Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 44

Behold Kauna, that sprite of windy Ka-u, Whose bosom is slapped by the Moa'e-ku, And that eye-smiting wind Unulau-- Women by hundreds filch the bloom 5 Of Paia, hunt fruit of the hala, a-ha!

That one was the gallant, at evening, This one the hero of love, in the morning-- 'Twas our guardian I had for companion.

Now you see it, a-ha!

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

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

_Mele_

E oe mauna i ka ohu, Kaha, ka leo o ka ohi'a; Auwe! make au i ke ahi a mau A ka luahine[346] moe nana, 5 A papa enaena, wai hau, A wa'a kau-hi.[347]

Haila pepe[348] mua me pepe waena, O pepe ka muimui: O kiele[348] i na ulu[348]

10 Ka makaha kai kea O Niheu[349] kolohe; Ka makaha kai kea!

Eli-eli, kau mai.

[Translation]

_Song_

Ho! mountain of vapor-puffs, Now groans the mountain-apple tree.

Alas! I burn in this deathless flame, That is fed by the woman who snores 5 On a lava plate, now hot, now cold; Now 'tis a canoe full-rigged for sea; There are seats at the bow, amids.h.i.+ps, abaft; Baggage and men--all is aboard.

And now the powerful thrust of the paddle, [Page 195] 10 Making mighty swirl of wat'ry yeast, As of Niheu, the mischief-maker-- A mighty swirl of the yeasty wave.

In heavea's name, come aboard!

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

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

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

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

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 38 PLATE XXI PALA-PALAI FERNS]

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

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

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

_Mele[350]_

Aole e mao ka ohu: Auwe! make au i ke ahi a mau A ka wahine moe nana, A papa ena-ena, 5 A wa'a kau-hi.

Ilaila pepe mua me pepe waena, O pepe ka mu'imu'i, O lei'na kiele, Kau-meli-eli: [351]

10 Ka maka kakahi kea O Niheu kolohe-- Ka maka kaha-kai kea.

Eli-eli, kau mai!

[Translation]

_Song_

Alas, there's no stay to the smoke; I must die mid the quenchless flame-- Deed of the hag who snores in her sleep, Bedded on lava plate oven-hot.

5 Now it takes the shape of canoe; [Page 196] Seats at the bow and amids.h.i.+ps, And the steersman sitting astern; Their stroke stirs the ocean to foam-- The myth-craft, Kau-meli-eli!

10 Now look, the white gleam of an eye-- It is Niheu, the turbulent one-- An eye like the white sandy sh.o.r.e.

Amen, possess me!

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

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

The mele now to be given has the form of a serenade.

Etiquette forbade anyone to wake the king by rude touch, but it was permissible for a near relative to touch his feet.

When the exigencies of business made it necessary for a messenger, a herald, or a courtier to disturb the sleeping monarch, he took his station at the king's feet and recited a serenade such as this:

_Mele Hoala _(no ka Hula Pele)

E ala, e Kahiki-ku;[352]

E ala, e Kahiki-moe; [352]

E ala, e ke apapa nu'u;[353]

E ala, e ke apapa lani.[353]

5 Eia ka hoala nou, e ka lani[354] la, e-e!

E ala oe!

E ala, ua ao, ua malamalama.

Aia o Kape'a ma,[355] la, i-luna; Ua hiki mai ka maka o Unulau; [356]

[Page 197] 10 Ke hoolale mai la ke kupa holowa'a o Uk.u.mehame,[357]

Ka lae makaui kaohi-wa'a o Papawai,[358]

Ka lae makani o'Anahenahe la, e-e!

E ala oe!

E ala, ua ao, ua malamalama; 15 Ke o a'e la ke kukuna o ka La i lea ili o ke kai; Ke hahai a'e la, e like me k.u.mukahi [359]

E hoaikane ana me Makanoni; Ka papa o Apua, ua lohi i ka La.

E ala oe!

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

E ala oe!

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

[Footnote 353: The words _apapa nu'u_ and _apapa lani_, which convey to the mind of the author the picture of a series of terraced plains or steppes--no doubt the original meaning--here mean a family or order of G.o.ds, not of the highest rank, at or near the head of which stood Pele.

Apropos of this subject the following lines have been quoted:

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

[Translation]

Begotten were the G.o.ds of graded rank; Begotten were the G.o.ds of heavenly rank; Begotten was Pele, quintessence of heaven.

This same expression was sometimes used to mean an order of chiefs, _alii. Apapa lani_ was also used to mean the highest order of G.o.ds, _Ku, Kane, Ka.n.a.loa, Lono_. The kings also were G.o.ds, 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._]