Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 55

[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-huna; They sway like reeds in the breeze to crack their bones 5 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 Laukona beguiles man to love, 10 Can bring back the taste of joys once our own, [Page 238] Make real again the hours that are flown.

Turn hither, mine own, let's drench us with love-- Just for one night!

[Footnote 452: _Pua ehu Kamalena_ (yellow child). This exclamation is descriptive of the man's visual impression on seeing the canoe with its crowd of pa.s.sengers and paddlers, in the misty light of morning, receding in the distance. The kamalena is a mountain shrub having a yellow flower.]

[Footnote 453: _Luhi ehu iho la_. Refers to the drooping of a shrub under the weight of its leaves and flowers, a figure applied to the bending of the paddlemen to their work.]

[Footnote 454: _Hele a ha ka iwi_. An exaggerated figure of speech, referring to the exertions of the men at their paddles (_ha_, to strain).]

[Footnote 455: _I hali hoomu_. This refers in a fine spirit of exaggeration to the regular motions of the paddlers.]

[Footnote 456: _Pua laukona_. A kind of sugar-cane which was prescribed and used by the kahunas as an aphrodisiac.]

[Footnote 457: _Kaulele hou_. To experience, or to enjoy, again.]

The unchivalrous indiscretion of the youth in publis.h.i.+ng the secret of his amour elicited from Kamehameha only the sarcastic remark, "Couldn't he eat his food and keep his mouth shut?" The lady herself took the same view of his action. There was no evasion in her reply; her only reproach was for his childishness in blabbing.

_Mele_

Kalakalaihi, kaha[458] ka La ma ke kua o Lehua; Lulana iho la ka pihe a ke Akua;[459]

Ea mai ka Unulau[460] o Halali'i; Lawe ke Koolau-wahine[461] i ka hoa la, lilo; 5 Hao ka Mikioi[462] i ke kai o Lehua: Puwa-i'a na hoa-makani[463] mai lalo, e-e-e, a.

I hoonalonalo i ke aloha, pe'e ma-loko; Ha'i ka wai-maka hanini; I ike aku no i ka uwe ana iho; 10 Pela wale no ka hoa kamalii, e-e, a!

[Translation]

_Song_

The sun-furrow gleams at the back of Lehua; The King's had his fill of scandal and chaff; The wind-G.o.d empties his lungs with a laugh; And the Mikioi tosses the sea at Lehua, 5 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; 10 That's the way with a boy-friend, heigh-ho!

The art of translating from the Hawaiian into the English tongue consists largely in a fitting subst.i.tution of generic for specific terms. The Hawaiian, for instance, had at command scores of specific names for the same wind, or for [Page 239] the local modifications that were inflicted upon it by the features of the landscape. One might almost say that every cape and headland imposed a new nomenclature upon the breeze whose direction it influenced. He rarely contented himself with using a broad and comprehensive term when he could match the situation with a special form.

[Footnote 458: The picture of the sun declining, _kaha_, to the west, its reflected light-track, _kala kalaihi_, farrowing the ocean with glory, may be taken to be figurative of the loved and beautiful woman, Kalola, speeding on her westward canoe-flight.]

[Footnote 459: _Akua_. Literally a G.o.d, must stand for the king.]

[Footnote 460: _Unulau_. A special name for the trade-wind.]

[Footnote 461: _Koolau-wahine_. Likewise another name for the trade-wind, here represented as carrying off the (man's) companion.]

[Footnote 462: _Mikioi_. An impetuous, gusty wind is represented as las.h.i.+ng the ocean at Lehua, thus picturing the emotional stir attending Kalola's departure.]

[Footnote 463: The words _Puwa-i'a na hoa makani_, which literally mean that the congress of winds, _na hoa makani_, have stirred up a commotion, even as a school of fish agitate the surface, of the ocean, _puwa-i'a_, refer to the scandal caused by Ka'i-ama's conduct.]

The singer restricts her blame to charging her youthful lover with an indiscreet exhibition of childish emotion. The mere display of emotion evinced by the shedding of tears was in itself a laudable action and in good form.

This first reply of the woman to her youthful lover did not by any means exhaust her armament of retaliation. When she next treats of the affair it is with an added touch of sarcasm and yet with a sang-froid that proved it had not unsettled her nerves.

_Mele_

Ula Kala'e-loa[464] i ka lepo a ka makani; Hoonu'anu'a na pua i Kalama-ula, He hoa i ka la'i a ka manu--[465]

Manu ai ia i ka hoa laukona.

5 I keke lau-au'a ia e ka moe; E kuhi ana ia he kanaka e.

Oau no keia mai luna a lalo; Huna, ke aloha, pe'e maloko.

Ike 'a i ka uwe ana iho.

10 Pela ka hoa kamalii-- He uwe wale ke kamalii.

[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, 5 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-- 10 That is the way with a child-friend; A child just blubbers at nothing.

[Footnote 464: _Kala'e-loa_. The full name of the place on Molokai now known as Kala'e.]

[Footnote 465: _La'i a ka manu_. Some claim this to be a proper name, _La'i-a-ka-manu_, that of a place near Kala'e. However that may be the poet evidently uses the phrase here in its etymological sense.]

To return to the description of the game, the player, having uttered his vaunt in true knightly fas.h.i.+on, with a dexterous whirl now sends his kilu spinning on its course. If his play is successful and the kilu strikes the target on the other [Page 240] side at which he aims, the audience, who have kept silence till now, break forth in applause, and his tally-keeper proclaims his success in boastful fas.h.i.+on:

_Oli_

A uweuwe ke ko'e a ke kae; Puehuehu ka la, komo inoino; Kakia, kahe ka ua ilalo.

[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: The account above given is largely based on David Malo's description of the game kilu. In his confessedly imperfect list of the hulas he does not mention the hula kilu. This hula was, however, included in the list of hulas announced for performance in the programme of King Kalakaua's coronation ceremonies.]

Here also is a mele, which tradition reports to have been cantillated by Hiiaka, the sister of Pele, during her famous kilu contest with the Princess Pele-ula, which took place at Kou--the ancient name for Honolulu--on Hiiaka's voyage of return from Kauai to her sister's court at Kilauea. In this affair Lohiau and Wahineoma'o contended on the side of Hiiaka, while Pele-ula was a.s.sisted by her husband, Kou, and by other experts. But on this occasion the dice were cogged; the victory was won not by human skill but by the magical power of Hiiaka, who turned Pele-ula's kilu away from the target each time she threw it, but used her gift to compel it to the mark when the kilu was cast by herself.

_Mele_

Ku'u noa mai ka makani kuehu-kapa o Kalalau,[467]

Mai na pali ku'i[468] o Makua-iki, Ke lawe la i ka haka,[469] a lilo!

A lilo o-e, la!

5 Ku'u kane i ka uhu ka'i o Maka-pu'u, Huki iluna ka Lae-o-ka-laau;[470]

Oia pali makua-ole[471] olaila.