Unwritten Literature of Hawaii Part 6

_A Name-Song, a Eulogy_ (for Naihe)

The huge roller, roller that surges from Kona, Makes loin-cloth fit for a lord; Far-reaching swell, my malo streams in the wind; Shape the crescent malo to the loins-- 5 The loin-cloth the sea, cloth for king's girding.

Stand, gird fast the loin-cloth!

[Page 37] Let the sun guide the board Ilalepo, Till Halepo lifts on the swell.

It mounts the swell that rolls from Kahiki, 10 From Wakea's age enrolling.

The roller plumes and ruffles its crest.

Here comes the champion surf-man, While wave-ridden wave beats the island, A fringe of mountain-high waves.

15 Spume lashes the Hiki-an altar--A surf this to ride at noontide.

The coral, horned coral, it sweeps far ash.o.r.e.

We gaze at the surf of Ka-kuhi-hewa.

The surf-board snags, is s.h.i.+vered; 20 Maui splits with a crash, Trembles, dissolves into slime.

Glossy the skua of the surf-man; Undrenched the skin of the expert; 25 Wave-feathers fan the wave-rider.

You've seen the grand surf of Puna, of Hilo.

This spirited song, while not a full description of a surf-riding scene, gives a vivid picture of that n.o.ble sport.

The last nine verses have been omitted, as they add neither to the action nor to the interest.

It seems surprising that the accident spoken of in line 19 should be mentioned; for it is in glaring opposition to the canons that were usually observed in the composition of a _mele-inoa._ In the construction of a, eulogy the Hawaiians were not only punctiliously careful to avoid mention of anything susceptible of sinister interpretation, but they were superst.i.tiously sensitive to any such unintentional happening. As already mentioned (p. 27), they believed that the fate compelling power of a word of ill-omen was inevitable. If it did not result in the death of the one eulogized, retributive justice turned the evil influence back on him who uttered it.

[Page 38]

VI.--THE Pa.s.sWORD--THE SONG OF ADMISSION

There prevailed among the pract.i.tioners of the hula from one end of the group to the other a mutual understanding, amounting almost to a sort of freemasonry, which gave to any member of the guild the right of free entrance at all times to the hall, or halau, where a performance was under way.

Admission was conditioned, however, on the utterance of a pa.s.sword at the door. A s.n.a.t.c.h of song, an oli, denominated _mele kahea,_ or _mele wehe puka,_ was chanted, which, on being recognized by those within, was answered in the same language of hyperbole, and the door was opened.

The verbal accuracy of any mele kahea that may be adduced is at the present day one of the vexed questions among hula authorities, each hula-master being inclined to maintain that the version given by another is incorrect. This remark applies, though in smaller measure, to the whole body of mele, pule, and oli that makes up the songs and liturgy of the hula as well as to the traditions that guided the maestro, or k.u.mu-hula, in the training of his company. The reasons for these differences of opinion and of test, now that there is to be a written text, are explained by the following facts: The devotees and pract.i.tioners of the hula were divided into groups that were separated from one another by wide intervals of sea and land. They belonged quite likely to more than one cult, for indeed there were many G.o.ds and _au-makua_ to whom they sacrificed and offered prayers. The pa.s.swords adopted by one generation or by the group of pract.i.tioners on one island might suffer verbal changes in transmission to a later generation or to a remote island.

Again, it should be remembered that the entire body of material forming the repertory of the hula--pule, mele, and oli--was intrusted to the keeping of the memory, without the aid of letters or, so far as known, of any mnemonic device; and the human mind, even under the most athletic discipline, is at best an imperfect conservator of literary form. The result was what might be expected: as the imagination and emotions of the minstrel warmed under the inspiration of his trust, glosses and amendments crept in. These, however, caused but slight variations in the text. The substance remains substantially the same.

After carefully weighing the matter, the author can not avoid the conclusion that jealousy had much to do with the slight differences now manifest, that one version is as [Page 39] authoritative as another, and that it would be well for each k.u.mu-hula to have kept in mind the wise adage that s.h.i.+nes among the sayings of his nation: _Aohe pau ka ike i kau halau _[56]--" Think not that all of wisdom resides in your halau."[57]

[Footnote 56: Sophocles (Antigone, 705) had said the same thing:[Greek: me nun en ethos pounon en sauto ph.o.r.ei os phes su, kouden allo, tout' orphos echein]--"Don't get this idea fixed in your head, that what you say, and nothing else, is right."]

[Footnote 57: _Hatoa._ As previously explained, in this connection _halau_ has a meaning similar to our word "school," or "academy," a place where some art was taught, as wrestling, boxing, or the hula.]

_Mele Kahea_

Li'u-li'u aloha ia'u, Ka uka o Kohola-lele, Ka nahele mauka o Ka-papala [58] la.

Komo, e komo aku hoi an maloko.

5 Mai ho'ohewahewa mai oe ia'u; oau no ia, Ke ka-nae-nae a ka mea hele, He leo, e-e, A he leo wale no, e-e!

Eia ka pu'u nui owaho nei la, 10 He ua, lie ino, he anu, he ko'e-ko'e.

E ku'u aloha, e, Maloko aku au.

[Translation.]

_Pa.s.sword_

Long, long have I tarried with love In the uplands of Kohola-lele, The wildwood above Ka-papala.

To enter, permit me to enter, I pray; 5 Refuse me not recognition; I am he, A traveler offering mead of praise, Just a voice, Only a human voice.

Oh, what I suffer out here, 10 Rain, storm, cold, and wet.

O sweetheart of mine, Let me come in to you.

[Footnote 58: _Ka-popala._ A verdant region on the southeastern flank of Mauua-Loa.]

Hear now the answer chanted by voices from within:

_Mele Komo_

Aloha na hale o makou i maka-maka ole, Ke alanui hele mauka o Pu'u-kahea la, e-e!

Ka-he-a!

E Kahea aku ka pono e komo mai oe iloko nei.

Eia ka pu'u nui o waho nei, he anu.

[Page 40]

[Translation]

_Song of Welcome_

What love to our cottage-homes, now vacant, As one climbs the mount of Entreaty!

We call, We voice the welcome, invite you to enter.

The hill of Affliction out there is the cold.

Another fragment that was sometimes used as a pa.s.sword is the following bit of song taken from the story of Hiiaka, sister of Pele. She is journeying with the beautiful Hopoe to feteh prince Lohiau to the court of Pele. They have come by a steep and narrow path to the brink of the Wai-lua river, Kauai, at this point spanned by a single plank. But the bridge is gone, removed by an ill-tempered naiad (witch) said to have come from Kahiki, whose name, Wai-lua, is the same as that of the stream. Hiiaka calls out, demanding that the plank be restored to its place. Wai-lua does not recognize the deity in Hiiaka and, sullen, makes no response. At this the G.o.ddess puts forth her strength, and Wai-lua, stripped of her power and reduced to her true station, that of a _mo'o,_ a reptile, seeks refuge in the caverns beneath the river. Hiiaka betters the condition of the crossing by sowing it with stepping stones. The stones remain in evidence to this day.

_Mele Kahea_

Kunihi ka mauna i ka la'i e, O Wai-ale-ale[59] la i Wai-lua, Huki a'e la i ka lani Ka papa au-wai o ka Wai-kini; 5 Alai ia a'e la e Nou-nou, Nalo ka Ipu-ha'a, Ka laula mauka o Kapa'a, e!

Mai pa'a i ka leo!

He ole ka hea mai, e!

[Translation]

Pa.s.sword--Song

Steep stands the mountain in calm, Profile of Wai-ale-ale at Wai-lua.

Gone the stream-spanning plank of Wai-kini, Filched away by Nou-nou; 5 Shut off the view of the hill Ipu-ha'a, And the upland expanse of Ka-pa'a.

Give voice and make answer.

Dead silence--no voice in reply.