The Story of Hawaii (Illustrated Edition). Fowke Gerard

Kiha-nui a Piilani. Son of Piilani, a king of Maui. He is credited with the formidable engineering work of making a paved road over the mountain palis of Koolau, Maui.

²²³ Kauhi kalana-honu'-a-Kama. This Kauhi, as his long title indicates, was the son of the famous king, Kama-lala-walu, and succeeded his father in the kingship over Maui and, probably, Lanai. Kama-lala-walu had a long and prosperous reign, which ended, however, in disaster. Acting on the erroneous reports of his son Kauhi, whom he had sent to spy out the land, he invaded the kingdom of Lono-i-ka-makahiki on Hawaii, was wounded and defeated in battle, taken prisoner, and offered up as a sacrifice on the altar of Lono's god, preferring that death, it is said, to the ignominy of release.

²²⁴ I-olena. Roving, shifty, lustful.

²²⁵ Kanaka hoali mauna. Man who moved mountains; an epithet of compliment applied perhaps to Kiha, above mentioned, or to the king mentioned in the next verse, Kekaulike.

²²⁶ Ku'i hono i ka moku. Who bound together into one (state) the islands Maui, Molokai, Lanai, and Kahoolawe. This was, it is said, Kekaulike, the fifth king of Maui after Kama-lala-walu. At his death he was succeeded by Kamehameha-nui--to be distinguished from the Kamehameha of Hawaii--and he in turn by the famous warrior-king Kahekili, who routed the invading army of Kalaniopuu, king of Hawaii, on the sand plains of Wailuku.

²²⁷ I waihona kapuahi kanaka ehá. This verse presents grammatical difficulties. The word I implies the imperative, a form of request or demand, though that is probably not the intent. It seems to be a means, authorized by poetical license, of ascribing honor and tabu-glory to the name of the person eulogized, who, the context leads the author to think, was Kekaulike. The island names other than that of Maui seem to have been thrown in for poetical effect, as that king, in the opinion of the author, had no power over Kauai, Oahu, or Hawaii. The purpose may have been to assert that his glory reached to those islands.

²²⁸ Keawe enaena. Keawe, whose tabu was hot as a burning oven. Presumably Keawe, the son of Umi, is the one meant.

²²⁹ Naulu. The sea-breeze at Waimea, Kauai.

²³⁰ Hala-lii. A sandy plain on Niihau, where grows a variety of sugar-cane that lies largely covered by the loose soil, ke ko eli o Hala-lii.

²³¹ Li'u-la. The mirage, a common phenomenon on Niihau, and especially at Mana, on Kauai.

²³² Laiea-kua. A wind in Kalalau that blows for a time from the mountains and then, it is said, veers to the north, so that it comes from the direction of a secondary valley, Kolo-kini, a branch of Kalalau. The bard describes it as continuing to blow for twelve nights before It shifts, an instance, probably, of poetic license.

²³³ Ko'a-mano. A part of the ocean into which the stream Wai-aloha falls.

²³⁴ Waha iho. With mouth that yawns downward, referring, doubtless, to the overarching of the pali, precipice. The same figure is applied to the back (kua) of the traveler who climbs it.

²³⁵ Elision of the final a in ana.

      XII.--THE HULA PAHU

       Table of Contents

The hula pahu was so named from the pahu,²³⁶ or drum, that was its chief instrument of musical accompaniment (pl. x).

      It is not often that the story of an institution can be so closely fitted to the landmarks of history as in the case of this hula; and this comes about through our knowledge of the history of the pahu itself. Tradition, direct and reliable, informs us that the credit of introducing the big drum belongs to La'a. This chief flourished between five and six centuries ago, and from having spent most of his life in the lands to the south, which the ancient Hawaiians called Kahiki, was himself generally styled La'a-mai-Kahiki (La'a-from-Kahiki). The young man was of a volatile disposition, given to pleasure, and it is evident that the big drum he brought with him to Hawaii on one of his voyages from Kahiki was in his eyes by no means the least important piece of baggage that freighted his canoes. On nearing the land he waked the echoes with the stirring tones of his drum, which so astonished the people that they followed him from point to point along the coast and heaped favors upon him whenever he came ashore.

      La'a was an enthusiastic patron of the hula and is said to have made a tour of the islands, in which he instructed the natives in new forms of this seductive pastime, one of which was the hula ka-eke.

      There is reason to believe, it seems, that the original use of the pahu was in connection with the services of the temple, and that its adaptation to the halau was simply a transference from one to another religious use.

      The hula pahu was preeminently a performance of formal and dignified character, not such as would be extemporized for the amusement of an irreverent company. Like all the formal hulas, it was tabu, by which the Hawaiians meant that it was a religious service, or so closely associated with the notion of worship as to make it an irreverence to trifle with it. For this reason as well as for its intrinsic dignity its performance was reserved for the most distinguished guests and the most notable occasions.

      Both classes of actors took part in the performance of the hula pahu, the olapa contributing the mele as they stood and went through the motions of the dance, while the hoopaa maintained the kneeling position and operated the big drum with the left hand. While his left hand was thus engaged, the musician with a thong held in his right hand struck a tiny drum, the pu-niu, that was conveniently strapped to the thigh of the same side. As its name signifies, the pu-niu was made from coconut shell, being headed with fish-skin.

      The harmonious and rhythmic timing of these two instruments called for strict attention on the part of the performer. The pahu, having a tone of lower pitch and greater volume than the other, was naturally sounded at longer intervals, while the pu-niu delivered its sharp crisp tones in closer order.

       Mele

      (Ko'i-honua)

      O Hilo oe, Hilo, muliwai a ka ua i ka lani,

      I hana ia Hilo, ko-í ana e ka ua.

      E haló ko Hilo ma i-o, i-anei;

      Lenalena Hilo e, panopano i ka ua.

      Ua lono Pili-keko o Hilo i ka wai;

      O-kakala ka hulu o Hilo i ke anu;

      Ua ku o ka paka a ka ua i ke one;

      Ua moe oni ole Hilo i-luna ke alo;

      Ua hana ka uluna lehu o Hana-kahi.

      Haule ka onohi Hilo o ka ua i ke one;

      Loku kapa ka hi-hilo kai o Pai-kaka.