The Story of Hawaii: History, Customs, Mythology, Geography & Archaeology. Fowke Gerard

      Kahiki-nui, land of wind-driven smoke!

      Mine eyes gaze with longing on Kona;

      A fire-wreath glows aback of the district,

      And a robe of wonderful green

      Lies the sea that has aproned my loins

      Off the point of Hana-malo.

      A dark burnished form is Hawaii,

      To one who stands on the mount--

      A hamper swung down from heaven,

      A beautiful carven shape is the island--

      Thy mountains, thy splendor of herbage:

      Mauna-kea and Loa stand (in glory) apart,

      To him who looks from Maile-hahéi;

      And Kilohana pillows for rest

      On the shoulder of Hu'e-hu'e.

      This love-song--mele hoipoipo--which would be the despair of a strict literalist--what is it all about? A lover in Kahiki-nui--of the softer sex, it would appear-- looks across the wind-swept channel and sends her thoughts lovingly, yearningly, over to Kona of Hawaii, which district she personifies as her lover. The mountains and plains, valleys and capes of its landscapes, are to her the parts and features of her beloved. Even in the ocean that flows between her and him, and which has often covered her nakedness as with a robe, she finds a link in the chain of association.

²⁵⁷ Auwahi (a word not found in any dictionary) is said by a scholarly Hawaiian to be an archaic form of the word uwahi, or uahi (milk of fire), smoke, Kahiki-nui is a dry region and the wind (makani) often fills the air with dust.

²⁵⁸ Kua lei ahi. No Hawaiian has been found who professes to know the true meaning of these words. The translation of them here given is, therefore, purely formal.

²⁵⁹ Pa-ú halaká. An expression sometimes applied to the hand when used as a shield to one's modesty; here it is said of the ocean (kai) when one's hody is immersed in it.

²⁶⁰ Hana-maló. A cape that lies between Kawaihae and Kailua in north Kona.

²⁶¹ Ewa lewá. In this reading the author has followed the authoritative suggestion of a Hawaiian expert, substituting it for that first given by another, which was elewa. The latter was without discoverable meaning. Even as now, given conjectures as to its meaning are at variance. The one followed presents the less difficulty.

²⁶² Palamoa. The name of a virulent kupua that acted as errand-carrier and agent for sorcerers (kahuna ánaaná); also the name of a beautiful grass found on Hawaii that has a pretty red seed. Following the line of least resistance, the latter meaning has been adopted; in it is found a generic expression for the leafy covering of the island.

²⁶³ Mauna-kea and Mauna-loa. The two well-known mountains of the big island of Hawaii.

²⁶⁴ Maile-hahei. Said to be a hill in Kona.

²⁶⁵ Kilohana and Hu'e-hu'e. The names of two hills in Kona, Hawaii.

      XVIII.--AN INTERMISSION

       Table of Contents

      During the performance of a hula the halau and all the people there assembled are under a tabu, the imposition of which was accomplished by the opening prayer that had been offered before the altar. This was a serious matter and laid everyone present under the most formal obligations to commit no breach of divine etiquette; it even forbade the most innocent remarks and expressions of emotion. But when the performers, wearied of the strait-jacket, determined to unbend and indulge in social amenities, to lounge, gossip, and sing informal songs, to quaff a social bowl of awa, or to indulge in an informal dance, they secured the opportunity for this interlude, by suspending the tabu. This was accomplished by the utterance of a pule hoo-noa, a tabu-lifting prayer. If the entire force of the tabu was not thus removed, it was at least so greatly mitigated that the ordinary conversations of life might be carried on without offense. The pule was uttered by the kumu or some person who represented the whole-company:

       Pule Hoo-noa

Lehua²⁶⁶] i-luna,

      Lehua i-lalo,

      A wawae,

A Ka-ulua,²⁶⁷

A o Haumea,²⁶⁸

Kou makua-kane,²⁶⁹

Manu o Kaáe;²⁷⁰

      A-koa-koa,

O Pe-kau,²⁷¹

O Pe-ka-nana,²⁷²

      Papa pau.

      Pau a'e iluna;

      O Ku-mauna,

      A me Laka,

      A me Ku.

      Ku i ka wao,

      A me Hina,

      Huna mele-lani.

      A ua pau;

      Pau kakou;

      A ua noa;

      Noa ke kahua;

      Noa!

      [Translation]

       Power to Remove Tabu

      Bloom of lehua on altar piled,

      Bloom of lehua below,

      Bloom of lehua at altar's base,

      In the month Ka-ulua.

      Present here is Haumea,

      And the father of thee,

      And the goddess of eloquent speech;

      Gather, now gather,

      Ye ranks of gods,

      And ye ranks of men,

      Complete in array.

      The heavenly service is done,

      Service of Ku of the mount,

      Service of Laka,

      And the great god Ku,

      Ku