Part 4

_Altar-Prayer_

Laka sits in her shady grove, Stands on her terrace, at Mo’o-helaia; Like the tree of God Ku on Mauna-loa. Kaulana-ula trills in my ear; 5 A whispered suggestion to me, Lo, an offering, a payment, A eulogy give I to thee. O Laka, incline to me! Have compassion, let it be well— 10 Well with me, well with us both.

There is no stint of prayer-song. While the offering rests on the kuahu, the joyful service continues:

_Mele Kuahu_

E Laka, e! Pupu we’uwe’u e, Laka e! E Laka i ka leo; E laka i ka loaa; 5 E Laka i ka waiwai; E Laka i na mea a pau!

[Translation.]

_Altar-Prayer_

O goddess Laka! O wildwood bouquet, O Laka! O Laka, queen of the voice! O Laka, giver of gifts! 5 O Laka, giver of bounty! O Laka, giver of all things!

At the conclusion of this loving service of worship and song each member of the troupe removes from his head and neck the wreaths that had bedecked him, and with them crowns the image of the goddess until her altar is heaped with the offerings.

Now comes the pith of the ceremony: the novitiates sit down to the feast of ai-lolo, theirs the place of honor, at the head of the table, next the kuahu. The _ho’o-pa’a_, acting as carver, selects the typical parts—snout, ear-tips, tail, feet, portions of the vital organs, especially the brain (_lolo_). This last it is which gives name to the ceremony. He sets an equal portion before each novitiate. Each one must eat all that is set before him. It is a mystical rite, a sacrament; as he eats he consciously partakes of the virtue of the goddess that is transmitted to himself. [Page 35] Meantime the _olohe_ and friends of the novitiates, inspired with the proper enthusiasm, of the occasion, lift their voices in joyful cantillations in honor of the goddess, accompanied with the clapping of hands.

The ceremony now reaches a new stage. The kumu lifts the tabu by uttering a prayer—always a song—and declares the place and the feast free, and the whole assembly sit down to enjoy the bounty that is spread up and down the halau. On this occasion men and women may eat in common. The only articles excluded from this feast are _luau_—a food much like spinach, made by cooking the young and delicate taro leaf—and the drupe of the _hala_, the pandanus (pl. xviii).

The company sit down to eat and to drink; presently they rise to dance and sing. The kumu leads in a tabu-lifting, freedom-giving song and the ceremony of ai-lolo is over. The pupils have been graduated from the school of the halau; they are now members of the great guild of hula dancers. The time has come for them to make their bow to the waiting public outside, to bid for the favor of the world. This is to be their “little go;” they will spread their wings for a greater flight on the morrow.

The kumu with his big drum, and the musicians, the ho’o-pa’a, pass through the door and take their places outside in the lanai, where sit the waiting multitude. At the tap of the drum the group of waiting olapa plume themselves like fine birds eager to show their feathers; and, as they pass out the halau door and present themselves to the breathless audience, into every pose and motion of their gliding, swaying figures they pour a full tide of emotion in studied and unstudied effort to captivate the public.

DÉBUT OF A HULA DANCER

The occasion is that of a lifetime; it is their _uniki_, their debut. The song chosen must rise to the dignity of the occasion. Let us listen to the song that enthralls the audience seated in the rushstrown lanai, that we may judge of its worthiness.

_He Mele-Inoa (no Naihe)_[38]

Ka nalu nui, a ku ka nalu mai Kona, Ka malo a ka mahiehie,[39] Ka onaulu-loa,[40] a lele ka’u malo. [Page 36] O kakai[41] malo hoaka,[42] 5 O ka malo kai,[43] malo o ke alii E ku, e hume a paa i ka malo.

E ka’ika’i [44] ka la i ka papa o Halepó;[45] A pae o Halepó i ka nalu. Ho-e’e i ka nalu mai Kahiki;[46] 10 He nalu Wakea,[47] nalu ho’ohua.[48] Haki opu’u [49] ka nalu, haki kua-pa.[50]

Ea mai ka makakai [51] he’e-nalu, Kai he’e kakala [52] o ka moku, Kai-ká o ka nalu nui, 15 Ka hu’a o ka nalu o Hiki-au.[53] Kai he’e-nalu i ke awakea.

Ku ka puna, ke ko’a i-uka. Ka makahá o ka nalu o Kuhihewa.[54] Ua o ia,[55] nohá ka papa! 20 Noná Maui, nauweuwe, Nauweuwe, nakelekele.

Nakele ka ili o ka i he’e-kai. Lalilali ole ka ili o ke akamai; Kahilihili ke kai a ka he’e-nalu. 25 Ike’a ka nalu nui o Puna, o Hilo.

[Footnote 38: Naihe. A man of strong character, but not a high chief. He was horn in Kona and resided at Napoopoo. His mother was Ululani, his father Keawe-a-heulu, who was a celebrated general and strategist under Kamehameha I.]

[Footnote 39: Mahiehie. A term conferring dignity and distinction.]

[Footnote 40: Onaulu-loa. A roller of great length and endurance, one that reaches the shore, in contrast to a _kakala_.]

[Footnote 41: _Kalai._ An archaic word meaning forty.]

[Footnote 42: _Hoaka._ A crescent; the name of the second day of the month. The allusion is to the curve (downward) of a large number (kakai) of malo when hung on a line, the usual way of keeping such articles.]

[Footnote 43: _Malo kai._ The ocean is sometimes poetically termed the _malo_ or _pa-á_ of the naked swimmer, or bather. It covers his nakedness.]

[Footnote 44: _Ka’ika’i._ To lead or to carry; a tropical use of the word. The sun is described as leading the board.]

[Footnote 45: _Hale-pó._ In the opinion of the author it is the name of the board. A skilled Hawaiian says it is the name given the surf of a place at Napoopoo, in Kona, Hawaii. The action is not located there, but in Puna, it seems to the author.]

[Footnote 46: _Kahiki._ Tahiti, or any foreign country; a term of grandiloquence.]

[Footnote 47: _Wakea._ A mythical name, coming early in Hawaiian genealogies; here used in exaggeration to show the age of the roller.]

[Footnote 48: _Ho’ohua._ Applied to a roller, one that rolls on and swells higher.]

[Footnote 49: _Opu’u._ Said of a roller that completes its run to shore.]

[Footnote 50: _Kua-pá._ Said of a roller as above that dies at the shore.]

[Footnote 51: _Maka-kai._ The springing-up of the surf after an interval of quiet.]

[Footnote 52: _Kakála._ Rough, heaped up, one wave overriding another, a chop sea.]

[Footnote 53: _Hiki-au._ Said to be the name of a temple.]

[Footnote 54: _Kuhihewa._ Full name _Ka-kuhi-hewa_, a distinguished king of Oahu.]

[Footnote 55: _O iu._ Meaning that the board dug its nose into the reef or sand.]

[Translation.]

_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 Halepó, Till Halepó 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 ashore. We gaze at the surf of Ka-kuhi-hewa. The surf-board snags, is shivered; 20 Maui splits with a crash, Trembles, dissolves into slime.

Glossy the skin 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 noble 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 superstitiously 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 PASSWORD—THE SONG OF ADMISSION

There prevailed among the practitioners 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 password at the door. A snatch 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 kumu-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 practitioners 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 gods and _au-makua_ to whom they sacrificed and offered prayers. The passwords adopted by one generation or by the group of practitioners 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 kumu-hula to have kept in mind the wise adage that shines among the sayings of his nation: _Aohe pau ka ike i kau halau _[56]—“Think not that all of wisdom resides in you halau.”[57]

[Footnote 56: Sophocles (Antigone, 705) had said the same thing:[Greek: me nun en ethos pounon en sautô phorei ôs phes su, kouden allo, tout’ orphôs echein]—“Don’t get this idea fixed in your head, that what you say, and nothing else, is right.”]

[Footnote 57: _Halau._ 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 Koholá-lele, Ka nahele mauka o Ka-papala [58] la. Komo, e komo aku hoi au 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.]

_Password_

Long, long have I tarried with love In the uplands of Koholá-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-papala._ A verdant region on the southeastern flank of Mauna-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 password is the following bit of song taken from the story of Hiiaka, sister of Pele. She is journeying with the beautiful Hopoe to fetch 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 goddess 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.]

Password—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.

In later, in historic times, this visitor, whom we have kept long waiting at the door, might have voiced his appeal in the passionate words of this comparatively modern song:

[Footnote 59: _Wai-ale-ale_ (Leaping-water). The central mountain-mass of Kauai.] [Page 41]

_Mele Kahea_[60]

Ka uka holo-kia ahi-manu o La’a,[61] I po-ele i ka uahi, noe ka nahele, Nohe-nohea i ka makani luhau-pua. He pua oni ke kanaka— 5 He mea laha ole la oe. Mai kaua e hea nei; E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko, E hanai ai a hewa[62] ka wa’ha. Eia no ka uku la, o ka wa’a.[63]

Translation]

_Password—Song_

In the uplands, the darting flame-bird of La’a, While smoke and mist blur the woodland, Is keen for the breath of frost-bitten flowers. A fickle flower is man— 5 A trick this not native to you. Come thou with her who is calling to thee; A call to the man to come in And eat till the mouth is awry. Lo, this the reward—the canoe.

[Footnote 60: This utterance of passion is said to have been, the composition of the Princess-Kamamalu, as an address to Prince William Lunalilo, to whom she was at one time affianced and would have married, but that King Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) would not allow the marriage. Thereby hangs a tragedy.]

[Footnote 61: _La’a_. The region in Hawaii now known as Ola’a was originally called La’a. The particle _o_ has become fused with the word.]

[Footnote 62: _Hewa ka waha_. This expression, here tortured into “(till) the mouth awry,” is difficult of translation. A skilled Hawaiian scholar suggests, it may mean to change one from, an enemy to a friend by stopping his mouth with food.]

[Footnote 63: _Wa’a_. Literally a canoe. This is a euphemism for the human body, a gift often too freely granted. It will be noted that in the answering mele komo, the song of admission, the reward promised is more modestly measured—“Simply the voice.”]

The answer to this appeal for admission was in these words:

_Mele Komo_

E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko, E hanai ai a hewa waha; Eia no ka uku la, o ka leo, A he leo wale no, e!

[Translation.]

Welcoming-Song

Call to the man to come in, And eat till the mouth is estopt; And this the reward, the voice, Simply the voice.

The cantillation of the _mele komo_: in answer to the visitor’s petition, meant not only the opening to him of the halau door, but also his welcome to the life of the halau as a heart-guest of honor, trebly welcome as the bringer of fresh tidings from the outside world. [Page 42]

VII.—WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF THE HALAU

The first duty of a visitor on being admitted to the halau while the tabu was on—that is, during the conduct of a regular hula—was to do reverence at the kuahu. The obligations of religion took precedence of all social etiquette. He reverently approaches the altar, to which all eyes are turned, and with outstretched hands pours out a supplication that breathes the aroma of ancient prayer:

_Pule Kuahu_ (no Laka)

O Laka oe, O ke akua i ke a’a-lii[64] nui. E Laka mai uka! E Laka mai kai! 5 O hoo-ulu[65] o Lono, O ka ilio nana e haehae ke aha, O ka ie-ie ku i ka wao, O ka maile hihi i ka nahele, O ka lau ki-ele[66] ula o ke akua, 10 O na ku’i[67] o Hauoli, O Ha’i-ka-malama,[68] Wahine o Kina’u.[69] Kapo ula[70] o Kina’u. O Laka oe, 15 O ke akua i ke kuahu nei la, e! E ho’i, e ho’i a nolao i kou kuahu. Hoo-ulu ia!

[Footnote 64: _A’a-lii_. A deep-rooted tree, sacred to Laka or to Kapo.]

[Footnote 65: Hoo-ulu. Literally to make grow; secondarily, to inspire, to prosper, to bring good luck. This is the meaning most in mind in modern times, since the hula has become a commercial venture.]

[Footnote 66: _Ki-ele_. A flowering plant native to the Hawaiian woods, also cultivated, sacred to Laka, and perhaps to Kapo. The leaves are said to be pointed and curved like the beak of the bird _i-iwi_, and the flower has the gorgeous yellow-red color of that bird.]

[Footnote 67: It has been proposed to amend this verse by substituting _akua_, for _ku’i_, thus making the idea the gods of the hula.]

[Footnote 68: _Haí-ka-malama_. An epithet applied to Laka.]

[Footnote 69: _Kina’u_. Said to mean Hiiaka, the sister of Pele.]

[Footnote 70: _Kapo ula_. Red, _ula_, was the favorite color of Kapo. The _kahuna anaana_, high priests of sorcery, of the black art, and of murder, to whom Kapo was at times procuress, made themselves known as such by the display of a red flag and the wearing of a red malo.]

[Translation.]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

Thou art Laka, God of the deep-rooted a’a-lii. O Laka from the mountains, O Laka from the ocean! [Page 43] 5 Let Lono bless the service, Shutting the mouth of the dog, That breaks the charm with his barking. Bring the i-e that grows in the wilds, The maile that twines in the thicket, 10 Red-beaked kiele, leaf of the goddess, The joyous pulse of the dance In honor of Ha’i-ka-malama, Friend of Kina’u, Red-robed friend of Kina’u. 15 Thou art Laka, God of this altar here. Return, return and reside at your altar! Bring it good luck!

A single prayer may not suffice as the offering at Laka’s altar. His repertory is full; the visitor begins anew, this time on a different tack:

_Pule Kuahu_ (no Laka)

Eia ke kuko, ka li’a; I ka manawa he hiamoe ko’u, Hoala ana oe, O oe o Halau-lani, 5 O Hoa-lani, O Puoho-lani, Me he manu e hea ana i ka maha lehua Ku moho kiekie la i-uka. I-uka ho’i au me Laka 10 A Lea,[71] a Wahie-loa,[72], i ka nahelehele; He hoa kaana ia no’u, No kela kuahiwi, kualono hoi. E Laka, e Laka, e! E maliu mai! 15 A maliu mai oe pono au, A a’e mai oe pono au!

[Translation.]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

This my wish, my burning desire, That in the season of slumber Thy spirit my soul may inspire, Altar-dweller, 5 Heaven-guest, Soul-awakener, Bird from covert calling, Where forest champions stand. There roamed I too with Laka, [Page 44] 10 Of Lea and Loa a wilderness-child; On ridge, in forest boon companion she To the heart that throbbed in me. O Laka, O Laka, Hark to my call! 15 You approach, it is well; You possess me, I am blest!

[Footnote 71: _Lea_. The same as Laia, or probably Haumea.]

[Footnote 72: _Wahie loa_. This must be a mistake. Laka the son of Wahie-loa was a great voyager. His canoe (_kau-méli-éli_) was built for him by the gods. In it he sailed to the South to rescue his father’s bones from the witch who had murdered him. This Laka had his home at Kipahulu, Maui, and is not to be confounded with Laka, goddess of the hula.]

In the translation of this pule the author has found it necessary to depart from the verse arrangement that obtains in the Hawaiian text.

The religious services of the halau, though inspired by one motive, were not tied to a single ritual or to one set of prayers. Prayer marked the beginning and the ending of every play—that is, of every dance—and of every important event in the programme of the halau; but there were many prayers from which the priest might select. After the prayer specially addressed to Laka the visitor might use a petition of more general scope. Such is the one now to be given:

He Pule Kuahu (ia Kane ame Kapo); _a he Pule Hoolei_