Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 58

x.x.xVIII.--THE HULA O-NIU

The so-called hula _o-niu_ is not to be cla.s.sed with the regular dances of the halau. It was rather a popular sport, in which men and women capered about in an informal dance while the players engaged in a compet.i.tive game of top-spinning: The instrument of sport was made from the lower pointed half of an oval coconut sh.e.l.l, or from the corresponding part of a small gourd. The sport was conducted in the presence of a mixed gathering of people amid the enthusiasm and boisterous effervescence which betting always greatly stimulated in Hawaii.

The players were divided into two sides of equal number, and each player had before him a plank, slightly hollowed in the center--like the board on which the Hawaiians pounded their poi--to be used as the bed for spinning his top. The naked hand, unaided by whip or string, was used to impart to the rude top a spinning motion and at the same time the necessary projectile force--a balancing of forces that called for nice adjustment, lest the whirling thing reel too far to one side or run wild and fly its smooth bed. Victory was declared and the wager given to the player whose top spun the longest.

The feature that most interests us is the singing, or cantillation, of the oli. In a dance and game of this sort, which the author's informant witnessed at Kahuku, Oahu, in 1844, one contestant on each side, in turn, cantillated an oli during the performance of the game and the dance.

_Oli_

Ke poha, nei; u'ina la!

Kani ole-olei, hau-walaau!

Ke wawa Pu'u-hina-hina;[495]

Kani ka aka, he-hene na pali, 5 Na pali o Ka-iwi-ku'i.[496]

Hanohano, makana i ka Wai-opua.[497]

Malihini ka hale, ua hiki mai; Kani ka pahu a Lohiau, A Lohiau-ipo[498] i Haena la.

10 Enaena ke aloha, ke hiki mai; [Page 249] Auau i ka wai a Ka.n.a.loa.[499]

Nana kaua ia Lima-hull,[500] e.

E huli oe a loaa pono Ka ia nei o-niu.

[Footnote 495: _Pu'u-hina-hina_. A precipitous place on the coast near Haena.]

[Footnote 496: _Ka-iwi-ku'i_. A high cliff against which the waves dash.]

[Footnote 497: _Wai-opua_. The name of a pleasant breeze.]

[Footnote 498: _Lohiau-ipo_. The epithet _ipo_, sweetheart, dear one, was often affixed to the name of Lohiau, in token, no doubt, of his being distinguished as the object of Pele's pa.s.sionate regard.]

[Footnote 499: _Ka.n.a.loa_. There is a deep basin, of clear water, almost fluorescent in its sparkle, in one of the arched caves of Haena, which is called the water of Ka.n.a.loa--the name of the great G.o.d. This is a favorite bathing place.]

[Footnote 500: Lima-huli. The name of a beautiful valley that lies back of Haena.]

[Translation]

Song

The rustle and hum of spinning top, Wild laughter and babel of sound-- Hear the roar of the waves at Pu'u-hina!

Bursts of derision echoed from cliffs, 5 The cliffs of Ka-iwi-ku'i; And the day is stirred by a breeze.

The house swarms with women and men.

List! the drum-beat of Lohiau, Lohiau, the lover, prince of Haena-- 10 Love glows like an oven at his coming; Then to bathe in the lake of the G.o.d.

Let us look at the vale Lima-huli, look!

Now turn we and study the spinning-- That trick we must catch to be winning.

This fragment from antiquity, as the local coloring indicates, finds its setting at Haena, the home of the famous mythological Prince Lohiau, of whom Pele became enamored in her spirit journey. Study of the mele suggests the occasion to have been the feast that was given in celebration of Lohiau's restoration to life and health through the persevering incantations of Hiiaka, Pele's beloved sister.

The feast was also Lohiau's farewell to his friends at Haena.

At its conclusion Hiiaka started with her charge on the journey which ended with the tragic death of Lohiau at the brink of the volcano. Pele in her jealousy poured out her fire and consumed the man whom she had loved.

[Page 250]

x.x.xIX.--THE HULA KU'I

The account of the Hawaiian hulas would be incomplete if without mention of the hula _ku'i_. This was an invention, or introduction, of the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

Its formal, public, appearance dates from the coronation ceremonies of the late King Kalakaua, 1883, when it filled an important place in the programme. Of the 262 hula performances listed for exhibition, some 30 were of the hula ku'i. This is perhaps the most democratic of the hulas, and from the date' of its introduction it sprang at once into public favor. Not many years ago one could witness its extemporaneous performance by nonprofessionals at many an entertainment and festive gathering. Even the school-children took it up and might frequently be seen innocently footing its measures on the streets. (Pl. XXIV.)

The steps and motions of the hula ku'i to the eyes of the author resemble those of some Spanish dances. The rhythm is in common, or double, time. One observes the following motions:

_Figure A_.--1. A step obliquely forward with the left foot, arms pointing the same way, body inclining to the right. 2.

The ball of the left foot (still advanced) gently pressed on the floor; the heel swings back and forth, describing an arc of some 30 or 40 degrees. 8. The left foot is set firmly in the last position, the body inclining to it as the base of support; the right foot is advanced obliquely, and 4, performs the heel-swinging motions above described, arms pointing obliquely to the right.

_Figure B_.--Hands pressed to the waist, fingers directed forward, thumbs backward, elbows well away from the body; left foot advanced as in figure A, 1, body inclining to the right. 2. The left foot performs the heel-waving motions, as above. 3. Hands in same position, right foot advanced as previously described. 4. The right foot performs the swinging motions previously described--the body inclined to the left.

_Figure C_.--In this figure, while the hands are pressed as before against the waist, with the elbows thrown well away from the body, the performer sways the pelvis and central axis of the trunk in a circular or elliptical orbit, a movement, which, carried to the extreme, is termed ami.

There are other figures and modifications, which the ingenuity and fancy of performers have introduced into this dance; but this account must suffice.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LADY DANCING THE HULA KU'I]

[Page 251]

Given a demand for a _pas seul_, some pleasing dance combining grace with dexterity, a shake of the foot, a twist of the body, and a wave of the hands, the hula ku'i filled the bill to perfection. The very fact that it belonged by name to the genus hula, giving it, as it were, the smack of forbidden fruit, only added to its attractiveness. It became all the rage among dancing folk, attaining such a vogue as almost to cause a panic among the tribunes and censors of society. Even to one who cares nothing for the hula per se, save as it might be a spectacle out of old Hawaii, or a setting for an old-time song, the innocent grace and Delsartian flexibility of this solo dance, which one can not find in its Keltic or African congeners, a.s.sociate it in mind with the joy and light-heartedness of man's Arcadian period.

The instruments generally used in the musical accompaniment of the hula ku'i are the guitar, the _uku-lele_,[501] the taro-patch fiddle,[501] or the mandolin; the piano also lends itself effectively for this purpose; or a combination of these may be used.

The songs that are sung to this dance as a rule belong naturally to later productions of the Hawaiian muse, or to modifications of old poetical compositions. The following mele was originally a namesong (mele-inoa). It was appropriated by the late Princess Kino-iki; and by her it was pa.s.sed on to Kalani-ana-ole, a fact which should not prejudice our appreciation of its beauty.

_Mele_

I aloha i ke ko a ka wai, I ka i mai, e, anu kaua.

Ua anu na pua o ka laina,[502]

Ka wanine noho anu o ke kula.

5 A luna au a o Poli-ahu;[503]

Ahu wale kai a o Wai-lua.

Lua-ole ka hana a ka makani, A ke Kiu-ke'e[504] a o na pall, Pa iho i ke kai a o Puna-- 10 Ko Puna mea ma'a mau ia.

Pau ai ko'u lihi hoihoi I ka wai awili me ke kai.

Ke ono hou nei ku'u pu'u I ka wai hu'ihu'i o ka uka, [Page 252] 15 Wai hone i ke k.u.mu o ka pali, I malu i ka lau kui-kui.[505]

Ke kuhi nei au a he pono Ka ilima lei a ke aloha, Au i kau nui aku ai, 20 I ka nani oi a oia pua.

[Footnote 501: The _uku-lele_ and the _taro-patch fiddle_ are stringed instruments resembling in general appearance the fiddle. They seem to have been introduced into these islands by the Portuguese immigrants who have come in within the last twenty-five years. As with the guitar, the four strings of the uku-lele or the five strings of the taro-patch fiddle are plucked with the finger or thumb.]

[Footnote 502: _Na pua o ka laina_. The intent of this expression, which seems to have an erotic meaning, may perhaps be inferred from its literal rendering in the translation. It requires a tropical imagination to follow a Hawaiian poem.]

[Footnote 503: _Poli-ahu_. A place or region on Mauna-kea.]