CHAPTER I

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OF THE KILU.

A long shed is built with poles standing in rows in the manner of a stockade. It is six yards and over in width, and forty yards in length thatched with cane leaves and pili grass on the outside. The body of the kilu is a regular water-gourd and cut about the middle [lengthwise] of the gourd. It is worked to a good finish and spotted on the outside like a Niihau calabash. The lamp to illuminate the night is made of uki [239] and uwiuwi, [240] certain plants which grow on Hawaii and in other parts of this group.

The time for the performance of the kilu is from the evening until cock-crow. At sunrise it has ceased. Many people attend during its performance, coming from all around, men, women, children, old women and old men. They dress up nicely and then go to the kilu.

Here is the method [of the performance]. Two poles are placed on each side, leaving a vacant space between them, not to be occupied by the people. The poles are of ulei [241] wood, the tops of which are decorated with chicken feathers. The winning of one side over the other is when the kilu strikes the pole. One strike counts five. Upon reaching forty the game is won. When one is beaten he must dance; that is the penalty.

Of the chanting. During the progress of the game the kilu player chants as follows:

Unaffable is the lover of the woods, The eyes looking crossly at the moani. [242] And seeing the flowers, smiles appear; They are leaning towards moeawakea. [243] Methinks that Malio [244] is forgotten, Charmed with the wreath flowers of Hao. [245] Puna is the repository of the winds, Long guarded over by the Puulena, [246] For a beloved one. Greeting.

Then he throws the gourd, and if the shot misses and does not touch the pole, the scorer remarks:

Missed, missed by a wide margin; Kapakapaka, [247] that is not the pole.

In case, however, the gourd strikes the pole the scorer recites:

Hene uha, [248] The edge remains, The edge remains; The day is tumultuous, The day closes sadly. We have five down though.

After this boasting language by the scorer, he calls to the scorer of the other side, “Take.” The other scorer responds: “Take,” (so and so—naming the person) “is coming.” If the gourd falls short without touching the pole, the exclamation would be: “Being afraid of the spirits he excreted suddenly.” [249] If the kilu touches the pole the thrower says: “Bring me back my companion, thou desired coconut of Waima.” [250] That is the gourd that frequently hits the pole until victorious. The scorer then says: “There is one more inning and your fruit will be red in the sun.”

OF THE UME.

The ume. It is an attraction of a man and of a woman. Here is a description of it. A long piece of wood, four yards long, is adorned with chicken feathers. The wood is called hau. The ume is performed after the cessation of the kilu, because the people are still gathered at the time, no one going away. A different officer is in charge. The man who performs the ume is one who has an agreeable voice for chanting. He takes hold of the piece of wood and goes through the assembly, searching for a comely woman and a comely man. When he has found these in his search, he chants:

Red is Kalaeloa [251] with the dust stirred by the wind, Which concentrated at Apuakalamaula. [252] At sight thereof I thought it [was] Kulelua. [253] Kaiolohia [254] beckons that we two return. My companions wept at Kaana, Nearly enamored of the plains of Niniwai. They were my companions at the still haunts of the birds. The harboring bird of the laukona companions Seeing the rod [255] the sleep objects, Mistaking me for a strange man. It is I, from top to bottom. [256]

After chanting, the pole is brought in contact with the man and the woman. Subsequently the man and the woman rise and go to a sleeping place. They remain from evening to daylight. In this entertainment a husband, or a wife, is lost to another. If they love [each other] they join together. In these days it would be marriage. In this the husband is not offended with his wife, neither the wife with her husband. It is merely a matter of enjoyment at the time. Thus this man keeps on his work of ume upon all the persons inside, both men and women.

This is not done, however, to those of homely faces in appearance; only to the good-looking is the ume treated, and to them chants are made:

Proudly passes the sun by Lehua, While the confusion of the gods became calm. The Unulau [257] of Halalii rises, The Koolau [258] carries away a companion, The agile hies down to Lehua, The friends are separated by the wind from below; Their affections, internally hidden, [Are] exposed by the outpouring tears, Discerned through weeping. Such is a child companion.

After this chanting these two retire together.

It is misty above through the clouds, windy is the gap; Vibrating is the lehua, the blossom of the tree; Cleaving the ohia [tree] ripe with age; Black are the rocks; bitten by the deity, [259] Scratched by the central matron [260] of Puna, Consuming the hala, the lehua of Kaunu. She unreasonably hates my name. And assigns the resting place here. Why should she not be burdened? Release the man to enter the rest.

After this chanting then followed some more.

Aflamed is Puna by the goddess, Undeveloped is the ohia of Moeawakea. Looking from the heights of Halaaniani, The black rocks, like waves, are glistening. Sparkling is the sun of Kukalaula, When the wide forest of Maukele is traveled over. Love was immuned, nearly caught by the rest; It had almost arrived When this one passed away. Love passes accompanied by intense regret.

Thus the chanting is continued until daylight, when all go to their respective places.

THE GAME OF PUHENEHENE.

When the kilu and ume [games] are set aside and the kilu shed cleared, then the game of puhenehene [261] is played. Here is an explanation of it: Ten men and ten women [are chosen], ten on one side and ten on the other; they must, however, be alternately men and women, until ten are chosen, and the same on the other side. They sit in two rows of ten each. One covering cloth is provided for ten, and the same for the other side. Then the eyes and bodies are covered with the cloth. In that time the one who held the stone hides it on the person of one of the ten. When the stone is concealed the faces are exposed above the covering, then the other side searches. This is continued until the game is won.

THE SLED.

This is a long piece of hewn board. The large boards are six yards long, and the smaller ones are, some four and some three yards. Two long boards are laid on edge. Holes are made on the sides in the manner as those of a ladder with small sticks between. The width from one board to the other is nine inches. The heads of the boards are turned up like a plow, rubbed over with kukui till they shine and glide easily. The time for sledding is mid-day and afternoon, and the place for sledding is [down] a small steep hill, like the south side of Punchbowl, looking towards Waikiki, and dug up in ridge ways.

The length of a track is one and one half miles; some two miles. The dirt is laid down nicely and the track spread over with grass. When sliding down the track, if a man, he has to fasten up his girdle securely, run back about five fathoms distant, and then run forward and lie down on the sled, sliding down, with his head to the front and eyes looking sharply. If he is not watchful, or his foot touches the ground, he would be thrown off the track, bruising his body with rocks or other things. If a woman is to slide down, she securely ties the loin-cloth around her waist, leaving the body bare, without clothing.

THE RUNNER.

He is a man swift in running, like a horse. Here is an example: Two men run at the same time, and if one beats the other, and this same man continues on and defeats a second man, then he is acknowledged to be a runner. This is what he does: he runs steadily all day until the middle of the night and continues thus until the legs are stretched and supple, then he wagers.

Two runners then race. Properties on both sides are wagered [to] run without ceasing; the priests perform their auguries, with pigs, chickens and red fish. The winning goal is arranged beforehand (as for instance), from the harbor of Kou to the hill of Leahi in distance, that being the winning post. That is where the runners race, with four attendants, two on each side, who are called puhi.

When near the winning post, about fifty fathoms between it and the runners, that place is restricted to the runners only, they racing till they reach the winning post. If one grasps the bottom of the stake and the other the top, then it is even, and no race. But if the stake is reached by one and not by the other, it is won; then the crowd roars, properties go to one side, some being left destitute. A runner is said to be swifter than a horse [and] can circle Oahu in one day.

PAHEE.

A piece of wood is made out of koaie, ulei, o’a, mamane, kauila, or uhiuhi. Some spears are a fathom and a half long, some four and one-half feet (hailima), [262] some a yard, and so on. The tracks where the game is played are roughly formed, some being forty fathoms long, others two times forty fathoms. For a very powerful man a track five times forty fathoms long is necessary. Ten counts are required to win. Goods are all lost. The betting sometimes is continued until the girdle at the waist is lost also, and the loser stands stark naked; then the game ceases.

OLOHU.

A yellow stone, square-hewn, rounded like a shot, but without corners on the edges. A course two times forty fathoms is required to play olohu. [263] The best course, however, is the one at Kohala, Hawaii, called Hinakahua. That is the most noted course to this day.

SWINGING.

A rope eight fathoms long, sometimes ten fathoms and over, is fastened to a coconut tree. It makes a long high swing. [264] At the time of swinging, the person swinging, either man or woman, is decently apparelled. Two persons pull the swing. When the swing has oscillated high the rider chants to make the swinging more enjoyable. The owner of the swing has stipulated that a chant must be sung during the swinging. This is the manner of chanting:

At Kaula, the border of Koolau; Separated is the Koolau, separated is precipitous Hilo, The Hoolua and the Moae arise, The Moae which plows the sea and makes it billowy. The sea is billowy and boisterous by the wind, The billows are tempestuous, the waves being active, Majestically stands the sun reflected through the sea-spray; The sea-spray which mounts the cliffs of Okalakala, The ends of the tempest. The food of life is saved by the wind, The uhu of Hanalailai is caught in the calm. The tree-belted cliffs of Kealakehe kowea Are frowned upon by the breeze, In time breaking the crest thereof.

After this chanting the assembly is quiet, not a murmur being heard, then another chant is sung:

Wounded is Waimea by the piercing wind Which penetrates the path of the Kipuupuu. The bud of the purple ohai is drooping; Jealous and grieved is the flower of the koaie; Pained is the woods of Waika; O Love! Waika loves me as a lover; Like unto a lover is the flower of Koolau; It is the flower in the woods of Mahele. The woods is a place for journeying The wild pili grass has its abode in the forests, Life is but a simple round at Kahua. O Love! Love it was which came to me; Whither has it vanished? O Love! Farewell.

After the swinging and the chanting everybody sits down to a feast, after which they all disperse.

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