Unwritten Literature Of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs Of The Hula - free ebook by Nathaniel Bright Emerson

UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII THE SACRED SONGS OF THE HULA

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PREFATORY NOTE

Previous to the year 1906 the researches of the Bureau were restricted to the American Indians, but by act of Congress approved June 30 of that year the scope of its operations was extended to include the natives of the Hawaiian islands. Funds were not specifically provided, however, for prosecuting investigations among these people, and in the absence of an appropriation for this purpose it was considered inadvisable to restrict the systematic investigations among the Indian tribes in order tha

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INTRODUCTION

This book is for the greater part a collection of Hawaiian songs and poetic pieces that have done service from time immemorial as the stock supply of the hula . The descriptive portions have been added, not because the poetical parts could not stand by themselves, but to furnish the proper setting and to answer the questions of those who want to know. Now, the hula stood for very much to the ancient Hawaiian; it was to him in place of our concert-hall and lecture-room, our opera and theater, and

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I.—THE HULA

One turns from the study of old genealogies, myths, and traditions of the Hawaiians with a hungry despair at finding in them means so small for picturing the people themselves, their human interests and passions; but when it comes to the hula and the whole train of feelings and sentiments that made their entrances and exits in the halau (the hall of the hula) one perceives that in this he has found the door to the heart of the people. So intimate and of so simple confidence are the revelations t

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THE HALAU

In building a halau, or hall, in which to perform the hula a Hawaiian of the old, old time was making a temple for his god. In later and degenerate ages almost any structure would serve the purpose; it might be a flimsy shed or an extemporaneous lanai such as is used to shelter that al fresco entertainment, the luau . But in the old times of strict tabu and rigorous etiquette, when the chief had but to lift his hand and the entire population of a district ransacked plain, valley, and mountain to

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THE KUAHU

In every halau stood the kuahu , or altar, as the visible temporary abode of the deity, whose presence was at once the inspiration of the performance and the luck-bringer of the enterprise—a rustic frame embowered in greenery. The gathering of the green leaves and other sweet finery of nature for its construction and decoration was a matter of so great importance that it could not be intrusted to any chance assemblage of wild youth who might see fit to take the work in hand. There were formaliti

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III.—THE GODS OF THE HULA.

Of what nature were the gods of the old times, and how did the ancient Hawaiians conceive of them? As of beings having the form, the powers, and the passions of humanity, yet standing above and somewhat apart from men. One sees, as through a mist, darkly, a figure, standing, moving; in shape a plant, a tree or vine-clad stump, a bird, a taloned monster, a rock carved by the fire-queen, a human form, a puff of vapor—and now it has given place to vacancy. It was a goddess, perhaps of the hula. In

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RULES OF CONDUCT AND TABUS

Without a body of rules, a strict penal code, and a firm hand to hold in check the hot bloods of both sexes, it would have been impossible to keep order and to accomplish the business purpose of the organization. The explosive force of passion would have made the gathering a signal for the breaking loose of pandemonium. That it did not always so result is a compliment alike to the self-restraint of the people and to the sway that artistic ideals held over their minds, but, above all, to a peculi

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CEREMONIES OF GRADUATION

The ai-lolo rite and ceremony marked the consummation of a pupil’s readiness for graduation from the school of the halau and his formal entrance into the guild of hula dancers. As the time drew near, the kumu tightened the reins of discipline, and for a few days before that event no pupil might leave the halau save for the most stringent necessity, and then only with the head muffled ( pulo’u ) to avoid recognition, and he might engage in no conversation whatever outside the halau. The night pre

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DÉBUT OF A HULA DANCER

The occasion is that of a lifetime; it is their uniki , their debut. The song chosen must rise to the dignity of the occasion. Let us listen to the song that enthralls the audience seated in the rushstrown lanai, that we may judge of its worthiness. He Mele-Inoa (no Naihe) 38 Ka nalu nui, a ku ka nalu mai Kona, Ka malo a ka mahiehie, 39 Ka onaulu-loa, 40 a lele ka’u malo. O kakai 41 malo hoaka, 42 O ka malo kai, 43 malo o ke alii E ku, e hume a paa i ka malo. E ka’ika’i 44 ka la i ka papa o Hale

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[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; 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, Rain, storm, cold, and wet. O sweetheart of mine, Let me come in to you. Rain, storm, cold, and wet. O sweetheart of mine, Let me come in to you. Footnote 58: (return) Ka-papala. A verdant region on the southeastern flank

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[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, a

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[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; 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: (return) Wai-ale-ale (Le

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[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— 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: (return) This utterance of passion is said to have been, the composition of the Princess-Kamamalu, as an address to Prince William Lunalilo, to wh

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[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. The first duty of a visitor on being admitted to the halau while the tabu was on—that is, during the co

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[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! 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, 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. Thou art Laka, God of this altar here. Return, return and res

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[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, Heaven-guest, Soul-awakener, Bird from covert calling, Where forest champions stand. There roamed I too with Laka, 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! You approach, it is well; You possess me, I am blest! Of Lea and Loa a wilderness-child; On ridge, in forest bo

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[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— 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; On the terrace, at Mo’o-he-laia, Stands the god-tree of Ku, on Mauna-loa. God Kaulana-ula twigs now

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[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! 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 ha

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[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-pra

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[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. 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: (return) Kupukupu . Said to be a fragrant grass. Footnote 88: (return) Kane-hoa . Said to be a hill at Kaupo, Maul. Another person says it is a hill at Lihue, on Oahu. The same name is often repeated. Footnote 89: (re

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[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: (return) Auwana . Said to be an eminence on the flank of Haleakala, back of Ulupalakua. Footnote 101: (return) Apua . A place on Hawaii, on Maui, on Oahu, on Kauai, and on Molokai. Footnote 102: (return) Mama ula ia ka malua ula . The malua-ula was

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[Translation.]

Footnote 115: (return) Kaupoku. A variant of the usual form, which is kaupaku , the ridgepole of a house, its apex. The pa-ti when, worn takes the shape of a grass house, which has the form of a haystack. Footnote 116: (return) 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. F

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[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, 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. A child is this steep thing of the cliff Kau-kini, A swelling cloud on the peak of Auwana. Won

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[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, A shout of applause From the four hundred. I appeal to thee, Laka! Footnote 122: (return) Lau (archaic). Four hundred. 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...

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[Translation.]

Song Lift Mahu’ilani on high; Thy palms Kauna-lewa a-waving! Footnote 123: (return) Mahu’ilani . A poetlcal 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: (return) 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 a

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[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. 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: (return) Wahine . The woman, Pele. Every formal hula was regarded by the people of the olden time as a sacred and religious performance

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[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; 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. See the water chafing its bounds like a dog, A raging dog, gnawing its way to pass out. See the water c

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[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, 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 Ioa o Hana-kahi, 132 O Hilo, i olokea 133 ia, i au la, e, i kai

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[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; 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— Beach strewn with a tangle of thicket growth; A billowy freshet pours in Wailuku; Swoll’n is

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[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— They are gray from the heat of the goddess. 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, Thickets and tall trees a-blazing. Sweep on, oh fire-ax, thy flame-shooting flood! Smit by this ax is Ku-lili-kaua. I

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[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— 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. 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

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[Translation.]

Footnote 161: (return) Pua-lani . The name of a deity who took the form of the rosy clouds of morning. Footnote 162: (return) 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: (return) Hana-kahi . Look at note f , p. 60. Footnote 164:

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[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. Surf breaks, stirs the mire of Pii-lani; 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. 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.

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[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. Accomplished now is the steep, The ladder-like series of steps. Malu-ó is left far below. Passed is Ka-maha-la’-wili, The very ridge-pole of the rain— 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

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[Translation.]

Song—Hole Waimea PART IV Love tousled Waimea with, shafts of the wind, While Kipuupuu puffed jealous gusts. Love is a tree that blights in the cold, But thrives in the woods of Mahiki. Smitten art thou with the blows of love; Luscious the water-drip in the wilds; Wearied and bruised is the flower of Koaie; Stung by the frost the herbage of Wai-ka-é: And this—it is love. Wai-ká, loves me like a sweetheart. Dear as my heart Koolau’s yellow eye, My flower in the tangled wood, Hule-í-a, A travel-wre

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[Translation.]

STANZA 2 A mackerel sky, time for foul weather; The wind raises the dust— Thy couch is a-drip with the rain; Open the door, let’s trench about the house: Koolau, land of rain, will shoot green leaves. I dread the cold of the uplands. An adventure that of long ago. The poem above given from beginning to end is figurative, a piece of far-fetched, enigmatical symbolism in the lower plane of human nature. PAUKU 3 Hoe Puna i ka wa’a po-lolo’ 184 a ka ino; Ha-uke-uke i ka wa o Koolau: Eha e! eha la! E

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[Translation.]

STANZA 3 Puna plies paddle night-long in the storm; Is set back by a shift in the weather, Feels hurt and disgruntled; Dismayed at slap after slap of the squalls; Is struck with eight blows of Typhoon; Then smit with the lash of the North wind. Sad, he turns back to Hilo’s sand-beach: He’ll shake the town with a scandal— The night-long storm with the hag of the pit, Hag from Gehenna! Hag from Gehenna! Footnote 184: (return) Po-lolo . A secret word, like a cipher, made up for the occasion and com

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[Translation.]

STANZA 4 Love is at play in the grove, A jealous swain glares fierce At the flowers tying love-knots, Lying wilted at noon-tide. So you’ve forgotten Mali’o, Turned to the flower of Puna— Puna, the cave of shifty winds. Long have I cherished this blossom, A treasure hid in my heart! Oh, sweetheart! Oh, sweetheart! The following account is taken from the Polynesian Researches of the Rev. William Ellis, the well-known English missionary, who visited these islands in the years 1822 and 1823, and who

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[Translation.]

(5) Keawe-pa-makani . It was his function to send winds from Kukulu-o-Kahiki , as well as from some other points. (6) Keawe-ío-ío-moa . This god inspected the ocean tides and currents, such as Au-miki and Au-ká . (7) Keawe-i-ka-liko . He took charge of flowerbuds and tender shoots, giving them a chance to develop. (8) Keawe-ulu-pu . It was his function to promote the development and fruitage of plants. (9) Keawe-lu-pua . He caused flowers to shed their petals. (10) Keawe-opala . It was his thank

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[Translation.]

Song (Distinct utterance) Glowing is Kahiki, oh! Glowing is Kahiki! Lo, Kahiki is a-blaze, The whole island a-burning. Scorched is thy scion, Hawaii. Kahiki shoots flame-tongues at Olopana, That hero of yours, and priest Of the oracle Hana-ka-ulani, The sacred shrine of the king— He is of the upper heavens, The one inspired by Keawe, That tabu-famous Keawe, The king passion-fond of the sea. He is of the upper heavens, The one inspired by Keawe, That tabu-famous Keawe, The king passion-fond of th

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[Translation.]

Song CANTO I Leaf of lehua and noni-tint, the Kona sea, Iridescent saffron and red, Changeable watered red, peculiar to Kona; Red are the uplands Alaea; All, ’tis the flame-red stained robes of women Much tossed by caress or desire. The weed-tangled water-way shines like a rope of pearls, Dew-pearls that droop the coco leaf, The hair of the trees, their long locks— Lo, they wilt in the heat of Kailua the deep. A mat spread out narrow and gray, A coigne of land by the sea where the fisher drops h

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[Translation.]

Song CANTO II The iwa flies heavy to nest in the brush, Its haunt on windy Ke-ula. The watch-bird, that fends off the rain from Le-hu-a— Bird sacred to Ku-hai, the shark-god— Shrieks, “Light not on terrace of Lei-no-ai, Lest Unu-lau fiercely assail you.” Storm sweeps the cliffs of the islet; A covert they seek neath the hills, In the sheltered lee of the gale, The cove at the base of Le-hu-a. The shady groves there enchant them, The scarlet plumes of lehua. Love-dalliance now by the water-reeds,

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[Translation.]

Song CANTO III (In turgid style) A storm, from the sea strikes Ke-au, Ulu-mano, sweeping across the barrens; It sniffs the fragrance of upland lehua, Turns back at Kupa-koili; Sawed by the blows of the palm leaves, The groves of pandanus in lava shag; Their fruit he would string ’bout his neck; Their fruit he finds wilted and crushed, Mere rubbish to litter the road— Ah, the perfume! Pana-ewa is drunk with the scent; The breath of it spreads through the groves. Vainly flares the old king’s passi

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[Translation.]

Song CANTO IV I will not chase the mirage of Maná, That man-fooling mist of god Lima-loa, Which still deceives the stranger— And came nigh fooling me—the tricksy water! The mirage of Maná, is a fraud; it Wantons with the witch Koolau. A friend has turned up at Wailua, Changeful Kawelo, with gills like a fish, Has power to bring luck in any queer shape. As a stranger now am I living, Aye, living. You flaunt like a person of wealth, Yours the fish, till it comes to my hook. I am blest at receiving

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[Translation.]

Song CANTO V (To be recited in bombastic style, or, it may be, distinctly) Big with child is the Princess Ku; The whole island suffers her whimsies; The pangs of labor are on her; Labor that stains the land with blood, Blood-clots of the heavenly born, To preserve and guard the royal line, The spark of king-fire now glowing: A child is he of heavenly stock, Like the darling of Hitu-kolo, First womb-fruit born to love’s rainbow. A bath for this child of heaven’s breast, This mystical royal offspr

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[Translation.]

Song Methinks it is you, leaf plucked from Love’s tree, You mayhap, that stirs my affection. There’s a tremulous glance of the eye, The thought she might chance yet to come: But who then would greet her with song? Your day has flown, your vision of her— A time this for gnawing the heart. I’ve plunged just now in deep waters: Oh the strife and vexation of soul! No mortal goes scathless of love. A wife thou estranged, I a husband estranged, Mere husks to be cast to the swine. 203 Look, the swarmin

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[Translation.]

Song Ewa’s lagoon is red with dirt— Dust blown by the cool Moa’e, A plumage red on the taro leaf, An ocherous tint in the bay. Say not in your heart that I am the culprit. Not I, but they, are at fault. No child of the womb is to blame. There goes, likely he is the one. Who was it blabbed of the bed defiled? It must have been one of that band. But look at the rank grass beat down— For my part, I tripped, the other one smiled. You smiled in your hour of pleasure; But now, when crossed, how you sc

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[Translation.]

Song (In turgid style) A pit lies (far) to the East, Pit het by the Fire-queen Pele. Heaven’s dawn is lifted askew, One edge tilts up, one down, in the sky; The thud of the pick is heard in the ground. The question is asked by Wakea, What god’s this a-digging? It is I, it is Pele, Who dug Mihau deep down till it burned, Dug fire-pit red-heated by Pele. Night’s curtains are drawn to one side, One lifts, one hangs in the tide. Crunch of spade resounds in the earth. Wakea ’gain urges the query, Wha

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[Translation.]

Song A burst of smoke from the pit lifts to the skies; Hawaii’s beneath, birth-land of Keawe; Malama’s beach looms before Lohian, Where landed the chief from Kahiki, From a voyage on the blue sea, the dark sea, The foam-mottled sea of Kane, What time curled waves of the king-whelming flood. The sea up-swells, invading the land— Lo Kane, outstretched at his ease! Smoke and flame o’ershadow the uplands, Conflagration by Laka, the woman Hopoe wreathed with flowers of lehua, Stringing the pandanus f

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[Translation.]

Look to your ways in upland Puna; Walk softly, commit no offense; Dally not, nor pluck the flower sin; Lest God in anger bar the road, And you find no way of escape. The marionette Ki’i-ki’i was a strenuous little fellow, an ilamuku , a marshal, or constable of the king. It was his duty to carry out with unrelenting rigor the commands of the alii, whether they bade him take possession of a taro patch, set fire to a house, or to steal upon a man at dead of night and dash out his brains while he s

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[Translation.]

Song O Wewehi, la, la! Wewehi, peerless form, la, la! Encouched on the pola, la, la! Bossing the paddlers, la, la! Men of the canoe, la, la! Of that canoe, la, la! Of this canoe, la, la! Mawi inquires, la, la! Who was her grand-sire? la, la! ’Twas Wewehi-loa, la, la! Wewehi is dead, la, la! Wounded with spear, la, la! The same old wound, la, la! Wound made by Mawi, la, la! The flag, lo the flag! The flag weeps at half-mast! The flag, indeed, asks— Many, many the flags, A scandal for number. Why

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[Translation.]

Song Point to a dark one, Point to a dainty piece, A delicate morsel she! Very choice, very hot! She that stoops over— Aye stoops! Lo, the hala fruit! The translation has to be based largely on conjecture. The author of this bit of fun-making, which is couched in old-time slang, died without making known the key to his cipher, and no one whom the present writer has met with is able to unravel its full meaning. Footnote 213: (return) Kau-kau . Conjectural meaning to point out some one in the audi

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[Translation.]

Song for the Hula Ki’i Now for the dance, dance in accord; Prepare for the dance. Now for the dance, dance in time. Up, now, with the flag! Step out to the right Step out to the left! Ha, ha, ha! This translation is the result of much research, yet its absolute accuracy can not be vouched for. The most learned authorities ( kaka-olelo ) in old Hawaiian lore that have been found by the writer express themselves as greatly puzzled at the exact meaning of the mele just given. Some scholars, no doub

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[Translation.]

Song Let’s worship now the bird-cage. Seest thou the furzy woodland, The shag of herb and forest, The low earth-tinting rainbow, Child of the Sun that swings above? O, happy bird, to drink from the pool, A bliss free to the million! Footnote 217: (return) Punohu . A compact mass of clouds, generally lying low in the heavens; a cloud-omen; also a rainbow that lies close to the earth, such as is formed when the sun is high in the heavens. This is the language of symbolism. When Venus went about to

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[Translation.]

Song (Distinct utterance) Wanahili bides the whole night with Manu’a, By trumpet hailed through broad Hawaii, By the white vaulting conch of Kiha— Great Kiha, offspring of Pii-lani, Father of eight-branched Kama-lala-walu The far-roaming eye now sparkles with joy, Whose energy erstwhile shook mountains, The king who firm-bound the isles in one state, His glory, symboled by four human altars, Reaches Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii the eld of Keawe, Whose tabu, burning with blood-red blaze, Shoots flam

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[Translation.]

Song The hula pahu was so named from the pahu , 236 or drum, that was its chief instrument of musical accompaniment (pl. x). Footnote 236: (return) Full form, pahu-hula . It is not often that the story of an institution can be so closely fitted to the landmarks of history as in the case of this hula; and this comes about through our knowledge of the history of the pahu itself. Tradition, direct and reliable, informs us that the credit of introducing the big drum belongs to La’a. This chief flour

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[Translation.]

Song (Bombastic style) Thou art Hilo, Hilo, flood-gate of heaven. Hilo has power to wring out the rain. Let Hilo turn here and turn there; Hilo’s kept from employ, somber with rain; Pili-keko roars with full stream; The feathers of Hilo bristle with cold, And her hail-stones smite on the sand. She lies without motion, with upturned face, The fire-places pillowed with ashes; The bullets of rain are slapping the land, Pitiless rain turmoiling Pai-kaka. So, indeed. 2 In Puna was I, in Ku-ki’i, in H

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[Translation.]

Song Wai-aleale stands haughty and cold, Her lehua bloom, fog-soaked, droops pensive; The thorn-fringe set ahout swampy Ai-po is A feather that flaunts in spite of the pinching frost. Her herbage is pelted, stung by the rain; Bruised all her petals, and moaning in cold Mokihana’s sun, his wat’ry beams. I have acted in good faith and honor, My complaint is only to you— A matter that touches my life. Best watch within and toward Ka-ula; Question each breeze, note every rumor, Even the whisper of M

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[Translation.]

Song I spurn the thought with disdain Of that pool Alekoki: On the upland lingers the rain And fondly haunts Nuuanu. Sharp was the cold, bootless My waiting up there. I thought thou wert true, Wert loyal to me, Whom thou laids’t under bonds. Take oath now and keep it; This body is sacred to thee, Bound by the word of thy mouth. My heart leaps up at thought Of the pool, pool of Kapena; To me it is fenced, shut off, The water-heads tightly sealed up. The fountains must be a-hoarding, For skies are

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[Translation.]

Song CANTO I Whence art thou, thirsty wind, That gently kissest the sea, Then, wed to the ocean breeze, Playest fan with the breadfruit tree? Here sprawl Hala-lii’s canes, There stands bird-haunted Lehua. CANTO II My wreath-maker dwells at Waimea. Partnered is she to the swirling river; They plant with flowers the sandy lea, While the bearded surf, tossed by the breeze, Vaunts on the hills as the sun-bow, Looks on the crystal stream Makaweli, And in the wildwood makes her abode With Hinahina of

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[Translation.]

Song It has come, it has come; lo the Sun! How I love the Sun that’s on high; Below it swims Ka-wai-hoa, Oa the slope inclined from Lehua. On Kauai met I a pali, A beetling cliff that bounds Milo-lii, And climbing up Makua-iki, Crawling up was Pua, the child, An orphan that weeps out its tale. The writer has rescued the following fragment from the wastebasket of Hawaiian song. A lean-to of modern verse has been omitted; it was evidently added within a generation: Mele Malua, 250 ki’i wai ke aloh

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[Translation.]

Song Malua, fetch water of love, Give drink to this mamane bud. The birds, they are singing ecstatic, Sipping Panaewa’s nectared lehua, Beside themselves with the fragrance Exhaled from the garden Ohele. Your love comes to me a tornado; It has rapt away my whole body, The heart you once sealed as your own, There planted the seed of desire. Thought you ’twas the tree of Hopoe, This tree, whose bloom you would pluck? There planted the seed of desire. Thought you ’twas the tree of Hopoe, This tree,

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[Translation.]

Song Ka-la-kaua, a great name, A flower not wilted by the sun; It blooms on the mountains, In the forests of Mauna-kea; It burns in Ki-lau-e-a, Illumines the cliff Wahine-kapu, The heights of Uwe-kabuna, The sacred pali of Ka-au-e-a. Shine forth, king of bird-hunters, Resplendent in plumage of mamo, Bright flower of Hawaii: Ka-la-kaua, the Illustrious! Resplendent in plumage of mamo, Bright flower of Hawaii: Ka-la-kaua, the Illustrious! The proper names Wahine-kapu, Uwe-kahuna , and Ka-au-e-a in

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[Translation.]

Song The cloud-piles o’er Kona’s sea whet my joy, Clouds that drop fain in fair weather. The clustered dew-pearls shake to the ground; The boys drone out the na-ú to the West, Eager for Sol to sink to his rest. This my day for a plunge in the sea— The Sun will be warming other shores— Happy the tribes of that land of calm! Fathomless, deep is my love To thee, my passion, my mate. To thee, my passion, my mate. The author of this love-song, mele ipo , is said to have been Kalola, a widow of Kameha

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[Translation.]

Song We twain were lodged in Wai-pi’o, Beheld Hi’i-lawe, the grand. We brought and cut for our love-wreath The rich hala drupe from Naue’s strand, Tufted lehua that waves on the cliff; Then sat and gave ear to song of o-ó, Or harked the chirp of the tree-shell. Wai-pi’o , the scene of this idyl, is a valley deep and broad which the elements have scooped out in the windward exposure of Hawaii, and scarce needs mention to Hawaiian tourists. Hi’i-lawe is one of several high waterfalls that leap fro

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[Translation.]

Song of the Tree-shell Trill a-far, Trill a-near, A dainty song-wreath, Wreath akolea. Kolea, Kolea, Fetch me some dew, Dew from pink akolea. This little piece of rustic imagination is said to have been used in the hula, but in connection with what dance the author has not been able to learn. Footnote 255: (return) The akolea is a fern (by some classed as a Polypodium) which, according to Doctor Hillebrand (Flora of the Hawaiian Islands), “sustains its extraordinary length by the circinnate tips

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[Translation.]

Song It was in Hamakua; I sat in a grove of Pandanus, A stranger at my arrival, A rock was my shelter from rain. I found it a wearisome wait, Cautiously shifting about. There’s a canny son of the cliff That has five buds to his hand. You shall twine me a wreath of due length, A wreath to encircle my love, Whilst you hold desire in strong curb, Till love-touch thaws the cold-hearted. When you rise from sleep on the mat, Look down, see the conquest of love. The meaning of this short story? What ch

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[Translation.]

Song Kahiki-nui, land of wind-driven smoke! Mine eyes gaze with longing on Kona; A fire-wreath glows aback of the district, And a robe of wonderful green Lies the sea that has aproned my loins Off the point of Hana-malo. A dark burnished form is Hawaii, To one who stands on the mount— A hamper swung down from heaven, A beautiful carven shape is the island— Thy mountains, thy splendor of herbage: Mauna-kea and Loa stand (in glory) apart, To him who looks from Maile-hahéi; And Kilohana pillows for

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[Translation.]

Power to Remove Tabu Bloom of lehua on altar piled, Bloom of lehua below, Bloom of lehua at altar’s base, In the month Ka-ulua. Present here is Haumea, And the father of thee, And the goddess of eloquent speech; Gather, now gather, Ye ranks of gods, And ye ranks of men, Complete in array. The heavenly service is done, Service of Ku of the mount, Service of Laka, And the great god Ku, Ku of the wilds, And of Hina, Hina, the heavenly singer. Now it is done, Our work is done; The tabu is lifted, Fr

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[Translation.]

Tabu-lifting Prayer (to Laka) Oh wildwood bouquet, O Láka! Set her greenwood leaves in order due; And Ku, god of Ohia-La-ká, He and Ku, the shaggy, Lehua with small-leafed Koa, And Lama and Moku-hali’i, Kú-i-kú-i and Haia-pé-pé; And with these leafy I-e-i-e, Fern and small-leafed Maile. Free, the altar is free! Free through, you, Laka, Doubly free! Free, the altar is free! Free through, you, Laka, Doubly free! Footnote 273: (return) Pupu we’u-we’u . A bouquet. The reference is to the wreaths and

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[Translation.]

Dismissing Prayer Doomed sacrifice I in the love-quest, I stand [loin-girt] 280 for the journey; To you who remain, farewell! Farewell to our homes forsaken. On the road beyond In-decision, I turn me about— Turn me about, for lack of a gift, An offering, intercession, for thee— My sole intercession, the voice. Footnote 278: (return) A literal translation of the first line would be as follows: (Here) stands the doomed sacrifice for the journey in search of a bed-lover. Footnote 279: (return) Huli

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[Translation.]

Song Kane is drunken with awa; His head is laid on the pillow; His body stretched on the mat. A trumpet sounds through the fog, Dimmed are the stars in the sky; When the night is clear, how they twinkle! Lani-kaula’s torches look double, The torches that burn for Kane. Ghostly and drear the walls of Waipio At the endless blasts of Kiha-pú. The king’s awa fails to console him; ’Tis the all-night conching of Kiha-pú. Broken his sleep the whole winter; Downcast and sad, sad and downcast, At loss to

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[Translation.]

Song Up to the streams in the wildwood, Where rush the falls Molo-kama, While the rain sweeps past Mala-hoa, I had a passion to visit The forest of bloom at Koili, To give love-caress to Manu’a, And her neighbor Maha-moku, And see the waters flash at Mono-lau; My hand would quiet their rage, Would sidle and touch Lani-huli. Grant me but this one entreaty, We’ll meet ’neath the omens above. Two flowers there are that bloom In your garden of being; Entwine them into a garland, Fit emblem and crown

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[Translation.]

Song. Come up to the wildwood, come; Let us visit Wai-kini, And gaze on Pihána-ka-lani, Its birds of plumage so fine; Be comrade to Hale-lehua, Soul-mate to Kau’kahi-alii. O, Kaili, Kaili! Kaili, leaf of the koa, Graceful as leaf of the koa, Granddaughter of goddess, Whose name is the breath of love, Darling of blooming Lehua. My lady rides with the gray foam, On the surge that enthralls the desire. I pine for the sylph robed in gauze, Who rides on the surf Maka-iwa— Aye, cynosure thou of all he

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MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The musical instruments of the Hawaiians included many classes, and their study can not fail to furnish substantial data for any attempt to estimate the musical performances, attainments, and genius of the people. Of drums, or drumlike instruments of percussion, the Hawaiians had four: 1. The pahu , or pahu-hula (pl. x), was a section of hollowed log. Breadfruit and coconut were the woods generally used for this purpose. The tough skin of the shark was the choice for the drumhead, which was held

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EXPLANATORY REMARKS

The acute or stress accent is placed over syllables that take the accent in ordinary speech. A word or syllable italicized indicates drum-down-beat. It will be noticed that the stress-accent and the rhythmic accent, marked by the down-beat, very frequently do not coincide. The time marked by the drum-down-beat was strictly accurate throughout. The tune was often pitched on some other key than that in which it is here recorded. This fact was noted when, from time to tune, it was found necessary t

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ELOCUTION AND RHYTHMIC ACCENT IN HAWAIIAN SONG

In their ordinary speech the Hawaiians were good elocutionists—none better. Did they adhere to this same system of accentuation in their poetry, or did they punctuate their phrases and words according to the notions of the song-maker and the conceived exigencies of poetical composition? After hearing and studying this recitation of Kualii the author is compelled to say that he does depart in a great measure from the accent of common speech and charge his words with intonations and stresses pecul

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

Hoaeae .—This term calls for a quiet, sentimental style of recitation, in which the fluctuating trill i’i, if it occurs at all, is not made prominent. It is contrasted with the olioli , in which the style is warmer and the fluctuations of the i’i are carried to the extreme. Thus far we have been considering the traditional indigenous music of the land. To come now to that which has been and is being produced in Hawaii by Hawaiians to-day, under influences from abroad, it will not be possible to

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XXII.—GESTURE

Gesture is a voiceless speech, a short-hand dramatic picture. The Hawaiians were adepts in this sort of art. Hand and foot, face and eye, and those convolutions of gray matter which are linked to the organs of speech, all worked in such harmony that, when the man spoke, he spoke not alone with his vocal organs, but all over, from head to foot, every part adding its emphasis to the utterance. Von Moltke could be reticent in six languages; the Hawaiian found it impossible to be reticent in one. Th

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[Translation.]

Song I am smitten with spear of Kane; Mine eyes with longing scan Koolau; Behold the love-omen hang o’er the sea. I dive and come up, dive and come up; Thus I reach my goal Wai-ko-loa. The width of plain is a trifle To the joyful spirit of Kane. Aye, a husband, and patron is he To the dance of the bended knee, In the hall of the stamping feet. Stamp, till the echo reaches Kahiki; Still pluck you a wreath by the way To crown your fondest ambition; A wreath not marred by the salt wind That plays w

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[Translation.]

Declare to me now the riddle: The waters that flash on the plain. The author has refrained from casting out the last two verses, though in his judgment they are entirely out of place and were not in the mele originally. 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 hu

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[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, Fiery cloud-pile in Kahiki. Eager desire for Hawaii seized the woman, Pele; She carved the canoe, Honna-i-a-kea, Your canoe, O Ka-moho-alii. They push the work on the craft to completion. 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 hos

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[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, Loved land of new wine of the palm. 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. Her foot now spurns the long-backed wave; The phosphor burns like Pele’s eye, Or a meteor-flash in the sky. Finished the prayer, enter, possess! Her foot now spurns the long-backed wave; The phosphor

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[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; 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. Behold us, your conclave of priests. Enter in, possess us! Behold us, your conclave of priests. Enter in, possess us! This has the marks of a Hawaiian prayer, and

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[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. 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, 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 With the breeze Koolau! Fly wi

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[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 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 gen

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[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 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, Making mighty swirl of wat’ry yeast, As of Nihéu, the mischief-maker— A mighty swirl of the yeasty wave. In heavea’s name, come aboard! Making mighty swirl of wat

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[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. Now it takes the shape of canoe; Seats at the bow and amidships, And the steersman sitting astern; Their stroke stirs the ocean to foam— The myth-craft, Kau-meli-eli! Now look, the white gleam of an eye— It is Nihéu, the turbulent one— An eye like the white sandy shore. Amen, possess me! The myth-craft, Kau-meli-eli! Now look, the white gleam of an

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[Translation.]

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: (return) Lani . Originally the heavens, came to mean king, chief, alii . Footnote 355: (return) There is a difference of opinion as to the meaning of Ka

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[Translation.]

Song Awake now, Kahiki-ku; Awake now, Kahiki-moe; Awake, ye gods of lower grade; Awake, ye gods of heavenly rank. 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, 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! Awake, day is come and the light; The sun-rays stab the skin of the deep; It pursues, as did god Kumu-kahi T

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[Translation.]

A Prayer to Pele CANTO I Lo, Pele’s the god of my choice: Let heaven and earth in silence wait Here is awa, potent, sacred, Bitter sea, great Hiiaka’s root; ’Twas cut at Mauli-ola— Awa to the women forbidden, Let it tabu be! Exact be the rite of your awa, O Pele of the sacred land. Proclaim it, mother. Haumea, Of the goddess of Kilauea; She who dug the pit world-deep, And Mau-wahine and Kupu-ena, Who prepare the awa for drink. A health to the stranger gods! Proclaim it, mother. Haumea, Of the go

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[Translation.]

Song Yours, doubtless, this name. Which people are toasting With loudest acclaim. Now raise it, aye raise it, Till it reaches the niches Of Kí-lau-é-a. Enshrined is there my kinsman, Kú-núi-akéa. Then give it a place In the temple of Pele; And a bowl for the throats That are croaking with thirst. Knock-kneed eater of land, O Pele, god Pele! O Pele, god Pele! Burst forth now! burst forth! Launch a bolt from the sky! Let thy lightnings fly: In the temple of Pele; And a bowl for the throats That ar

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[Translation.]

Song At Hilo I rendezvoused with, the lehua; By the Wailuku stream, near the robber-den; Off cape Lele-iwi I swam in the ocean; At Pana-ewa, mid groves of lehua; At Ha-ili, a forest of flocking birds. On Molokai I travel its one highway; I saw the plain of Kala’e quiver with heat, And beheld the ax-quarries of Mauna-loa. Ah, the perfume Nihoa’s pandanus exhales! Ko’i-ahi, home of the small-leafed maile; And now at Makua, lo, its virgin sand, While ocean surges and scours on below. Lo, a woman cr

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[Translation.]

Song Come now, Manono, Come, Manono, I say; Take up the burden; Through groves of pandanus And wild stag-horn fern, Wearisome fern, lies our way. Arrived at the hill-top, We’ll smooth out the nest, That we may snug close. Turn now to me, dear, While we rest here. Make we a little nest, That we may draw near. This way your face, dear, While, we rest here. Rest thou and I here, Near the warm, warm water And the smooth lava-plate Of Mau-kele. Rest thou and I here. By the water so warm, And the lava

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[Translation.]

Song ’Tis Kahipa, with pendulous breasts; How they swing to and fro, see-saw! The teeth of Lani-wahine gape— A truce to upper and lower jaw! From Lihue we look upon Ewa; There swam the monster, Miko-lo-lóu, His bowels torn out by Pa-pi’-o. The shark was caught in grip of the hand. Let each one stay himself with wild herbs, And for comfort turn his hungry eyes To the rustling trees of Lei-walo. Hark! the whistling-plover—her old-time seat, As one climbs the hill from Echo-glen, And cools his brow

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[Translation.]

Song Precious the gift of heart’s-ease, A wreath for the cheerful dame; So dear to my heart is the breeze That murmurs, strip for the ocean. Love slaves for wreaths from Kaana. I’m blest in your love that reigns here; It speaks in the fall of a tear— The choicest thing in one’s life, This love for a man by his wife— It has power to shake the whole frame. Ah, where am I now? Here, face to your face. It has power to shake the whole frame. Ah, where am I now? Here, face to your face. The platitudes

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[Translation.]

Song A eulogy for the princess, For Náhi-éna-éna a name! Chief among women! She soothes the cold wind with her flame— A peace that is mirrored in calm, A wind that sheddeth rain; A tide that flowed long ago; The water-spring of Maná, Life-spring for the people, A fount where the lapping dog Barks at the incoming wave, Drifting spray on the bloom Of the sand-sprawling ili-au And the scarlet flower of ohai, On the wind-woven mat of wild grass, Long naku, a springy mattress. The spout-horn, Kawelo-

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[Translation.]

Song Perilous, steep, is the climb to Hanalei woods; To walk canny footed over its bogs; To balance oneself on its ledges, And toil up ladder of hanging roots. The bulk of my guide overhangs me, His loins are well-nigh exhausted; Two beautiful shapes! ’Neath this bank I crouch sheltered from rain. At first blush this mele seems to be the account of a perilous climb through that wild mountainous region that lies back of Hanalei, Kauai, a region of tangled woods, oozy steeps, fathomless bogs, narr

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[Translation.]

Alas, alas, maimed are my hands! Alas, alas, maimed are my hands! Wahine-oma’o, lacking spiritual sight, saw nothing of this; but Hiiaka, in downright pity and goodness of impulse, plucked a hala fruit from the string about her neck and threw it so that it fell before the poor creature, who eagerly seized it and with the stumps of her hands held it up to enjoy its odor. At the sight of the woman’s pleasure Hiiaka sang: Le’a wale hoi ka wahine lima-lima ole, wawae ole, E ha ana i kana i’a, ku’i-k

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[Translation.]

How pleased is the girl maimed of hand and foot, Groping for fish, pounding shells of opihi, Kneading her moss, Mana-mana-ia-kalu-éa! The answer of the desolate creature, grateful for Hiiaka’s recognition and kind attention, was that pretty mele appropriated by hula folk as the wreath-song, already given (p. 56), which will bear repetition: Ke lei mai la o Ka-ula i ke kai, e-e! Ke malamalama o Niihau, ua malie. A malie, pa ka Inu-wai. Ke inu mai la na hala o Naue i ke kai. No Naue ka hala, no Pu

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[Translation.]

Kaula wreathes her brow with the ocean; Niihau shines forth in the calm. After the calm blows the Inu-wai, And the palms of Naue drink of the salt. From Naue the palm, from Puna the maid, Aye, from the pit of Kilauea. The hula mu’u-mu’u , literally the dance of the maimed, has long been out of vogue, so that the author has met with but one person, and he not a practitioner of the hula, who has witnessed its performance. This was in Puna, Hawaii; the performance was by women only and was without

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[Translation.]

Black crabs are climbing, Crabs from the great sea, Sea that is darkling. Black crabs and gray crabs Scuttle o’er the reef-plate. Billows are tumbling and lashing, Beating and surging nigh. Seashells are crawling up; And lurking in holes Are the eels o-ú and o-í. But taste the moss akáhakáha, Kahiki! how the sea rages! The wild sea of Kane! The pit-god has come to the ocean, All consuming, devouring By heaps the delicate shellfish! Lashing the mount, lashing the sea, Lurking place of the goddess

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[Translation.]

Lo, the rain, the rain! The rain is approaching; The dance-hall is murky, The great hall of Lono. Listen! its mountain walls Are stunned with the clatter, As when in October, Heaven’s thunderbolts shatter. Then follows Welehu, The month of the Pleiads. Scanty the work then done, Save as one’s driven. Spur comes with the sun, When day has arisen. Now comes the Heaven-born; The whole land doth shake, As with an earthquake; Sleep quits then my bed: How shall this maw be fed! Great maw of the shark—

12 minute read

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[Translation.]

A plover at the full of the sea— What, pray, is it saying to me? It keeps bobbing its noddy. To do what would you counsel? Why, eat its plump body! Whence comes the sweet morsel? From the land of Kahiki. When our sovereign appears, Hawaii gathers for play, Stumble-blocks cleared from the way— Fit rule of the king’s highway. Let each one embrace then his love; For me, I’ll keep to my dove. Hark now, the signal for bed! Attentive then to love’s tread, While a wee bird sings in the soul, My love co

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[Translation.]

The people came to take this old saw seriously and literally, and during the season when the wiliwili (Erythrina monosperma) was clothed in its splendid tufts of brick-red, mothers kept their children from swimming into the deep sea by setting before them the terrors of the shark....

26 minute read

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[Translation.]

Song Alas! I am seized by the shark, great shark! Lala-kea with triple-banked teeth. The stratum of Lono is gone, Torn up by the monster shark, Niuhi with fiery eyes, That flamed in the deep blue sea. Alas! and alas! When flowers the wili-wili tree, That is the time when the shark-god bites. Alas! I am seized by the huge shark! O blue sea, O dark sea, Foam-mottled sea of Kane! What pleasure I took in my dancing! Alas! now consumed by the monster shark! Alas! I am seized by the huge shark! O blue

15 minute read

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[Translation.]

Song Look forth, god Ku, look forth! Huh! Ku is blear-eyed! Aye, weave now the wreath— A wreath for the dog Pua-lena; A hala plume for Kahili, Choice garlands from Niho-kú. There was a scurry of clouds, earth groaned; The sound of your baying reached Hawaii the verdant, the pet of the gods; A portent was seen in the heavens. You were kept in a cradle of gourd, Water-gourd of the witch Kilioe, Who haunted the cliffs of Haena— The fiery blasts of the crater Touch not Kamoho-alii’s cliff. Your trav

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[Translation.]

Song Ax of broadest edge I’m hight; The island groups I’ve visited, Islands of Mala-la-walu, Seat of Ka-maulu-a-niho, Grandam of Kama, the swine-god. I have seen Pi’i-lani’s glory, Whose fame spreads over the islands. Enamored was I of Pele; Her beauty holds court at the fire-pit, Given to ravage the plains of Puna. Mischievous son of Ku, and of Hina, Whose cloud-bloom hangs in ether, The pig-shaped cloud that shadows Haupu. An impulse comes to return to Kahiki— The chains of the pit still gall

14 minute read

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[Translation.]

Song 1 Touched, thou art touched by my gesture, I fear, I fear. I dread your mountain of flesh, of flesh; How it sways, how it sways, it sways! I’m scorched by the heat of this hearth, this hearth. We bask in this summer of Kona, of Kona; Calm mantles the whispering sea, the whispering sea. Lo, the hook of the fisherman great, oh so great! The line hums as it runs from the gourd, from the gourd. Regard the cloud-omens over the sea, the sea. Well skilled in his craft is Mali’o, Mali’o. How gratef

13 minute read

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[Translation.]

Song Misty and dim, a bush in the wilds of Kapa’a, The paddlers bend to their work, as the flower-laden Shrub inclines to the earth in Maile-húna; They sway like reeds in the breeze to crack their bones Such the sight as I look at this tossing grove, The rhythmic dip and swing on to Wailua. My call to the witch shall fly with the breeze, Shall be heard at Pua-ke’i, e-he, e-he! The flower-stalk Laukóna beguiles man to love, Can bring back the taste of joys once our own, Make real again the hours

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[Translation.]

Song The sun-furrow gleams at the back of Lehua; The King’s had his fill of scandal and chaff; The wind-god empties his lungs with a laugh; And the Mikioi tosses the sea at Lehua, As the trade-wind wafts his friend on her way— A congress of airs that ruffles the bay. Hide love ’neath a mask—that’s all I would ask. To spill but a tear makes our love-tale appear; He pours out his woe; I’ve seen it, I know; That’s the way with a boy-friend, heigh-ho! That’s the way with a boy-friend, heigh-ho! The

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[Translation.]

Song Red glows Kala’e through the wind-blown dust That defiles the flowers of Lama-ula, Outraged by the croak of this bird, That eats of the aphrodisiac cane, And then boasts the privileged bed. He makes me a creature of outlaw: True to myself from crown to foot-sole, My love I’ve kept sacred, pent up within. He flouts it as common, weeping it forth— That is the way with a child-friend; A child just blubbers at nothing. That is the way with a child-friend; A child just blubbers at nothing. Footn

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[Translation.]

Now wriggles the worm to its goal; A tousling; a hasty encounter; A grapple; down falls the rain. It is now the winner’s right to cross over and claim his forfeit. The audience deals out applause or derision in unstinted measure; the enthusiasm reaches fever-point when some one makes himself the champion of the game by bringing his score up to ten, the limit. The play is often kept up till morning, to be resumed the following night. 466 Footnote 466: (return) The account above given is largely b

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[Translation.]

Song Comrade mine in the robe-stripping gusts of Lalau, On the up-piled beetling cliffs of Makua, The ladder... is taken away... it is gone! Your way is cut off, my man! With you I’ve backed the uhu of Maka-pu’u, Tugging them up the steeps of Point-o’-woods, A cliff that stands fatherless, even as Sheer stands the pali of Ula-mao— And thus... you are lost! This is but a fragment of the song which Hiiaka pours out in her efforts to calm the fateful storm which she saw piling up along the horizon.

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[Translation.]

Song Kanaloa tints heaven with a blush, ’Tis the flame of the A’e, pure red, And gray the wind-clouds overhead. We trudge to the waters calm of Kahana— Heaven grant us a favoring shower! The work is all done on the farm. We stay till twilight steals o’er the plain, Then, love-spurred, tramp o’er it again, Have you as partner in holiday dance— We’ve moiled as one in the gray smoke; Cast down by the Naulu, you thirst. For once the house warms at your coming. How clear glow the heights of yon Haupu

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[Translation.]

Song Engulfed ill heaven’s abyss Is the cry of the famished god. I sank to the ground from faintness, My day of utter starvation; Was rescued, revived, by your love: Ours a contest of tears sympathetic— Let us pour out together our tears. The Hawaiian thought it not undignified to express sympathy ( aloha-ino ) with tears. The hula hoo-na-ná —to quiet, amuse—was an informal dance, such as was performed without the usual restrictions of tabu that hedged about the set dances of the halau. The occa

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[Translation.]

She is limed, she is limed, My bird is limed, With the gum of the forest. We make a great circuit, Outskirting the feast. You shall feast on king’s bounty: No fear of the tabu, all’s free. Free! and By whom? Free by the word of the king. Then a free rein to mirth! Banish the kill-joy Who eats the king’s dainties! Feast then till replete With the good king’s meat! Then a free rein to mirth! Banish the kill-joy Who eats the king’s dainties! Feast then till replete With the good king’s meat! The hu

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[Translation.]

Song A search for a sweetheart... Sport for a Kona day! Kona, calm sea of the gods. Two days the wind surges; Then, magic of cloud! It veers to the plain, Drinks up the water of love. How gleesome the sound Of rain on the trees, A balm to love’s wound! The wand touches, heart-ease! It touches my bird— Touch of life from the sun! Brings health to the million. Ho, now comes the fun! A meeting, a union— The nymph, Koo-lau, And the hero, Ke-í. A balm to love’s wound! The wand touches, heart-ease! It

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[Translation.]

Song The rustle and hum of spinning top, Wild laughter and babel of sound— Hear the roar of the waves at Pu’u-hina! Bursts of derision echoed from cliffs, The cliffs of Ka-iwi-ku’i; And the day is stirred by a breeze. The house swarms with women and men. List! the drum-beat of Lohiau, Lohiau, the lover, prince of Haena— Love glows like an oven at his coming; Then to bathe in the lake of the God. Let us look at the vale Lima-huli, look! Now turn we and study the spinning— That trick we must catch

11 minute read

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[Translation.]

Song How pleasing, when borne by the tide, One says, you and I are a-cold. The buds of the center are chilled Of the woman who shivers on shore. I stood on the height Poli-ahu; The ocean enrobed Wai-lua. Ah, strange are the pranks of the wind, The Kiu-ké’e wind of the pali! It smites now the ocean at Puna— That’s always the fashion at Puna. Gone, gone is the last of my love, At this mixture of brine in my drink! My mouth is a-thirst for a draught Of the cold mountain-water, That plays at the foo

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[Translation.]

Song Fame trumpets your conquests each day, Brave Lily Victoria! Your scepter finds new hearts to sway, Subdues the Pacific’s wild waves, Your foes are left stranded ashore, Firm heart as of steel! Dame Rumor tells us with glee Your fortunes wax evermore, Beauty of Aina-hau, Comrade dear to my heart. And what of the hyacinth maid, Nymph of the Flowery Land? I choose the lehua, ilima, As my wreath and emblem of love, The small-leafed fern and the maile— What fragrance exhales from thy breast! Com

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[Translation.]

Song The wind-beaten stream of Wailua Is tossed into waves from the sea; Salt-drenched are the leaves of the hau, The stalks of the taro all rotted— ’Twas the crop of Maka’u-kiu, The flowers of kukui are a telltale, A messenger sped by the gale To warn the canoe to depart. Pray you depart! Hot-foot, she’s off with her pack— A bundle red-stained with the mud— And ghost-swift she breasts Malu-aka. Quest follows like smoke—lost is her companion; Fierce the wind plucks at the leaves, Grabs—by mistak

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[Translation.]

The Water of Kane A query, a question, I put to you: Where is the water of Kane? At the Eastern Gate Where the Sun comes in at Hae-hae; There is the water of Kane. A question I ask of you: Where is the water of Kane? Out there with the floating Sun, Where cloud-forms rest on Ocean’s breast, Uplifting their forms at Nihoa, This side the base of Lehua; There is the water of Kane. One question I put to you: Where is the water of Kane? Yonder on mountain peak, On the ridges steep, In the valleys dee

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XLII.—GENERAL REVIEW

In this preliminary excursion into the wilderness of Hawaiian literature we have covered but a small part of the field; we have reached no definite boundaries; followed no stream to its fountain head; gained no high point of vantage, from which to survey the whole. It was indeed outside the purpose of this book to make a delimitation of the whole field of Hawaiian literature and to mark out its relations to the formulated thoughts of the world. Certain provisional conclusions, however, are clear

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GLOSSARY

The study of Hawaiian pronunciation is mainly a study of vowel sounds and of accent. Each written vowel represents at least two related sounds. A ( ah ) has the Italian sound found in f a ther, as in h a -le or in L a -ka; also a short sound like that of a in li a ble, as in ke- a -ke- a , to contradict, or in a -ha, an assembly. E ( a ) has the sound of long a in f a te, or of e in pr e y, without the i-glide that follows, as in the first syllable of P é -le, or of m é -a, a thing; also the sho

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