The Traditional Literature of Hawaii - Sacred Songs of the Hula. Nathaniel Bright Emerson
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 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 your halau." 57
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 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.]
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.
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.
[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 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 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:
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,
B 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.