the lame fisherman—his epic recital celebrating pele
on arriving at haena, hiiaka did not go at once to lohiau’s place but to the house of malae-ha’a-koa, a man of chiefish rank, and one who had the reputation of being a seer. he was lame and unable to walk. for this reason his wife, wailua-nui-a-hoano, had carried him down to the seashore and, leaving him there to his fishing, had gone home to her work of tapa-making. she was busily wielding the tapa club in the hale kuku kapa while hiiaka stood outside the enclosure and sang:
kunihi ka mauna i ka la’i, e,
o wai-aleale, la, i wai-lua;
huki iluna ka popo ua o ka-wai-kini;
alai ia a’e la e nounou,
nalo ka ipu-ha’a,
ka laula ma uka o ka-pa’a, e.
i pa’a i ka leo, he ole e hea mai.
e hea mai ka leo, e!
translation
the mountain turns the cold shoulder,
facing away from wai-lua,
albeit in time of fair weather.
wai-kini flaunts, toplofty, its rain-cap;
and the view is cut off by nounou,
thus humility hill is not seen,
nor ka-pa’a’s broad upland plain.
you seal your lips and are voiceless:
best to open your mouth and speak.
[110]
the woman wai-lua-nui-a-hoano received in silence this sharp reproof of her haughty and inhospitable conduct, couched, though it was, in the veiled language of symbol. her eyes left the work in hand and followed hiiaka and wahine-oma’o as they turned and faced the path that climbed the pali wall.
malae-ha’a-koa, lame, guileless, innocent of all transgression, meanwhile, sat and fished. he had cast afresh his triple-hooked line, blown from his mouth into the water the comminuted fragments of the shrimps whose bodies baited his hooks and, as he waited for a bite he chanted a song (to the god of good luck) that reached hiiaka’s ear:
pa mai ka makani o ka lele wa’a, e:
makani kai ehu lalo o ka pali o ki-pú.
i malenalena i wai-niha i ka’u makau:
he i’a, he i’a na ka lawaia, na malae-ha’a-koa, e!
translation
a wind-squall drives the canoes in flight,
dashing the spray ’gainst the cliff of kipú.
peace, waves, for my hook at wai-niha:
come, fish, to the hook of the fisher,
the hook of malae-ha’a-koa!
hiiaka’s answer to this was a song:
o malae-ha’a-koa, lawaia o ka pali,
keiki lawaia oe a wai-niha,
mo’opuna oe a ka-nea-lani,
lawaia ku pali o haena;
au umauma o ke ala haki;
he i’a na ka lawaia,
na malae-ha’a-koa, e.
translation
i hail thee, malae-ha’a-koa,
thou fisherman of the cliffs.
as a youth you fished at wai-niha;
grandson thou to ka-noa-lani,
fishing now ’neath the bluffs of haena, [111]
sometime breasting the steep mountain ladder.
send fish, o heaven, to this fisherman;
send fish to malae-ha’a-koa.
as if obedient to the charm of hiiaka’s incantation, the breeze sank to a whisper and the ruffled surface of the ocean took on a calm that brought fish to the fisherman’s hooks.
malae-ha’a-koa looked up from his work and, though he did not recognize hiiaka, he had an intuitive sense that it was her power that had quieted the elements and, with a shrewd insight, he divined that she was of the pele family. “it is you then that has made this day one of calm;” and he continued his address in song:
ooe ia, e ka wahine ai laau o puna,
e ka lalá i ka ulu1 o wahine-kapu, e;
he i’a, he i’a na ka lawaia,
na na akua wahine o puna, e.
translation
thou art she, o tree-eater of puna,
o branch of wahine-kapu’s bread-tree.
swarm, fish, to the fisherman’s hook—
fish for the godlike woman of puna.
malae-ha’a-koa felt a genial thrill pervading his system; new vigor came to him; he found himself able to stand on his feet and walk. some new and wonderful power had come into his life. in the first flush of his ecstacy, he gathered up his fishing tackle, thrust the hooks and lines into his basket and walked triumphantly home on his own feet. without a word to his wife, he began to tear down a portion of the fence that enclosed the house-lot.
“what are you about?” exclaimed his wife; “tearing down our fence!… but what has happened to you? here you are for the first time in many years able to walk on your feet!”
the man made no immediate reply, but kept on with his work. when she repeated her questionings and expressions of wonder, [112]he quietly asked, “have you not seen two women about the place?”
“there were two women who came this way,” she answered thoughtfully.
“would you think it! they were divine beings,” he exclaimed in a tone of conviction. “we must spread for them a feast. you had better prepare some luau.”
malae-ha’a-koa himself, alii as he was, with his own hands set about dressing and preparing a dog for the oven. this was his own token of service. at his command his people brought the material for an abundant feast.
hiiaka saw from a distance the smoke of malae-ha’a-koa’s imu and recognized the bustle preparatory to a feast, she exclaimed to her companion, “the lame man has saved the day.”
when the repast was nearing its end and the people had well eaten, malae-ha’a-koa and his wife stood forth and led in the performance of a sacred dance, accompanying their rhythmic motions with a long mele that recited the deeds, the events, the mysteries that had marked pele’s reign since the establishment of her dominion in hawaii:
o kaua a pele i haká i kahiki,
i hakaká ai me na-maka-o-ka-ha’i.2
mahuka mai pele i hawaii;
mahuka pele i ona onohi,
i na lapa uwila,
e lapa i na mahina, la!
elieli, kau mai!3
he kai moe nei no pele,
no ke akua;
he kai hoolale i na moku.
ha’i aku kai i hana-kahi,4 [113]
i ke one o wai-olama5 iluna.
ako ia ka hale6 a ke akua;
ke amo ’a la ke ko’i7
ke akua la i uka.
haki nu’anu’a mai ka nalu mai kahiki;
popo’i aku i ke alo o kilauea,
ke kai huli i ke alo o papa-lau-ahi.
kanáka hea i ke ála—
kou pua’a-kanu,8 wahine kui lehua
ka uka i ola’a, ku’u moku lehua
i ke alo o heeia, o kukuena9 wahine.
komo i ka lauwili10 na hoalii
i ka nahele o puna—
a’e, a’e a noho.
eia makou, kou lau kaula, la!
elieli, kau mai!
[114]
he kai ehu ko kohala-loa,
kai apa’apa’a11 ko ka pali i uka;
he kai kiei pali ko kupehau,
kai pi’i hala o ka aina:
ke popo’i aku la i kai o maui
ke kai a ka wahine ali’i,
o ke kai kui lehua a pele,
a ko’u akua la, e!
elieli, kau mai!
hiiaka was so greatly impressed with this mele that she commanded wahine-oma’o to restrain herself and observe the dignity of the occasion by eating more quietly. the young woman, thereupon, moderated her gusto and concluded her repast with less smacking of the lips; and the singers proceeded:
e oe mauna i ka ohu ka pali,
kahá ka leo o ka ohi’a, uwé:
ike au i ke ahi ai alá,
ka luahine moe naná12
a pápa enaena, wai hau, a wa’a kauhí.13
ilaila pepe mua, pepe waena,14
o pepe ka muimui—15
o kihele ia ulu,16 ka maka hakaikea
o niheu17 kalohe, ka maka kahá la.
elieli, kau mai!
[115]
a moloka’i nui a hina,18
a kaunu-ohua19 he pali,
a kukui o haupu.20
haupu ke akua li’ili’i;
puka mai pele, ke akua nui,
me haumea, me hiiaka,
me kukuena, me okaoka:21
o ke a ke ahi iki, e a!
he onohi no pele,
ka oaka o ka lani la, e!
elieli, kau mai!
a nana’i22 ka-ula-hea,23
a mauna-lei kui ka lei.
lei pele i ka i-e-i-e, la;
wai hinu po’o o hiiaka;
holapu ili o haumea.
ua ono o pele i kana i’a,
o ka honu o poli-hua—24
honu iki, a-? no’uno’u,
kua papa’i o ka moana;
ka e? nui, kua wawaka.
hoolike i ka ai na pele,
i na oaoaka oaka i ka lani, la!
elieli, kau mai!
a kaua’i, i ke olewa iluna,
a ka pua lana i kai o wai-lua,
naná mai pele ilaila:
e waiho aku ana o ahu. [116]
aloha i ka wai li’u25 o ka aina:
e ála mai ana mokihana,
wai auau o hiiaka.
hoopa’apa’a26 pele ilaila;
aohe kahu e ulu27 ai.
keehi aku pele i ka ale kua loloa:
he onohi no pele,
ka oaka o ka lani, la.
elieli, kau mai!
holo mai pele mai ka hikina,
a kau ka wa’a i mo’o-kini;28
noho ka ua i kumalae;
ho’okú pele ma i ke ki’i;
noho i ke ki’i a pele ma,
a ka puá o ko’i.29
kanaenae pele ma ilaila;
ka’i a huaka’i mai pele
a ka lae i lele-iwi;30
honi i ke ala o ka hala,
o ka lehua o mokau-lele;31
oia ka pele a kui la.
he kunana hale ka pu’u-lena,
he hale moe o papa-lau-ahi,
he halau no kilauea.
elieli, kau mai!
[117]
haule mai pele mai kahiki mai;
o ka hekili, o ke ola’i, o ka ua loku,
o ka ua páka o ha’i-ha’i-lau-mea-iku
o na wahine i ka wao o mau-kele, la.
ho mai ana pele li’u la, e;
au miki, au huki ka ale kua loloa;
nu’anu’a ka moana i ka lili32 o pele:
o ke ’kua nui ke ku’i la iluna o ka lani;
wahi’a ka papa ku, ka papa i ao’a,
ka papa a kane ma i he’e ai i maui.—
ka haili-opua,33 ke ’kua o ka la.
a wai-a-kahala-loa34 i akea.
elieli, kau mai!
o wa’a35 ka i naná i ka auwa’a lawaia
ku kapa kai, e kohala,
o ke ’kua lapu, e pu’u-loa,
ke uwalo la i ka mea hele;
ke akua kui lehua o kua-o-ka-la,
kui mai ana i maka-noni;
ka la pu’u, la helu o pua36 la’a;
ka la aku ho’i, e kahuoi, i ka uka anu.
e olohe ko’e-ula,37 e mauna mai ana
ka hikina o ka la o kumu-kahi ma.
e haliko a’e ana ka a’ama,38 lele hihe’e;
o kohala ke kaula’i ’na la,
e ka la pumehana ole o ka po; [118]
o ka la pe’39 ai, o ke ao kau aku iluna
i ka malama, la.
elieli, kau mai!
he make no aua’a-hea, i kalua ia
i ka pua’a aohe ihi40 ka lau ahea—
ka ipu kaumaha a ke akua,
ka mamala kapu a na hoali’i.
ku’i i ka lani ka hekili;
o ka ua loku o ka-ula-hea;41
o ka oka’i nu’u o ke ao,
o ka-o-mea-lani42 e ua la:
aha o ka hala ia.
líli ke akua:
akahi pele a hokahoka;43
akahi pele la a ne’ene’e;44
akahi pele la a ai pau;45
i pau i kou hoa, i oni i ke a;
i pahoehoe,46 ai oe i ka mauna.
auhea pahoehoe la?
noho iho la ka lau kaula
e ka pau47 hale o ke akua— [119]
e kane-ula-a-pele,48 o ku-ihi-malanai-akea,49
he hoalii na pele, he noho ana ai50 laau,
na wahine pule mana, nána i papawalu.51
elieli, kau mai!
kiope,52 kiope mai ana ke ahi a kánaka
ilalo o kilauea, a i ku mau-mau wá;53
a ikuwá mai ana ka pihe a ke akua
iluna, i ka pali o mauli;54 [120]
o ka huawai maka55 i ane’i,
o kánaka nana i huli-pueo55 ka wai.
pu oe i kau laau me kou makaainana;56
hopu au i ka’u laau, hahau57 i ke akua.
ku’u’a58 a’e pele lapu’u’na59 pele;
waiho ana ilalo, lapu’u ka moe,
a kau la ilalo la pahoehoe ai oe.
auwe! pahoehoe la, e holo e ka wa’a;
e ka’a ka mauna.
ola hiiaka i ka poli o pele.
ho’i aku e, ho’i aku iluna i ka maláma.
a’ama pi’i a’e iluna i kauwiki;60
iho mai a’ama i ke aka o kánaka;
ho’oili61 a’ama, ku i ka laau;
lawe’a a’ama, hao’na i ka eke;
kaohi paiea62 i ka pola o ka malo;
ku ana paiea ilo’ ka unuunu;
lei ana paiea i ka hua limu-kala;
kau ana paiea iluna i ka alá;
maunu63 paiea, ha’alele i ka eke.
[121]
nie64 au, moala, ehia inu awa?
ehá: o e?,65 o honu,66 o kukuau,67 o hinalea,68
o ka apu-hihi,69 o ka hihi-wai;70
ei’ a’e loli-pua,71 ei’ a’e loli-koko;
ei’ a’e loli-ka’e, ei’ a’e lele?.72
o lele? makua, makua o kahi-kona,73
nána i hanu, kaha ka ua koko:
ha’i’na a’e ana ka mana
o ke akua iwaho la, i líli.
elieli, kau mai!
pelei-oho-lani informs me that the following verses are found in another version of this mele immediately following verse 183:
o kukulu ka pahu a ka leo hokiki74 kanawai,
he kua75 a, he kai76 oki’a, he ala77 muku.
translation
let the drum, tho torn, snarl out the law
of the burning back, deep ocean’s gulf,
and god’s short bridge to heaven by the bow.
[122]
ua lilí ka lani me ka ua;
ua o’oki ka lani, poele ka honua
i ka hanau ana o na hoali’i:
hanau ke kaikamahine ho’onout78 o ka lani;
hemo mai he keiki kane;
oili ka ua koko iluna.
hanau o kuwalu79 me kana kane,
o ku-ihi-malanai-akea:
a ai, e pele, i kou aina—
ai’na ka ohi’a, ka ulu hala i kai o lele-iwi.
he moku pana-ewa, he oka wale ka-ú;
he pu’u o pele nui.
kahi, e pele, i kou aina, hoolewa ke au.
elieli, kau mai!
ku i wai-lua ka pou hale a ka ipo;
hoolono i ka uwalo, ka wawa nui
o ulupo80 ma oli nei; aohe uwalo mai, e.
aloha ino o ikuwá81 ma oli nei.
ke lele la ka eká mua,82
ka ino a ka makani.
ukiuki, kolo e, kau-lana,
ka ua lele aku a lele mai:
lele a puhi-lala, lele a kau-lana—
ka hoaka,83 e hiiaka, e!
nowai ke kanaenae?
no ka ohana a haumea ke kanaenae.
ku’u ’a e kane ke ko’a:
i ka ia nei manawa ia.
no pele, no hiiaka no ka honua,
ka honua ne’i, ka honua lewa,
ka lani iluna. [123]
o ana-ku,84 ku ka aha iloko:
o haamo85 he ala i hei a’e ia,
he pahu86 i kula’i ’na, he pa i a’e ia;
he kahua i hele ia, he luana mau’u;
he kaunana ko, okana piko;
he hola moena, he lawe’na ipukai;
he ukuhi’na wai, he kaumaha ai:
he hainá no ka hale, e.
noa, noa ia hale—ua a’e ’a,
ua komohia no wai-honua.
ku ana o halau87 ololo,
ka hale o pele i noho ai.
maka’ika’i mai kini o ke akua.
ho’i aku e, ho’i aku iwaho ’na!
he kahuna pule ole, he li’i pule ole!
mai komo wale mai i ka hale o pele,
o ko’u akua, la!
elieli, kau mai!
e kau ana kiko88 i ke alia kiko;
hele a mo’a89 kiko akahi nei au;
kaele pu’epu’e,90 ne’ine’i;91
ka-ele pa-kiko-kiko.92 [124]
ua noa ka aina; e kapu keiki;
e kapu ke nui; e kahe na wai;
e ka haki ana, ku ka opeope;
o kulipe’e noho i ka lua;
a lele, e, na hoalii o ku-wawá;
o ku-haili-moe, o ka naele o hawaii.
akahi nei au a ho’i aku nei mai ou aku la,
a lele pakohana mai.
elieli, kau mai!
translation
of pele, her warfare in kahiki
with her sister na-maka-o-ka-ha’i;
of her flight to the land of hawaii,
a flight like the eye-shot of dawn,
a flight like the lightning’s flash,
that rivals the full of the moon!
wonder and awe possess me!
for pele the ocean sleeps afar,
for pele the godlike one!
a surge now cradles the islands
and breaks on the land hana-kahi,
o’erflooding the sands of wai-o-lama.
god’s temple is roofed with the fingers,
and the thumb is lifted in earnest prayer
by the concourse met in the uplands.
high piles the surf that sweeps from kahiki;
it breaks at the foot of kilauea;
is driven back by the hot lava plates.
now calls from the wayside a human voice;
your suitor, goddess who rifled the bloom
from my ola’an park of lehua
that smile in the lap of heeia
and the wreath-goddess kukuena.
what a bestial and nondescript mix-up
embroiled our chief in the thickets of puna!
what a passionate mounting! what a stay!
small show of regard for your fellow peers!
wonder and awe possess me!
[125]
wild the sea-mist at kohala-loa,
sea roughed by the breeze from the upper hills,
sea that peeps o’er the cliffs of kupehau,
invading the groves of pandamus;
it reaches the lowlands of maui—
the sea of this goddess, this queen.
the lehuas are twisted like garlands
at the touch of this sea of god pele;
for pele, indeed, is my god.
wonder and awe possess me!
thou mountain wall all swathed in mist,
now groans the mountain-apple tree;
i see a fire of blazing rocks;
i see an aged dame, who snores
on lava plate, now hot, now cold;
now ’tis canoe in shape, well propped,
a chock ’neath bow, midships, astern;
needs bail the waist where drains the bilge,
else salt will crust like staring eye—
gray roving eye of lawless niheu.
wonder and awe possess me!
on famed moloka’i of hina,
at the pali of unu-ohua.
where burn the lamps of haupu,
assemble the throng of little gods.
then comes forth pele, a great god,
haumea and hiiaka,
and kukuena and okaoka:
if the small fire burns, let it burn!
’tis the beaming of pele’s eye,
the flashing of heavenly fire.
wonder and awe possess me!
now to nana’i of ka-ula-hea;
at mauna-lei pele plaits her a wreath;
she plaits it of í-e-íe;
hiiaka pelts head with ginger cone;
haumea anoints her body;
and pele eats with zest the flesh
from the turtle of poli-hua— [126]
a young thing, short in the neck,
backed like a crab from the sea,
like a sea-turtle plated and patterned—
turned into meat for pele,
food for the heavenly flame.
wonder and awe possess me!
from the ether above kaua’i
to the blossoms afloat at wailua
ranges the flight of pele’s gaze.
she sees oahu floating afar;
feels thirst for the wat’ry mirage;
inhales the scent of mokihana—
the bath-water of hiiaka.
she once had a contest there;
she had no tenant to guard the place.
pele spurns with her feet the long waves;
they give back a flash like her eye,
a flash that’s repeated on high.
wonder and awe possess me!
when pele came voyaging from the east
and landed at mo’o-kini—
the rain poured down at ku-malae—
her people set up an image,
and there they made their abode,
with the workmen who carve the canoe;
and they offered prayers and gave thanks.
then pele led them in journey
to the cape of lele-iwi,
where they breathed the incense of hala.
with mokau-lele’s rich lehua
goddess pele weaved her a wreath.
they built a village at pu’u-lena,
her bedroom at papa-lau-ahi,
a mighty hall at kilauea.
wonder and awe possess me!
when pele fell through from kahiki
bitter the rain, lightning and quaking—
the big-dropped rain that shatters the leaves
of the women folk in mau-kele’s wilds. [127]
pele came in the dusk of the night,
with toss and sway of the long-backed waves.
the ocean heaved at pele’s rush;
the great god thundered in heaven;
the strata of earth were uptorn;
the reef-plates broken, crushed; and rent
was the surf-plank of kane at maui.
what a piling of portents by the sun-god
over the green lake ka-hala-loa!
wonder and awe possess me!
it was wa’a gazed on the fishing fleet,
his watch-tower the cliffs of kohala;
while the witch-ruler, o pu’u-loa,
entreated the wayfaring one,
and the goddess who gilds the lehua
set aglow maka-noni’s sunlit verge.
one day for gath’ring and choosing
the flowers devoted to worship,
the next day in upland frosty huo?.
the earth-creatures glimmer and glow
while the eastern sun tops kumu-kahi.
sidewise the black crab springs from his hole
and kohala spreads out ’neath the orb
that fails to give warmth to the night,
and the sun hangs low in the sky,
and the clouds, they canopy heaven.
wonder and awe possess me!
aua’a-hea meets death, spite of
steam-bath,—a boar unpurged of bristles—
and poultice hot of aheahea,
an herb that serves as a dish for the gods,
a tidbit for the king’s table.
thunder resounds in the heavens; rain falls,
bitter as tears of ka-ula-hea;
clouds, torn and ragged, fill the sky,
a piled-up ominous cloud-pillar,
a fabric reared by heaven’s rain-god—
a collect of evils was that. [128]
the gods were aghast at the scandal:
for once pele found herself duped;
for once pele shifted in bed;
for once pele drank to the dregs—
the cup was the brew of her consort;
her bed the spikes of a-?.
stone-armored, passion had slaked.
where then was her armor of stone?
the prophets, in congress assembled,
consult on the rape of the goddess—
red-headed kane, ku of the trade-wind,
compeers of pele, consumers of trees,
the women of eight-fold incantations.
wonder and awe possess me!
they stamp out the fire in the pit;
“stand shoulder to shoulder,” their cry;
“shoulder to shoulder,” echoes the throng
on the heights of mauli-ola,—
where the green leaf distills the water
men search for like hov’ring owls.
chew thou the herb with thy friend,
i will offer mine to my god.
the fault of pele’s condoned;
she lifts herself from her huddle in bed—
a couch far down in the pit—
it now becomes plates of smooth lava,
how like the flight of a swift canoe
is the flow of the pahoehoe,
as the mountain melts and rolls away!
hiiaka, the darling of pele,
then soars aloft to the realms of light,
as the crab climbs up kau-wiki—
the crab retreats from man’s shadow—
and when these black ones huddle together
they are easily clubbed with a stick;
their bodies then are thrust in the bag.
as the gray crab tugs at the malo’s fold;
as he stands mid the heaped-up coral,
while round him wave the pods of rough moss,
or he rests on the flat coral plate;
as, ta’en from the bag, he’s chewed into bait, [129]
so men spit forth their bitter words.
how many guests at awa, sir crab?
four gods, is the answer returned,
tortoise, and turtle, and kukuau,
and hinalea, and with them are
apu-hihi and hihi-wai, along with
loli-pua and loli-koko,
and loli-ka’e and lele-á.
lele-a-makua fathered
the fisherman’s god, kahi-kona.
when he breathed, red as blood poured the rain,
a sign of the power and wrath of the god.
wonder and awe possess me!
the heavens were turmoiled with rain clouds,
the firmament sealed, earth black as midnight,
at the birth of the princely ones:
the heaven-urging princess was born;
then came forth a man-child, a prince,
and the blood-red rain poured down.
then was born ku-walu and her lord,
mala-nai, the far-breathing trade-wind;
and thou, o pele, then ate of thy land,
consuming the groves of ohi’a
and lele-iwi’s palms by the sea.
pana-ewa still was a park;
ka-ú was made a cinder-patch;
by her might pele threw up a mountain.
overwhelm your lands, o pele;
let your fire-streams flow!
wonder and awe possess me!
her lover’s house-post stands in wai-lua;
there pele hears a call that appeals;
’tis a song voiced by ulu-pó.
she utters no word to answer
this pleading babel of voices,
now comes the first thrill to virgin flesh;
impatient, the princeling crawls on his knees;
there’s plenteous downfall of tears, as when
rain-columns fall, or men leap and dive,
head-first, feet-first, into the flood. [130]
these symbols will tell the tale, hiiaka.
for whom do i make this offering of song?
for the ancient stock of haumea.
god kane planted the coral reefs;
a work that done in pele’s time;
for pele, for hiiaka the land—
this solid ground that swings and floats
beneath the o’erhanging arch of heaven.
at ana-kú once met the gods; the road
thither lay through ha-ámo;—but now,
its drum is dismantled, its fence o’erleaped;
the terrace trampled, a litter of straw,
champed sugar-cane, heaped odds and ends;
a spread for mats; a clutter of dishes;
there’s dipping of water, serving of food.—
what a desecration of the house!
the house is degraded and trodden;
its tabu place entered, deflowered—
now stands a hall of common resort
where once stood the house of pele.
now come the pigmy gods on a visit.
be off! be gone from the place!
a prayerless priest, a prayerless king is yours:
enter not prayerless the house of pele.
for pele, i swear it, is my god!
wonder and awe possess me!
the tabu flags fluttered in place, just now;
and now, the flags are removed by you.
men parcel the hills in the taro patch;
they parcel the clumps in the taro ditch:
the land goes free, the children secure;
unvexed be the people; the waters run free;
food-bundles shall bulk in the patch;
kuli-pe’e shall keep to the pit;
the princes of clamor shall fly away.
give place to ku, the smoother of lands,
the planter of forest and field.
i go in peace from your presence forth;
i came to you in my nakedness.
wonder and awe possess me!
[131]
1ulu o wahine-kapu. wahine-kapu was the name given to the plateau over which kaneohoalii presided, a very tabu place. as to the bread-fruit tree ulu, i have been able to learn nothing; this is the first mention of it i have met with. ↑
2na-maka-o-ka-ha’i, an elder sister of pele, with whom she had trouble over the question of tabus, rights and privileges, involving the right to dominion over the volcanic fires. pele was not only a stickler for her own rights and privileges but ambitious for their extension. the result was she had to flee for her life. (for the story of this trouble see p. v of the introduction.) ↑
3elieli, kau mai! a solemn expression often found at the end of a prayer. hawaiians are unable to give an exact account of its meaning. the phrase kau mai by itself means overshadow me, sit upon me, possess me. ↑
4hana-kahi, an appelation applied to hilo derived from the name of an ancient king. ↑
5wai-o-lama, the name applied to the eastern section of hilo town, including the sand-beach and the river there located. ↑
6ako ia ka hale. the hands elevated and the fingers brought together in the form of an inverted v were, i am informed, an accepted symbol that might be used in place of a heiau at a time when distress or emergency made impossible the erection of such a structure. david malo narrates a similar incident as occurring in the mythical story of wakea at a time when he was in peril and beset by his enemies. ↑
7ko’i ke akua. there is a division of opinion as to the meaning of this passage. some, including j. w. p., think it may be the shortened, poetical form of ko’iko’i, heavy, referring to the timber used in building a temple for the deity. others take the view that the word ko’i should be given its face-value. i see in it a possible reference to pahoehoe, the plates of which, in their hot and nascent state, are capable of felling a forest as effectively as a ko’i. one expounder (pelei-oho-lani) finds in this word ko’i a reference to a symbolical lifting of the thumb of the left hand as a sign of prayer. the arguments on the one side and on the other are not quite convincing. ↑
8kou pua’a kanu. pua’a-kanu is the name of a place in puna, said to be the spot where pele had her sexual encounter with kama-pua’a, the swine-god. i look upon it as meaning the encounter itself. ↑
9kukuena wahine, an elder sister of pele. (some one says the first born of the pele family. this assertion is not verified by other authorities.) she had charge of the making and distribution of the leis and of the ceremonies connected with formal awa-drinking. she was, in short, a sort of lady of the bedchamber to pele. ↑
10lauwili, literally, an entanglement. it refers to the lustful attack made by kama-pua’a on pele, an attack to which she gave seeming acquiescence. ↑
11apa’apa’a, the name of a violent wind, here used adjectively. ↑
12luahine moe nana, pele, who is depicted as an old woman huddled up on a lava plate. the snoring must refer to the sounds made by the lava while in action. ↑
13wa’a kauhi, an unrigged canoe, without iako or ama. ↑
14pepe mua, pepe waena. this a detail in the development of the figure in which flowing lava is compared to a canoe. the pepe is a chock such as is put under the canoe when it is at rest on land. mua, waena and muimui mean respectively at the bow, amidships and astern. ↑
15muimui, an elided form of mulimuli, the hindmost. ↑
16kihele ia ulu. kihele, to bail out; ulu—the belly of the canoe, its swell amidships, the place where the bilge would settle. the implication is that, if the water is not bailed out, the incrusted salt will form a spot like the staring eye of niheu. ↑
17niheu, a mythological hero who is always spoken of as kalohe, mischievous, because of his restlessness and stirring energy. his mother, hina, had been abducted by a pirate chief who lived on the high bluff of haupu, on moloka’i. niheu and his brother kana, whose body was a rope of immense length, went to their mother’s rescue, in which they succeeded, after many adventures. the eyes of niheu were a marked feature in his appearance, being described as large and searching. ↑
18hina, the goddess with whom wakea consorted after he had divorced his wife papa by spitting in her face. hina became the mother of the island of moloka’i. from such a distinguished parentage arose the proverbial saying “moloka’i nui a hina.” ↑
19kaunu-ohua, a hill on moloka’i between halawa valley and puko’o, where is said to repose the body of pele. ↑
20haupu, a hill on moloka’i. ↑
21okaoka, said to be the flame-body of pele, or the small stones, iliili, that entered into the composition of her body. ↑
22nana’i, an archaic form of lana’i. ↑
23ka-ula-hea, a goddess with whom wakea consorted after his divorce of papa. the name also of a historic king of lana’i, as well as of a kaula—prophet—attached to the disreputable set of gods that infested lana’i at one time. ↑
24poli-hua, a sandy cape on lana’i famous for its sea-turtles. ↑
25wai-li’u, full form, wai-li’u-la, mirage. ↑
26hoopa’apa’a pele ilaila. pele had planted a spring at this place, near wai-lua, kaua’i. kama-pua’a, in company with two dragon-goddesses, ka-la-mai-nu’u and kilioe, who will find mention later in the story, took possession and moved the spring to another spot. when pele came that way again, after a wordy contention with the two dragons, she slew them. ↑
27ulu, to guard, to farm, to protect. the kahu was the one who offered the sacrifices and prayers that were necessary to the maintenance of power and life in an artificial divinity, such as many of the hawaiian deities were. ↑
28mo’o-kini, literally, the multitude (40,000) of dragons; the name of a heiau in puna. there is also a heiau in kohala called by the same name. ↑
29ko’i, said to be a kupua who had to do with carving and finishing the canoe. pua seems to be epithet applied to the group of workmen who assisted him. ↑
30lele-iwi, a cape on the puna side of hilo bay. ↑
31mokau-lele, the name of a little land in hilo situated near the point where the eruption of 1881–1882 came to a stand-still. ↑
32lili. this word, accented on the final syllable, means to rush, to move with one fixed purpose in view. it is to be distinguished from lili, having the accent on the penult, and meaning to be angry, jealous, alienated. (my authority is j. m. poepoe). the word is not given by andrews in his dictionary. ↑
33haili-opua, the name of a deity. it means the piling-up of cloud-portents. ↑
34wai-a-kahala-loa, the green lake, in puna. this was, no doubt, much larger and of more importance in ancient times than it is now. ↑
35wa’a, the name of a kaula, soothsayer, who observed the omens in the heavens and instructed the fishermen. he had his station on or near the hill maka-noni, in puna. ↑
36 in one text this is pu-ala’a, said to be a place in puna. i have amended it to make better sense. ↑
37ko’e-ula, a family of kupua, superhuman creatures, who had power over men’s lives. they were, in truth, some kind of mud-worms, or glow-worms. they came out from their subterranean retreats to see pele. ↑
38a’ama, an edible black crab whose shell has a highly decorative pattern. it is said to have been used as a special, or sacred food by certain priests. ↑
39pe’ai, a contracted form from pe’e, to hide. in this case, the meaning seems to be to hang low in the heavens. ↑
40ihi, another form for uhi, to cover, or covered. the ahea, or aheahea is a common plant that was cooked and eaten like luau. it was also used as a poultice, after heating. ↑
41ka-ula-hea. see note 22. ↑
42ka-o-mea-lani, a god of rain. he indicated his presence by piling up volumes of white clouds. ↑
43hokahoka, disappointed, fooled, deceived; said of pele in view of her painful experience with kama-pua’a. ↑
44ne’ene’e, to shift about, as pele had to do because her back was pierced to the bone by the sharp points of a-a on which she lay during her affair with kama-pua’a. the point of the irony is to be found in the fact that she was as a rule indifferent to the roughness of the bed on which she lay. yet she was accustomed—so the story goes—to choose pahoehoe as a bed. ↑
45ai pau, literally, to eat the whole; and for the first time. ↑
46pahoehoe. the mention of pahoehoe in this and in the following line has reference to a saying, or belief, which asserted that pele was covered with an armor of pahoehoe. it is as if the poet sought to banter her on this popular notion. ↑
47pau hale, literally, the destruction of the house, meaning, of course, the deflowering of pele. ↑
48kane-ula-a-pele, literally, the red man of pele, meaning ka-moho-alii, a brother of pele. he is described as having a ruddy complexion and reddish hair. he presided over the council of the pele gods. ↑
49ku-ihi-malanai-akea, one of the forms or attributes of god ku, the trade-wind. the word malanai by itself is often used in modern hawaiian poetry to signify the same thing.
n.b.—the occurrence of the preposition e in verse 147 illustrates the somewhat vague and, at times illogical, use of prepositions in hawaiian poetry. if i read this passage correctly, kane-ula-a-pele and ku-ihi-malanai-akea are in apposition with hoalii, the subject of the verb noho; and, that being the case, instead of the preposition e we should have the particle o standing before kane-… as we find it before ku-.… the explanation of this anomaly, it seems to me, is to be found in the demand of the hawaiian ear for tone-color, at any cost, even at the expense of grammar. ↑
50he noho ana ai laau, a session of the gods in which they partook in common of some laau, medicine, or spiritual corrective, as a sign of mutual amity, even as the north american indians smoked the peace-pipe in token of friendly relation between the participants. this laau is said to have been none other than the tender buds of the a’ali’i, which was chewed by the members of the assembly and was deemed to be not merely a symbol but an active agent in the production of amity and a good understanding. ↑
51papa-walu, literally, eightfold. the wahine are the hiiaka sisters, seven in number. the inclusion of kukuena fills the number to eight.
n.b.—it should be noted that during the time of pele’s disqualification, or retirement, or disgrace, hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-pele would be the one to control the affairs of the pele family. ↑
52kiope, to scatter, said of a fire, in order to extinguish it. ↑
53ku mau-mau wa. the literal meaning is, stand in order, or, as i have put it, stand shoulder to shoulder. it corresponded to and served the purpose of a sailor’s chantey, and was employed in the ancient times to hawaiian history to give spirit and precision to the work of the men straining at the hauling line of a canoe-log. the koa tree has been felled and rudely fashioned; a strong line is made fast to one end of it, and the men, having ranged themselves along, rope in hand, their chief, sometimes standing on the log itself, gives the signal for them to be ready for a start by uttering the inspiring cry “i ku mau-mau wa!” “i ku mau wa,” answer the men, and with a mighty pull the huge log starts on its way to its ocean-home. ↑
54mauli, contracted form of mauli-ola; the name of a kupua, a deity, who had to do with health, after some ideal fashion, a sort of hygeia; also the name of that kupua’s mystical abode. the name mauli, or mauli-ola, was also given, as i learn, to the site of the present kilauea volcano house. ↑
55hua-wai maka, literally, an unripe water-gourd. in this place it means a small collection of dew or rain-water, a water-hole, a thing much sought after by men, even as the owl—as remarks the poet in the next verse—searches after it. whether the poet is correct in his assertion about the owl, is more than i can say. ↑
56pu oe i kau laau me kou makaainana. kou makaainana is, undoubtedly, pele. the reference is to the practice spoken of in note 48. ↑
57hahau i ke akua, offer to the god. ↑
58ku’u ia a’e pele. (in the text the ia is shortened to a). the meaning seems to be that pele is exonerated from blame. that would not, however, alter the facts and render back to pele the sacredness that belonged to her uncontaminated body. ↑
59lapu’u ’na pele. this seems to have a double meaning, referring at once to the dismissal of hard feelings against pele and to her rising up from her customary attitude in repose, that with her head crouched forward and her legs drawn up towards the body. ↑
60kauwiki, a hill in hana, maui, famous in history. ↑
61ho’oili, to come together in a bunch, said of fish. this is an unusual use of the word, though an old hawaiian (j. t. p.) tells me his mother used it in this way. it refers not to the swarming of fish, but their bunching together when driven. ↑
62paiea, a species of crab that resembles the a’ama. the background color of the paiea is black; this is strewn with spots and markings of dark red, producing a highly artistic effect. the specimen i examined was found in the honolulu fish market and came from kona, hawaii. in spite of mutilation, it still retained a formidable claw. ↑
63maunu paiea. the hawaiian fisherman often prepared his bait by chewing it fine, after which he blew it into the water to attract the fish. the poet finds a parallel between this action of the fisherman and the discharge of venomous words by an angered person. ↑
64nie, an elided form of niele, to question. ↑
65ea, the sea-turtle. ↑
66honu, the land-turtle. ↑
67kukuau, a hairy, spotted crab, said to be poisonous. ↑
68hinalea, a name applied to fish of several different species, among which one that is rare is the hinalea akilolo (macropharyngodon geoffroy, quoy and gaimard). another less rare, though beautiful, species is the hinalea i’iwi (gomphosus tricolor, quoy and gaimard). ↑
69apuhihi. ↑
70hihi-wai, a bivalve shell that is found clinging to rocks or reeds in fresh or brackish water streams. its dorsum is jetty black, its front white, shading into yellow. ↑
71loli-pua, loli-koko and loli-ka’e, different species of holothuriae, or sea-slugs, some of which are esteemed as food by the hawaiians. they were, nevertheless, looked upon as kupua. ↑
72lelea, a marine creature that is said to be slimy and adheres to the rocks. ↑
73kahi-kona, said to be a god of the fishermen. ↑
74leo hokiki, an imperfect tone caused by a torn drumhead. ↑
75kua a. the penalty of approaching pele from behind was death: she is said to have had a consuming back. ↑
76kai oki’a, an engulfing abyss. ↑
77ala muku, the rainbow. (for further comments on these difficult passages, see notes 11, 12, and 13, on page 114.) ↑
78ho’o-nou o ka lani. this must be pele. the word ho-onou is used of a person striving to accomplish some physical task, as of a woman straining in labor. ↑
79ku-walu, literally, eighth in order of succession. ↑
80ulu-po, said to be the name of a heiau at kailua, oahu. ↑
81iku-wa, the name of a month in the hawaiian year, corresponding, according to one account, pretty closely to october; according to another nomenclature it corresponds pretty nearly to our april. the name etymologically connoted thunder and reverberations. ↑
82eka mua, literally, the first blast of a storm; here used figuratively to mean the first sexual ecstacy. ↑
83hoaka, a setting forth in figures. (hoakaka). ↑
84ana-ku, the name of a cave situated somewhere in the caldera of kilauea, a place of assembly for the gods. its use here is evidently for a highly figurative purpose, and has, of course, to do with pele and her affair with kama-pua’a. ↑
85ha-amo, the name of the road to ana-ku. (peleioholani). ↑
86pahu. it is doubtful whether this means a drum or a post. in either case, in the smash-up of the one or the overthrow of the other, the figure evidently is designed to set forth the confusion caused by the catastrophe—pele’s debauchment. the other figures that follow have the same purpose. ↑
87halau ololo, literally, a long shed or canoe-house, meaning a place of common assembly for people. the figure is applied to pele and is intended to declare that, through her affair with kama-pua’a she had degraded herself and robbed her body of its tabu, its sanctity. ↑
88kiko, a mark to indicate a tabu. two ti leaves placed crosswise, and held in place by a pebble, would constitute a kiko. ↑
89mo’a, literally, cooked; meaning that the tabu has expired, been abrogated. ↑
90pu’e-pu’e, the hills of taro. kaele means the division or apportioning of them. ↑
91ne’ine’i, the more scattered, smaller, hills of taro, those that are nearer the bank. ↑
92pakikokiko, the scattered taro plants that grow in the water-course.
