Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 31

XVIII.--AN INTERMISSION

During the performance of a hula the halau and all the people there a.s.sembled are under a tabu, the imposition of which was accomplished by the opening prayer that had been offered before the altar. This was a serious matter and laid everyone present under the most formal obligations to commit no breach of divine etiquette; it even forbade the most innocent remarks and expressions of emotion. But when the performers, wearied of the strait-jacket, determined to unbend and indulge in social amenities, to lounge, gossip, and sing informal songs, to quaff a social bowl of awa, or to indulge in an informal dance, they secured the opportunity for this interlude, by suspending the tabu. This was accomplished by the utterance of a _pule hoo-noa_, a tabu-lifting prayer. If the entire force of the tabu was not thus removed, it was at least so greatly mitigated that the ordinary conversations of life might be carried on without offense. The pule was uttered by the k.u.mu or some person who represented the whole-company:

_Pule Hoo-noa_

Lehua[266] i-luna, Lehua i-lalo, A wawae, A Ka-ulua,[267]

5 A o Haumea,[268]

Kou makua-kane,[269]

Manu o Kaae;[270]

A-koa-koa, O Pe-kau,[271]

10 O Pe-ka-nana,[272]

[Page 127] Papa pau.

Pau a'e iluna; O Ku-mauna, A me Laka, 15 A me Ku.

Ku i ka wao, A me Hina, Huna mele-lani.

A ua pau; 20 Pau kakou; A ua noa; Noa ke kahua; Noa!

[Footnote 266: _Lehua_. See plate XIII.]

[Footnote 267: _Ka-ulua_. The name of the third month of the Hawaiian year, corresponding to late January or February, a time when In the lat.i.tude of Hawaii nature does not refrain from leafing and flowering.]

[Footnote 268: _Haumea_. The name applied after her death and apotheosis to Papa, the wife of Wakea, and the ancestress of the Hawaiian race. (The Polynesian Race, A. Fornander, 1, 205. London, 1878.)]

[Footnote 269: It is doubtful to whom the expression "makua-kane" refers, possibly to Wakea, the husband of Papa; and if so, very properly termed father, ancestor, of the people.]

[Footnote 270: _Manu o Kaae_ (_Manu-o-Kaae_ it might be written) is said to have been a G.o.ddess, one of the family of Pele, a sister of the sea nymph _Moana-nui-ka-lehua_, whose dominion was in the waters between Oahu and Kauai. She is said to have had the gift of eloquence.]

[Footnote 271: _Pe-kau_ refers to the ranks and cla.s.ses of the G.o.ds.]

[Footnote 272: _Pe-ka-nana_ refers to men, their ranks and cla.s.ses.]

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 38 PLATE XIII [Ill.u.s.tration: LEHUA (METROSIDEROS POLYMORPHA) FLOWERS AND LEAVES]

[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.

5 Present here is Haumea, And the father of thee, And the G.o.ddess of eloquent speech; Gather, now gather, Ye ranks of G.o.ds, 10 And ye ranks of men, Complete in array.

The heavenly service is done, Service of Ku of the mount, Service of Laka, 15 And the great G.o.d Ku, Ku of the wilds, And of Hina, Hina, the heavenly singer.

Now it is done, 20 Our work is done; The tabu is lifted, Free is the place, Tabu-free!

Here also is another pule hoo-noa, a prayer-song addressed to Laka, an intercession for the lifting of the tabu. It will be noticed that the request is implied, not explicitly stated.

All heads are lifted, all eyes are directed heavenward or to the altar, and the hands with a noiseless motion keep time as the voices of the company, led by the k.u.mu, in solemn cantillation, utter the following prayer: [Page 128]

_Pule Hoo-noa no Laka_

Pupu we'u-we'u[273] e, Laka e, O kona we'u-we'u e ku-wa;[274]

O Ku-ka-ohia-Laka,[275] e; Laua me Ku-pulu-pulu;[276]

5 Ka Lehua me ke Koa lau-lii; O ka Lama me Moku-halii, Ku-i-ku-i[277] me ka Hala-pepe; Lakou me Lau-ka-ie-ie, Ka Palai me Maile-lau-lii.

10 Noa, noa i kou kuahu; Noa, noa ia oe, Laka; Pa-pa-lua noa!

[Translation]

_Tabu-lifting Prayer (to Laka)_

Oh wildwood bouquet, O Laka!

Set her greenwood leaves in order due; And Ku, G.o.d of Ohia-La-ka, He and Ku, the s.h.a.ggy, 5 Lehua with small-leafed Koa, And Lama and Moku-hali'i, Ku-i-ku-i and Haia-pe-pe; And with these leafy I-e-i-e, Fern and small-leafed Maile.

10 Free, the altar is free!

Free through, you, Laka, Doubly free!

[Footnote 273: _Pupu we'u-we'u_. A bouquet. The reference is to the wreaths and floral decorations that bedecked the altar, and that were not only offerings to the G.o.ddess, but symbols of the diverse forms in which she manifested herself. At the conclusion of a performance the players laid upon the altar the garlands they themselves had worn. These were in addition to those which were placed there before the play began.]

[Footnote 274: _Ku-wa_. It has cost much time and trouble to dig out the meaning of this word. The fundamental notion is that contained in its two parts, _ku_, to stand, and _wa_, an interval or s.p.a.ce, the whole meaning to arrange or set in orderly intervals.]

[Footnote 275: _La-ka_. A Tahitian name for the tree which in Hawaii is called _lehua_, or _ohia_. In verse 3 the Hawaiian name _ohia_ and the Tahitian _laka_ (accented on the final syllable, thus distinguis.h.i.+ng it from the name of the G.o.ddess _Laka_, with which it has no discoverable connection) are combined in one form as an appellation of the G.o.d _Ku-ku-ka-ohia-Laka_. This is a notable instance of the survival of a word as a sacred epithet in a liturgy, which otherwise, had been lost to the language.]

[Footnote 276: _Ku-pulu-pulu_. Ku, the fuzzy or s.h.a.ggy, a deity much wors.h.i.+ped by canoe-makers, represented as having the figure of an old man with a long beard. In the sixth verse the full form of the G.o.d's name here given as _Moku-ha-li'i_ would be _Ku-moku-hali'i_, the last part being an epithet applied to _Ku_ working in another capacity. _Moku-hali'i_ is the one who bedecks the island. His special emblem, as here implied, was the _lama_, a beautiful tree, whose wood was formerly used in making certain sacred inclosures. From this comes the proper name _Palama_, one of the districts of Honolulu.]

[Footnote 277: _Ku-i-ku-i_. The same as the tree now called _ku-ku-i_, the tree whose nuts were used as candles and flambeaus. The Samoan name of the same tree is _tu-i-tu-i_.]

But even now, when the tabu has been removed and the a.s.sembly is supposed to have a.s.sumed an informal character, before they may indulge themselves in informalities, there remains to be chanted a dismissing prayer, _pule hooku'u_, in which all voices must join: [Page 129]

_Pule Hooku'u_

Ku ka makaia a ka huaka'i moe ipo;[278]

Ku au, hele; Noho oe, aloha!

Aloha na hale o makou i makamaka ole, 5 Ke alanui hele mauka o Huli-wale,[279] la; H-u-l-i.

E huli a'e ana i ka makana, I ke alana ole e kanaenae aku ia oe.

Eia ke kanaenae, o ka leo.

[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.

5 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: 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: _Huli-wale_. To turn about, here used as the name of a place, is evidently intended figuratively to stand for mental indecision.]

[Footnote 280: The bracketed phrase is not in the text of the original.]

This fragment--two fragments, in fact, pieced together--belongs to the epic of Pele. As her little sister, Hiiaka, is about to start on her adventurous journey to bring the handsome Prince Lohiau from the distant island of Kauai she is overcome by a premonition of Pole's jealousy and vengeance, and she utters this intercession.