the ípu (pl. vii), with which each one was provided. The proper handling of this drumlike instrument in concert with the cantillation of the mele made such demands upon the artist, who was both singer and instrumentalist, that only persons of the most approved skill and experience were chosen to take part in the performance of this hula.
The manner of treating the ípu in this hula differed somewhat from that employed in the ala'a-papa, being subdued and quiet in that, whereas in the pa-ípu it was at times marked with great vigor and demonstrativeness, so that in moments of excitement and for the expression of passion, fierce joy, or grief the ípu might be lifted on high and wildly brandished. It thus made good its title as the most important instrument of the Hawaiian orchestra.
In the pa-ípu, as in the hulas generally, while the actors were sometimes grouped according to sex, they were quite as often distributed indiscriminately, the place for the leader, the kumu, being the center.
The vigor that marks the literary style of the mele now given stamps it as belonging to the archaic period, which closed in the early part of the eighteenth century, that century which saw the white man make his advent in Hawaii. The poem deals apparently with an incident in one of the migrations such as took place during the period of intercourse between the North and the South Pacific. This was a time of great stir and contention, a time when there was much paddling and sailing about and canoe-fleets, often manned by warriors, traversed the great ocean in every direction. It was then that Hawaii received many colonists from the archipelagoes that lie to the southward.
Mele (Ko'i-honua)
Wela Kahiki, e!
Wela Kahiki, e!
Wela aku la Kahiki;
Ua kaulu-wela ka moku;
Wela ka ulu o Hawaii;
Kakala wela aku la Kahiki ia Olopana,189
Ka'u wahi kanaka;
O ka hei kapu190 o Hana-ka-ulani,191
Ka hei kapu a ke alii,
Ka hoo-mamao-lani,192
Ke kapu o Keawe,193
A o Keawe
Ke alii holo, ho-i'a i kai, e-e!
[Translation]
Song (Distinct utterance)
Glowing is Kahiki, oh!
Glowing is Kahiki!
Lo, Kahiki is a-blaze,
The whole island a-burning.
Scorched is thy scion, Hawaii.
Kahiki shoots flame-tongues at Olopana,
That hero of yours, and priest
Of the oracle Hana-ka-ulani,
The sacred shrine of the king--
He is of the upper heavens,
The one inspired by Keawe,
That tabu-famous Keawe,
The king passion-fond of the sea.
Mele PALE I
Lau lehua punoni ula ke kai o Kona,
Ke kai punoni ula i oweo ia;
Wewena ula ke kai la, he kokona;
Ula ia kini i ka uka o Alaea,
I hili ahi ula i ke kapa a ka wahine,
I hoeu ia e ka ni'a, e ka hana,
E ka auwai lino mai la a kehau.
He hau hoomoe ka lau o ka niu,
Ke oho o ka laau, lauoho loloa.
E lóha ana i ka la i o Kailua la, i-u-a,
O ke ku moena ololi a ehu
O ku'u aina kai paeaea.
Ea, hoea iluna o Mauna Kilohana,
Na kaha poohiwi mau no he inoa.
Ua noa e, ua pii'a kou wahi kapu, e-e!
I a'e 'a mai e ha'i.
[Translation]
Song CANTO I
Leaf of lehua and noni-tint, the Kona sea,
Iridescent saffron and red,
Changeable watered red, peculiar to Kona;
Red are the uplands Alaea;
All, 'tis the flame-red stained robes of women
Much tossed by caress or desire.
The weed-tangled water-way shines like a rope of pearls,
Dew-pearls that droop the coco leaf,
The hair of the trees, their long locks--
Lo, they wilt in the heat of Kailua the deep.
A mat spread out narrow and gray,
A coigne of land by the sea where the fisher drops hook.
Now looms the mount Kilohana--
Ah, ye wood-shaded heights, everlasting your fame!
Your tabu is gone! your holy of holies invaded!
Broke down by a stranger!
The intricately twisted language of this mele is allegorical, a rope whose strands are inwrought with passion, envy, detraction, and abuse. In translating it one has to choose between the poetic verbal garb and the esoteric meaning which the bard made to lurk beneath the surface.
Mele PALE II
Kauó pu ka iwa kala-pahe'e,
Ka iwa, ka manu o Kaula i ka makani.
E ka manu o-ú pani-wai o Lehua,
O na manu kapu a Kuhai-moana,
Mai hele a luna o Lei-no-ai,
O kolohe, o alai mai ka Unu-lau.
Puni'a iluna o ka Halau-a-ola;
A ola aku i ka luna o Maka-iki-olea,
I ka lulu, i ka la'i o kai maio,
Ma ka ha'i-wá, i ka mole o Lehua la, Le-hú-a!
O na lehua o Alaka'i ka'u aloha,
O na lehua iluna o Ko'i-alana;
Ua nonoho hooipo me ke kohe-kohe;
Ua anu, maeele i ka ua noe.
Ua mai oe; kau a'e ka naná, laua nei, e-e,
Na 'lii e o'oni mai nei, e-e!
[Translation]
Song CANTO II
The iwa flies heavy to nest in the brush,
Its haunt on windy Ke-ula.
The watch-bird, that fends off the rain from Le-hu-a--
Bird sacred to Ku-hai, the shark-god--
Shrieks, "Light not on terrace of Lei-no-ai,
Lest Unu-lau fiercely assail you."
Storm sweeps the cliffs of the islet;
A covert they seek neath the hills,
In the sheltered lee of the gale,
The