Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 11

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

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

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

Awiliwili i ka hale[119] o ka lauwili, e.

He lauwili ka makanl, he Kaua-ula,[120]

I hoapaapa i ka hale o ka lauwili, e:

[Translation]

Unstable the house of the s.h.i.+fty man, Fickle as the wind Kaua-ula.

Treachery lurks in the house of Unstable.

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

[Footnote 116: _Ula ka pali._ Red shows the pali, i. e., the side hill. This is a euphemism for some accident by which the pa-u 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 hoa.r.s.e.]

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

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

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

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

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

[Translation]

Pa-u Song

Gird on the pa-u, garment tucked in one side, Skirt lacelike and beauteous in staining, That is wrapped and made fast about the oven.

Bubbly as foam of falling water it stands, 5 Quintuple skirt, sheer as the cliff Kupe-hau.

One journeyed to work on it at Honokane.

Have a care the pa-u is not filched.

Scent from the robe Manu climbs the valley walls-- Abysses profound, heights twisting the neck.

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

Wondrous the care and toil to make the pa-u!

What haste to finish, when put a-soak In the side-glancing stream of Apua!

15 Caught by the rain-scud that searches the glen, The tinted gown illumines the pali--

The sheeny steep shot with buds of lama-- Outs.h.i.+ning the comely malua-ula.

Which one may seize and gird with a strong hand.

20 Leaf of ti for his malo, Umi[121] stood covered.

Look at the olona fibers inwrought, Like the trickling brooklets of Wai-hilau.

The olona, fibers knit with strength This dainty immaculate web, the pa-u, 25 And the filmy weft of the kilo-hana.

With the small bamboo the tapa is finished.

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

At Wai-manu finished, 'tis cut at Wai-pi'o; Ha'l takes the bamboo Ko-a'e-kea; [Page 55] 35 Deftly wields the knife of small-leafed bamboo; A bamboo choice and fit for the work.

Cut, cut through, cut off the corners; Cut round, like crescent moon of Hoaka; Cut in scallops this s.h.i.+ft that makes tabu: 40 A fringe is this for the pa-u.

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

45 Hung on the roof-tree Ha-la'a-wili.

Make a bundle fitting the shoulder; Lash it fast, rolled tight like a log.

The bundle falls, red shows the pali; The children shout, they scream in derision.

50 The a'o bird shrieks itself hoa.r.s.e In wonder at the pa-u-- Pa-u with a sheen like Hi'i-lawe falls, Bowed like the rainbow arch Of the rain that's now falling.

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

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

_Oli_

Ku ka punohu ula i ka moana; Hele ke ehu-kai, uhi i ka aina; Olapa ka uila, noho Kahiki.

Ulna, nakolo, 5 Uwa, ka pihe, Lau[122] kanaka ka hula.

E Laka, e!

[Translation]

_Tiring Song_.

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

I appeal to thee, Laka!

[Footnote 122: _Lau_ (archaic). Four hundred.]

[Page 56]

The answering song, led by the k.u.mu, is in the same flamboyant strain:

_Oli_

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

[Translation]

_Song_

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

[Footnote 123: _Mahu'ilani_. A poetlcal name for the right hand; this the _olapa_, the dancing girls, lifted in extension as they entered the halau from, the dressing room.