Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth From Hawaii

16Kuku-ena, a sister of Pele who, like Kahili-opua, was a physician and of a benevolent disposition. She was wont to act as the guide to travelers who had their way in the mazes of a wilderness. So soon, however, as the traveler had come clear into a clear place and was able to orient himself, she modestly disappeared. ↑

17Ku kihikihi, to stand cornerwise or edgewise. In the ebullition that stirs the mass of a lava lake at seemingly rhythmical intervals the congealed crust that has formed on the surface is seen to break up, become tilted on edge, and then be sucked down into the depths by the vortex of the lava-pit. The allusion here is to the tilting of the plate on edge in this wonderful phenomenon. ↑

18Olohe. This is explained and described as meaning a spectral appearance of human figures and of objects animate and inanimate moving about in the firmament. The description given of it almost leads one to think it a mirage or fata morgana. ↑

19Kuahiwi haoa, a term applied in Kau to a forest-clump which a devastating lava flow has spared, after having laid waste the country on all sides of it. ↑

20Hiiaka-i-ka-ale-i, Hiiaka of the bounding billow. The number of the sisters in whose names that of Hiiaka formed a part was considerable, as may be inferred from the fact that the names here mentioned do not include the whole list of them. ↑

21Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-enaena, Hiiaka of the burning flower. Her emblem was the little budlike pea-blossom flame. This name is sometimes given as Hiiaka-i-ka-pua-aneane, a more delicate but less striking epithet. ↑

22Hiiaka-noho-lae, Hiiaka who dwells on the cape. She was recognized by a trickle of blood on the forehead. ↑

23O ka la ko luna. O ka pahoehoe ko lalo. The sun overhead. The lava below. ↑