HIIAKA VISITS PELE-ULA AT KOU—THE HULA KILU
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Emerson, Nathaniel Bright
E lei au—
Lei ho’i au i ke kanáka, i ka mea aloha,
I ka mea i ho’opulapula hou
O ka moe, e: eia au.
TRANSLATION
How precious the fillet that binds
Love’s token of bloom with maile;
Climbing the wilds above Ka-pa’a,
To watch the surge of waving grass,
Make deep inspire of hala bloom
Beat down by pelting rain,—pour on!
I’d wreath my life with human love,
Plant once again the tender flower
That blooms in the kingdom of dreams.
That is my dream, and here am I.
The audience, moved by Lohiau’s ardor, went into riotous applause. Hiiaka could not but admire the pathetic artistry of Lohiau, yet she remained the mistress of her emotions. Pele-ula, in contrast, became visibly more excited at Lohiau’s close approach. Turning to the younger woman, she said, “do you respond to this man’s appeals?”
“What is it you mean?” quietly asked Hiiaka.
“Can it be that you are not stirred by his protestations? Put your hand on my bosom,” said Pele-ula, “and feel the throbbing of my heart.”
Hiiaka convinced herself of the truth of the assertion and, in turn, said, “Do you also lay your hand here and judge of my temper.”
“You are as cool as a ti leaf,” exclaimed Pele-ula, “while I am as hot as a bundle of luau.”
This interchange of attentions between the two women did not escape Lohiau. It inflamed him to another passage of song:
Moe e no Wai-alua ke Koolau,
Ka hikina mai a Ka-lawa-kua;
Lele aoa i ka Mikioi;
Uwé aloha i ka Pu’u-kolu.
Aloha Wai-olohia ke Kohóla-lele, e
He lele pa-iki kau, kau ka manao—
Ka ke aloha kamali’i—
He lalau, e; eia oe!
TRANSLATION
Two rivers that chafe their banks—
A mad rush to enter the sea—
By the tempest whipped into foam;
They roar and bark like hounds:
Two souls that pine with love,—
A yearning for passion’s plunge—
Their touch child’s play, as they kiss:—
Ah, mine the master’s lunge!
From his very nature Lohiau was not qualified to reckon with the supernatural side of Hiiaka. His appeals had been on the plain of human passion—such appeals as would have subdued and won the heart of an ordinary woman. Still acting under these limitations, Lohiau aimed and shot the arrow that emptied his quiver of song:
O Haupu, mauna kilohana,