uncarved pillars.

These stones were set up in very ancient times and are said
to have been tabu to women at the times of their infirmity.
If a woman climbed upon them at such a period or even set
foot upon the platform on which one of them stood she was put
to death. Another stringent tabu forbade anyone to perform an
office of nature while his face was turned toward one of
these pillars.

The language of the mele, _Ke hahai ae la e like me Kumukahi_
(verse 16), implies that the sun chased after Kumukahi.
Apropos of this is the following quotation from an article on
the phallus in Chambers’s Encyclopedia: “The common myth
concerning it [the phallus] was the story of some god
deprived of his power of generation—an allusion to the sun,
which in autumn loses its fructifying influence.”

In modern times there seems to have grown up a curious
mixture of traditions about these two stones, in which the
old have become overlaid with new superstitions; and these
last in turn seem to be dying out. They are now vaguely
remembered as relics of old demigods, petrified forms of
ancient _kupua_.[360] Fishermen, it is said, not long ago
offered sacrifices to them, hoping thus to purchase good
luck. Any offense against them, such as that by women, above
mentioned, or by men, was atoned for by offering before these
ancient monuments the first fish that came to the fisherman’s
hook or net.

Mention of the name Kumu-kahi to a Hawaiian versed in ancient
lore called up to his memory the name of Pala-moa as his
associate. The account this old man gave of them was that
they were demigods much worshiped and feared for their power
and malignity. They were reputed to be cannibals on the sly,
and, though generally appearing in human form, were capable
of various metamorphoses, thus eluding detection. They were
believed to have the power of taking possession of men
through spiritual obsession, as a result of which the
obsessed ones were enabled to heal sickness as well as to
cause it, to reveal secrets, and to inflict death, thus
terrifying people beyond measure. The names of these, two
demigods, especially that of Palamoa, are to this day
appealed to by practitioners of the black arts.]

[Footnote 360: The Hawaiian alphabet had no letter _s_. The
Hawaiians indicated the plural by prefixing the particle
_na_.]

[Page 198]

[Translation.]

_Song_

Awake now, Kahiki-ku;
Awake now, Kahiki-moe;
Awake, ye gods of lower grade;
Awake, ye gods of heavenly rank.
5 A serenade to thee, O king.
Awake thee!

Awake, it is day, it is light;
The Day-god his arrows is shooting,
Unulau his eye far-flashing,
10 Canoe-men from Uku-me-hame
Are astir to weather the windy cape,
The boat-baffling cape, Papa-wai,
And the boisterous A-nahe-nahe.
Awake thee!

15 Awake, day is come and the light;
The sun-rays stab the skin of the deep;
It pursues, as did god Kumu-kahi
To companion with god Maka-noni;
The plain of Apua quivers with heat.
20 Awake thee!

Awake, ’tis day, ’tis light;
The sun stands over Waihoa,
Afloat on the breast of ocean;
The iwa of Leinoai is preening
25 On the cliff Maka-iki-olea.
On the breast of naked Lehua.
Awake thee! awake!

The following is a prayer said to have been used at the time
of awa-drinking. When given in the hula, the author is
informed, its recitation was accompanied by the sound of the
drum.

_He Pule no Pele_

PALE I

O Pele la ko’u akua:
Miha ka lani, miha ka honua.
Awa iku, awa lani;
Kai awaawa, ka awa nui a Hiiaka,
5 I kua i Mauli-ola;[361]
He awa kapu no na wahine.
E kapu!

Ka’i kapu kou awa, e Pele a Honua-mea;
E kala, e Haumea wahine,
10 O ka wahine i Kilauea,
Nana i eli a hohonu ka lua
O Mau-wahine, o Kupu-ena,
O na wahine i ka inu-hana awa.
E ola na ’kua malihini![362]

PALE II

15 I kama’a-ma’a la i ka pua-lei;
E loa ka wai apua,
Ka pii’na i Ku-ka-la-ula;[363]
Hoopuka aku i Puu-lena,
Aina a ke Akua i noho ai.

[Page 199] 20 Kanaenae a ke Akua malihini;[362]
O ka’u wale iho la no ia, o ka leo,
He leo wale no, e-e!
E ho-i!
Eia ka ai!

[Footnote 361: _Mauli-ola_. A god of health; perhaps also the
name of a place. The same word also was applied to the breath
of life, or to the physician’s power of healing. In the Maori
tongue the word _mauri_, corresponding to _mauli_, means
life, the seat of life. In Samoan the word _mauli_ means
heart. “Sneeze, living heart” (_Tihe mauri ora_), says the
Maori mother to her infant when it sneezes. For this bit of
Maori lore acknowledgment is due to Mr. S. Percy Smith, of
New Zealand.]

[Footnote 362: According to one authority, at the close of the
first canto the stranger gods—_akua malihini_—who consisted
of that multitude of godlings called the _Kini Akua_, took
their departure from the ceremony, since they did not belong
to the Pele family. Internal evidence, however, the study of
the prayer itself in its two parts, leads the writer to
disagree with this authority. Other Hawaiians of equally
deliberate judgment support him in this opinion. The
etiquette connected with ceremonious awa-drinking, which the
Samoans of to-day still maintain in full form, long ago died
out in Hawaii. This etiquette may never have been cultivated
here to the same degree as in its home, Samoa; but this poem
is evidence that the ancient Hawaiians paid greater attention
to it than they of modern times. The reason for this decline
of ceremony must be sought for in the mental and esthetic
make-up of the Hawaiian people; it was not due to any lack of
fondness in the Hawaiian for awa as a beverage or as an
intoxicant. It is no help to beg the question by ascribing
the decline of this etiquette to the influence of social
custom. To do so would but add one more link to the chain
that binds cause to effect. The Hawaiian mind was not
favorable to the observance of this sort of etiquette; it did
not afford a soil fitted to nourish such an artificial
growth.]

[Footnote 363: The meaning of the word _Ku-ka-la-ula_ presented
great difficulty and defied all attempts at translation until
the suggestion was made by a bright Hawaiian, which was
adopted with satisfaction, that it probably referred to that
state of dreamy mental exaltation which comes with
awa-intoxication. This condition, like that of frenzy, of
madness, and of idiocy, the Hawaiian regarded as a divine
possession.]

[Translation.]

_A Prayer to Pele_