paoa seeks out the body of his dead friend lohiau

under the lead of his spiritual guide, paoa arrived that day at kilauea and, standing at the brink of the great caldera, he saw the figure of lohiau beckoning to him as it stood on a heap of volcanic debris. the wraith dissolved into nothingness as he approached the spot; but there lay a figure in stone having the semblance of a man. it was more an act of divination than the exercise of ordinary judgment that told him this was the body of lohiau. “i thought you had summoned me to take home your living body, my friend!” was his exclamation. his voice was broken with emotion as he poured out his lament:

mau a’alina oe mauka o ka-la-ke-ahi;

ma puna ka huli mai ana;

ka ua a makali’i,

ke ua la i laau,

i kaú, i ka-hihi, i ka-pe’a,

i ke wao a ke akua.

eia ho’i au la, o ka maka-o-ke-ahi;

aole ho’i na la o ka lawa-kua,

ke koolau la, e, aloha!

aloha ku’u hoa i ka ua anu lipoa,

hu’ihu’i, ko’eko’e, kaoü:

he ahi ke kapa o kaua e mehana ai,

e lala ai kaua i oma’o-lala;

i pili wale, i ha’alele la, e.

ha’alele i wailua na hoa aloha—

o puna, aina aloha,

o puna, i kaua’i.

translation

thou bundle of scars from a fiery day,

’twas at puna our journey began,

with a dash of rain in the summer;

rain again when we entered the woods,

rain, too, in kaú, in the jungle,

in the forest-haunts of the gods, [218]

rain at each crossing of road and path:—

here stand i, with fire in my eye:

our days of communion are gone;

you’ve bidden adieu to ko’olau:

hail now to my mate of the gloomy rain—

when wet and cold and chilled to the bone,

our garment of warmth the blazing hearth;

then basked we at oma’o-lala,

haunting the place, then tearing away.

e’en so you tore away from your friends,

those friends of wailua, of puna—

that dear land of puna, kaua’i!

(here is another version of the eloquent prayer of paoa; furnished by poepoe, who obtained it from rev. pa’aluhi):

o mau a’alina oe,

o mau kakala ke ahi.

ma puna ka hiki’na mai

a ka ua makali’i,

ka ua a’ala ai laau,

i ka hiki, i ka pa’a,

i ke ahu a ke akua.

eia ho’i au, la.

o ka maka o ke ahi;

aole ho’i na la,

o ka lawakua1 a ke koolau.

e, aloha o’u hoa,

i ka ua a ka lipoa,2

lihau anu, ko’eko’e, ka-o-ú—

he ahi ke kapa e mehana ai,

e lála3 ai kaua i oma’o-lala.4

i pili wale, i ha’alele la, e.

ha’alele i puna na hoaloha, e,

ka aina i ka houpu a kane5

he aikane ka mea aloha, e

he-e!

[219]

translation

you’ve encased him tight in a lava shell,

scorched him with tongues of flame.

puna, the place of thy landing,

first impact of winter rain—

sweet rain, feeding the perfume,

drunk by vine and firm-rooted tree—

the wilderness-robe of the gods.

here am i, too, eye-flash of flame;

as for them, no friends they of mine:

companions mine of the stormy coast,

my love goes forth to my toil-mate

of the mist, cold rain and driving storm;

a blazing hearth our garment then,

and to bask in the sun at oma’o-lála.

those seeming friends, they went with us,

and then, they left us in puna—

land dear to the heart of kane:

who eats of your soul is your true friend.

woe is me, woe is me!

hiiaka, not yet come back from her adventures in the underworld, heard this lament of paoa and wondered at his performance—that he, a handsome man, should be standing out in the open with not even a malo about his loins to hide his nakedness, “i wonder what is his name,” she said aloud.

paoa, intent on supersensual things, heard the wondering words of hiiaka and responded to them:

hulihia ke au, pe’a ilalo i akea;

hulihia ka mole o ka honua;

hulihia ka ale ula, ka ale lani,

i ka puko’a, ka a’aka,6 ke ahua,

ka ale po’i, e, i ka moku.

nawele ke ahi, e, a i kahiki; [220]

nawele ka maka o hina-ulu-ohi’a.7

wela ka lani, kau kahae?;8

wahi’a ka lani, uli-pa’a ka lani;

eleele ka lau o ka-hoa-li’i;

ka pohaku kuku’i o ka ho’oilo;

nahá mai ku-lani-ha-ko’i;9

ke ha’a-lokuloku nei ka ua;

ke nei nei ke ola’i;

ke ikuwá mai la i uka.

ke o’oki la i ka piko o ka hale,

a mo’ ka piko i eleu?,10 i elea?:

ka wai e ha’a kula-manu,11

ka nahele o ke-hua,

i loa i ke kula o ho’o-kula-manu.

e pele, e wahi’a12 ka lani;

e pele e, ka wahine ai laau o puna,

ke ai holoholo la i ka papa o hopoe;

pau a’e la ku-lili-ka-ua13 [221]

ka nahele makai o ke?au,

a ka mahu a ka wahine,

ka uahi ke? i uka,

ke ai la i pohaku-loa,14

i ke ala a lau-ahea;15

he wawaka ka huila o ka lani.

e ku-kuena16 e, na’u ho’i e noho

ka la puka i ha’eha’e.

o ka luna o uwé-kahuna;

o ka uwahi hauna-laau;

o ke po’o ku i ka pohaku;

o ka alá kani koele;

a ka nakolo i ka nei.

ma’alili ole ai ua ’kua ai i ke a;

nakeke ka niho o pele i kilauea;

pohaku wai ku kihikihi,17

ku hiwa ai i ka maka o ka pohaku—

pohaku ai-wawae o malama;

hopo aku ka haka’i hele i ka la.

pi’i a ka wai i uka,

moana ai wai a ka olohe;18

kawa lele ai kilauea;

hohonu ai ka lua i uka,

kapuahi ku-ku-ku.

nau ke ku’i o ke akua;

holo ka paku’i, lahe’a i na moku.

nou ka lili, no ke akua: [222]

lili’a i uka, lili’a i kai—

o ka lili kepa i o kipi-kipi.

o haele a mauna pu’u-kuolo

a ka ehu o lalo

paú mahana ai ka wai-welawela.

e ku e, ke’ehia, ke’ehia ka pae opua;

hina ololo i ulu-nui:

hina aku la, palala ke ao—

he ao omea a ulu-lani.

ke wela nei ka la;

ke kau nei ka malu hekili iluna:

ku’i, naue ka leo o ka opua, e—

opua ai laau la;

a ka luna i moku-aweo-weo

hua’i pele i ona kino;

lawe ka ua la, lawe ke kaupu e:

opiopi kai a ke akua;

kuahiwi hao?19 i kaú i waena.

ho’po mai la puna i ka uwahi a ke akua;

poá ino no ka pua e lu ia nei.

pau ku’u kino lehua a i kai o puna:

hao’e puna, koele ka papa;

o ka uwahi na’e ke ike’a nei.

kai-ko’o ka lua, kahuli ko’o ka lani

ke akua ai lehua o puna,

nana i ai iho la hawaii kua uli:

wahi’a ka lani; ne’e hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i;20

ne’e hiiaka-i-ka-ale-moe;

o hiiaka-pa’i-kauhale;

hiiaka-i-ka-pua-enaena;21

hiiaka-i-ka-pua-lau-i;

o hiiaka-noho-lae;22 [223]

hiiaka-wawahi-lani;

hiiaka-i-ka-poli-o-pele,

halanalana waimaka e hanini nei;

wela mai ka maka o ka ulu o ho’olono, e.

ho’olono au o ho’olei’a.

o ho’olei’a au; o kalei (au) a paoa;

o paoa au la, i lono oe.

translation

the world is convulsed: the earth-plates sink

to the nether domain of wakea;

earth’s rooted foundations are broken;

flame-billows lift their heads to the sky;

the ocean-caves and reefs, the peopled land

and the circle of island coast

are whelmed in one common disaster:

the gleam of it reaches kahiki:—

such blush encircles the pale apple’s eye.

heaven’s blotted out, the whole sky darkened;

hoali’i’s cliffs are shadowed with gloom.

now bellows the thunder of winter;

ku-lani-ha-ko’i’s banks are broken;

down pours a pitiless deluge of rain;

there’s rumble and groan of the earthquake,

the reverberant roar of thunder,

the roof-stripping swoop of the tempest.

tearing the thatch over ele-u?,

tearing the thatch over ele-ao.

the freshet makes home for the water-fowl,

flooding the thickets at kehau,

the wide-spread waters of kula-manu.

o pele, fold back the curtains of heaven;

thou woman, consumer of puna woods,

swift thy foray in hopoe’s fields:

the land of contending rains is wiped out,

and the lands that border ke?au.

up springs the steam from her caldron,

a white cloudy mountain of smoke:

she’s consuming the bowlders of long-rock,

the treacherous paths of lau-ahea.

a flash of lightning rends the sky! [224]

o ku-kuena, ’tis for you to dwell

in the flaming eastern gate of the sun.

the plateau of uwé-kahuna

breathes the reek of burning woods;

there’s pelting of heads with falling stones

and loud the clang of the smitten plain,

confused with the groan of the earthquake.

yet this cools not the rock-eater’s rage:

the goddess grinds her teeth in the pit.

lo, tilted rock-plates melt like snow—

black faces that shine like a mirror—

sharp edges that bite the foot of a man,

the traveler’s dread in the glare of the sun.23

the fire-flood swells in the upland—

a robber-flood—it dries up the streams.

here’s cliff for god’s jumping, when wild their sport;

deep the basin below, and boiling hot.

the goddess gnashes her teeth and the reek

of her breath flies to the farthest shore.

thine was the fault, o goddess, thine, a

jealous passion at all times and places—

the snap and spring of a surly dog.

let your gnashing range to its limit,

till it reaches the fringe of your skirt,

your hot paü at wai-welawela.

trample down, o ku, these ominous clouds;

let them sag and fall at ulu-nui.

they flatten, they break; look, they spread.

white loom, now, the clouds of ulu-lani;

fierce blazes the sun, and thunder

unrolls his black curtains on high.

then bellows his voice from the cloud—

the ominous cloud that swallows the trees.

from the crest of moku-awe?

pele pours out her body, her self—

a turmoil of rain and of sea-fowl.

now boils the lake of the goddess:

in ka-ú an oasis-park remains;

her smoke covers puna with night.

what a robbery this, to crush the flowers! [225]

my bodily self, my lehuas, gone!

my precious lehuas, clean down to puna!

and puna—the land is trenched and seared!

the smoke that o’erhangs it, that i can see.

high surf in the pit, turmoiling the sky—

the god who ate puna’s lehuas,

she ’twas laid waste green-robed hawaii.

the heavens—let them rend, hiiaka!

plunge you in the wild tossing sea;

and you, who delight in the calm sea;

hiiaka, thou thatcher of towns,

hiiaka, soul of the flame-bud;

hiiaka, emblemed in ti-bud;

hiiaka, who dwells on the headland;

hiiaka, who parts heaven’s curtains;

hiiaka—of pele’s own heart!

these tears well from eyes hot with weeping,

the eyes of this scion, this herald:

i proclaim that he’s outcast and exiled.

’tis i, pao? announce this:

he speaks what is ment for your ear!

1lawakua, an intimate companion, a friend. ↑

2ua a ka lipoa, a fine, cold rain; a scotch mist. ↑

3lala, to bask in the sunlight. ↑

4oma’o-lala, a place in upper ola’a, named from the bird oma’o. ↑

5aina i ka houpu a kane, a proverbial expression applied to puna, signifying the affection in which puna was held. ↑

6a’aka, an ocean cave (definition not given in the dictionary). ↑

7nawele ka maka o hina-ulu-ohi’a. by metonymy, a figure of speech for which the hawaiian poets showed great fondness, the name of the goddess, or superior being, hina-ulu-ohi’a, is here used instead of the fruit which seems to have been her emblem. this fruit, the ohi’a puakea, is a variety of the ohi’a ai, or mountain apple, as it is commonly called. the common variety is of a deep red color shading into purple; but this variety, departing from the usual rule, is of a pale lemon color. this pale variety shows a faint pink or reddish ring about the maka, or eye where the flower was implanted. the poet’s fancy evidently makes a comparison between this delicate aureole and the dim glow by which the volcanic fire made itself perceived in its periphery at kahiki. ↑

8kahaea, a pile of white cumulus clouds, or a single large cloud, which was regarded by weather prophets, soothsayers and diviners as a significant portent. ↑

9ku-lani-ha-ko’i. the old hawaiians imagined that somewhere in the heavens was an immense reservoir of water, and that a heavy downpour of rain was due to the breaking of its banks. when the clouds of storm and rain gathered thick and black, they saw in this phenomenon a confirmation of their belief, which gained double assurance when the clouds discharged their watery contents. ↑

10eleua … eleao. when a hawaiian house had a door at each end, the door at one end was named ele-ua, that at the other end ele-ao. ↑

11kula-manu. a plain or tract of land that was flooded in wet weather and thus converted for a time into a resort for water-fowl, was termed a kula-manu or bird plain. ↑

12wahi’a ka lani. this passive form of the verb has here the force of entreaty almost equivalent to the imperative. the opening here spoken of was the parting and drawing aside of the dark clouds that shut in the heavens, an opening that would be equivalent to the restoration of peace and good will. ↑

13ku-lili-ka-ua, the name applied to a grove of pandanus in puna. ↑

14pohaku-loa, the name of a rocky ledge or cliff in puna. ↑

15lau-ahea. this was a deceitful voice, a vocal will-o’-the-wisp, that was sometimes heard by travelers and that enticed them into the wilderness or thicket there to be entrapped in some lua meke or fathomless pit. ↑

16kuku-ena, a sister of pele who, like kahili-opua, was a physician and of a benevolent disposition. she was wont to act as the guide to travelers who had their way in the mazes of a wilderness. so soon, however, as the traveler had come clear into a clear place and was able to orient himself, she modestly disappeared. ↑

17ku kihikihi, to stand cornerwise or edgewise. in the ebullition that stirs the mass of a lava lake at seemingly rhythmical intervals the congealed crust that has formed on the surface is seen to break up, become tilted on edge, and then be sucked down into the depths by the vortex of the lava-pit. the allusion here is to the tilting of the plate on edge in this wonderful phenomenon. ↑

18olohe. this is explained and described as meaning a spectral appearance of human figures and of objects animate and inanimate moving about in the firmament. the description given of it almost leads one to think it a mirage or fata morgana. ↑

19kuahiwi haoa, a term applied in kau to a forest-clump which a devastating lava flow has spared, after having laid waste the country on all sides of it. ↑

20hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i, hiiaka of the bounding billow. the number of the sisters in whose names that of hiiaka formed a part was considerable, as may be inferred from the fact that the names here mentioned do not include the whole list of them. ↑

21hiiaka-i-ka-pua-enaena, hiiaka of the burning flower. her emblem was the little budlike pea-blossom flame. this name is sometimes given as hiiaka-i-ka-pua-aneane, a more delicate but less striking epithet. ↑

22hiiaka-noho-lae, hiiaka who dwells on the cape. she was recognized by a trickle of blood on the forehead. ↑

23o ka la ko luna. o ka pahoehoe ko lalo. the sun overhead. the lava below. ↑