a'e la ka makahiapo o ka pali;
A a'e, a a'e, a'e170 la iluna
Kaholo-kua-iwa, ka pali o Ha'i.171
Ha'i a'e la ka pali;
Ha-nu'u ka pali;
Hala e Malu-ó;
Hala a'e la Ka-maha-la'a-wili,
Ke kaupoku hale a ka ua.
Me he mea i uwae'na a'e la ka pali;
Me he hale pi'o ka lei na ka manawa o ka pali Halehale-o-ú;
Me he aho i hilo 'a la ka wai o Wai-hi-lau;
Me he uahi pulehu-manu la ke kai o ka auwala hula ana.
Au ana Maka'u-kiu172 iloko o ke kai;
Pohaku lele173 o Lau-nui, Lau-pahoehoe.
Ka eku'na a ke kai i ka ala o Ka-wai-kapu--
Eku ana, me he pua'a la, ka lae Makani-lele,
Koho-lá-lele.
[Translation]
CANTO III
(Bombastic style)
Haunt of white tropic-bird and big ruffled owl,
Up rises the firstborn child of the pali.
He climbs, he climbs, he climbs up aloft,
Kaholo-ku'-iwa, the pali of Ha'i.
Accomplished now is the steep,
The ladder-like series of steps.
Malu-ó is left far below.
Passed is Ka-maha-la'-wili,
The very ridge-pole of the rain--
It's as if the peak cut it in twain--
An arched roof the peak's crest Hale-hale-o-ú.
A twisted cord hangs the brook Wai-hilau;
Like smoke from roasting bird Ocean's wild dance;
The shark-god is swimming the sea;
The rocks leap down at Big-leaf[174] and Flat-leaf--174
See the ocean charge 'gainst the cliffs,
Thrust snout like rooting boar against Windy-cape,
Against Koholá-lele.
MAHELE IV
Hole175 Waimea i ka ihe a ka makani,
Hao mai na ale a ke Ki-pu'u-pu'u;176
He laau kala-ihi ia na ke anu,
I o'o i ka nahele o Mahiki.177
Ku aku la oe i ka Malanai178 a ke Ki-puu-puu;
Nolu ka maka o ka oha-wai179 o Uli;
Niniau, eha ka pua o Koaie,180
Eha i ke anu ka nahele o Wai-ka-é,
A he aloha, e!
Aloha Wai-ká, ia'u me he ipo la;
Me he ipo la ka maka lena o ke Koo-lau,181
Ka pua i ka nahele o Mahule-i-a,
E lei hele i ke alo o Moo-lau.182
E lau ka huaka'i-hele i ka pali loa;
Hele hihiu, puli183 noho i ka nahele.
O ku'u noho wale iho no i kahua, e-e.
A he aloha, e-e!
O kou aloha ka i hiki mai i o'u nei.
Mahea la ia i nalo iho nei?
This mele, Hole Waimea, is also sung in connection with the hula ipu.
The song above given, the translation of which is to follow, belongs to historic times, being ascribed to King Liholiho--Kamehameha II--who died in London July 13, 1824, on his visit to England. It attained great vogue and still holds its popularity with the Hawaiians. The reader will note the comparative effeminacy and sentimentality of the style and the frequent use of euphemisms and double-entendre. The double meaning in a Hawaiian mele will not always be evident to one whose acquaintance with the language is not intimate. To one who comes to it from excursions in Anglo-Saxon poetry, wandering through its "meadows trim with daisies pied," the sly intent of the Hawaiian, even when pointed out, will, no doubt, seem an inconsequential thing and the demonstration of it an impertinence, if not a fiction to the imagination. Its euphemisms in reality have no baser intent than the euphuisms of Lyly, Ben Jonson, or Shakespeare.
Song--Hole Waimea PART IV
Love tousled Waimea with, shafts of the wind,
While Kipuupuu puffed jealous gusts.
Love is a tree that blights in the cold,
But thrives in the woods of Mahiki.
Smitten art thou with the blows of love;
Luscious the water-drip in the wilds;
Wearied and bruised is the flower of Koaie;
Stung by the frost the herbage of Wai-ka-é:
And this--it is love.
Wai-ká, loves me like a sweetheart.
Dear as my heart Koolau's yellow eye,
My flower in the tangled wood, Hule-í-a,
A travel-wreath to lay on love's breast,
A shade to cover my journey's long climb.
Love-touched, distraught, mine a wilderness-home;
But still do I cherish the old spot,
For love--it is love.
Your love visits me even here:
Where has it been hiding till now?
PAUKU 2
Kau ka ha-é-a, kau o ka hana wa ele,
Ke ala-ula ka makani,
Kulu a e ka ua i kou wabi moe.
Palepale i na auwai o lalo;
Eli mawaho o ka hale o Koolau, e.
E lau Koolau, he aina ko'e-ko'e;
Maka'u i ke anu ka uka o ka Lahuloa.
Loa ia mea, na'u i waiho aku ai.
[Translation]
STANZA 2
A mackerel sky, time for foul weather;
The