Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 25

[Footnote 228: _Keawe enaena_. Keawe, whose tabu was hot as a burning oven. Presumably Keawe, the son of Umi, is the one meant.]

[Footnote 229: _Naulu_. The sea-breeze at Waimea, Kauai.]

[Footnote 230: _Hala-lii_. A sandy plain on Niihau, where grows a variety of sugar-cane that lies largely covered by the loose soil, _ke ko eli o Hala-lii_.]

[Footnote 231: _Li'u-la_. The mirage, a common phenomenon on Niihau, and especially at Mana, on Kauai.]

[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, 5 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, 10 Reaches Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Hawaii the eld of Keawe, Whose tabu, burning with blood-red blaze, Shoots flame-tongues that leap with the wind, The breeze from the mountain, the Naulu.

15 Waihoa humps its back, while cold Mikioi Blows fierce and swift across Hala-li'i.

It vaunts like a king at Kekaha, Flaunting itself in the sun's heat, And lifts itself up in mirage, 20 Ghost-forms of woods and trees in Kekaha-- Sweeping o'er waste Kala-ihi, Water-of-Lono; While the sun shoots forth its fierce rays-- Its heat, perchance, reaches to Honua-ula.

The mele next given takes its local color from Kauai and brings vividly to mind the experiences of one who has climbed the mountain walls _pali_, that buffet the winds of its northern coast.

_Mele_

Kalalau, pali eku i ka makani; Pu ka Lawa-kua,[232] hoi mau i Kolo-kini; Nu a anahulu ka pa ana i-uka-- Anahulu me na po keu elua.

[Page 102] 5 Elua Hono-pu o ia kua kanaka; Elua Ko'a-mano[233] me Wai-aloha, Ka pali waha iho, waha iho[234] me ke kua; Ke keiki puu iloko o ka pali nui.

E hii an'[235] e Makua i Kalalau.

[Footnote 232: Laiea-kua. A wind in Kalalau that blows for a time from the mountains and then, it is said, veers to the north, so that it comes from the direction of a secondary valley, Kolo-kini, a branch of Kalalau. The bard describes it as continuing to blow for twelve nights before It s.h.i.+fts, an instance, probably, of poetic license.]

[Footnote 233: _Ko'a-mano_. A part of the ocean into which the stream Wai-aloha falls.]

[Footnote 234: _Waha iho_. With mouth that yawns downward, referring, doubtless, to the overarching of the _pali_, precipice. The same figure is applied to the back (_kua_) of the traveler who climbs it.]

[Footnote 235: Elision of the final _a_ in _ana_.]

[Translation]

_Song_

The mountain walls of Kalalau Buffet the blasts of Lawa-kau, That surge a decade of nights and twain; Then, wearied, it veers to the north.

5 Two giant backs stand the cliffs Hono-pu; The falls Wai-aloha mate with the sea: An overhung pali--the climber's back swings in Its mouth--to face it makes one a child-- Makua, whose arms embrace Kalalau.

The mind of the ancient bard was so narrowly centered on the small plot his imagination cultivated that he disregarded the outside world, forgetting that it could not gaze upon the scenes which filled his eyes.

The valley of Kalalau from its deep recess in the northwestern coast of Kauai looks out upon the heaving waters of the Pacific. The mountain walls of the valley are abrupt, often overhanging. Viewed from the ocean, the cliffs are piled one upon another like the b.u.t.tresses of a Gothic cathedral. The ocean is often stormy, and during several months in the year forbids intercourse with other parts of the island, save as the hardy traveler makes his way along precipitous mountain trails.

The hula _ala'a-papa_, hula _ipu_, hula _pa-ipu_ (or _kuolo_), the hula _hoo-nana_, and the hula _ki'i_ were all performed to the accompaniment of the ipu or calabash, and, being the only ones that were so accompanied, if the author is correctly informed, they may be cla.s.sed together under one head as the calabash hulas.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 38 PLATE X PAHU HULA, HULA DRUM]

[Page 103]

XII.--THE HULA PAHU

The hula _pahu_ was so named from the _pahu_,[236] or drum, that was its chief instrument of musical accompaniment (pl.

x).

[Footnote 236: Full form, _pahu-hula_.]

It is not often that the story of an inst.i.tution 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 flourished between five and six centuries ago, and from having spent most of his life in the lands to the south, which the ancient Hawaiians called Kahiki, was himself generally styled La'a-mai-Kahiki (La'a-from-Kahiki). The young man was of a volatile disposition, given to pleasure, and it is evident that the big drum he brought with him to Hawaii on one of his voyages from Kahiki was in his eyes by no means the least important piece of baggage that freighted his canoes. On nearing the land he waked the echoes with the stirring tones of his drum, which so astonished the people that they followed him from point to point along the coast and heaped favors upon him whenever he came ash.o.r.e.

La'a was an enthusiastic patron of the hula and is said to have made a tour of the islands, in which he instructed the natives in new forms of this seductive pastime, one of which was the hula _ka-eke_.

There is reason to believe, it seems, that the original use of the pahu was in connection with the services of the temple, and that its adaptation to the halau was simply a transference from one to another religious use.

The hula pahu was preeminently a performance of formal and dignified character, not such as would be extemporized for the amus.e.m.e.nt of an irreverent company. Like all the formal hulas, it was tabu, by which the Hawaiians meant that it was a religious service, or so closely a.s.sociated with the notion of wors.h.i.+p as to make it an irreverence to trifle with it.

For this reason as well as for its intrinsic dignity its performance was reserved for the most distinguished guests and the most notable occasions.

Both cla.s.ses of actors took part in the performance of the hula pahu, the olapa contributing the mele as they stood and went through the motions of the dance, while the hoopaa maintained the kneeling position and operated the big drum with the left hand. While his left hand was thus engaged, the [Page 104] musician with a thong held in his right hand struck a tiny drum, the _pu-niu_, that was conveniently strapped to the thigh of the same side. As its name signifies, the pu-niu was made from coconut sh.e.l.l, being headed with fish-skin.

The harmonious and rhythmic timing of these two instruments called for strict attention on the part of the performer. The pahu, having a tone of lower pitch and greater volume than the other, was naturally sounded at longer intervals, while the pu-niu delivered its sharp crisp tones in closer order.

_Mele_

(Ko'i-honua)

O Hilo oe, Hilo, muliwai a ka ua i ka lani, I hana ia Hilo, ko-i ana e ka ua.

E halo ko Hilo ma i-o, i-anei; Lenalena Hilo e, panopano i ka ua.

5 Ua lono Pili-keko o Hilo i ka wai; O-kakala ka hulu o Hilo i ke anu; Ua ku o ka paka a ka ua i ke one; Ua moe oni ole Hilo i-luna ke alo; Ua hana ka uluna lehu o Hana-kahi.

10 Haule ka onohi Hilo o ka ua i ke one; Loku kapa ka hi-hilo kai o Pai-kaka.

Ha, e!

2

A Puna au, i Kuki'i au, i Ha'eha'e, Ike au i ke a kino-lau lehua.

He laau malalo o ia pohaku.

Hanohano Puna e, kehakeha i ka ua, 5 Kahiko mau no ia no-laila.

He aina haaheo loa no Puna; I haaheo i ka hala me ka lehua; He maikai maluna, he a malalo; He kelekele ka papa o Mau-kele.

10 Kahuli Apua e, kele ana i Mau-kele.

[Translation]

_Song_