Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth From Hawaii

1Ulu o Wahine-Kapu. Wahine-kapu was the name given to the plateau over which Kaneohoalii presided, a very tabu place. As to the bread-fruit tree Ulu, I have been able to learn nothing; this is the first mention of it I have met with. ↑

2Na-maka-o-ka-ha’i, an elder sister of Pele, with whom she had trouble over the question of tabus, rights and privileges, involving the right to dominion over the volcanic fires. Pele was not only a stickler for her own rights and privileges but ambitious for their extension. The result was she had to flee for her life. (For the story of this trouble see p. V of the introduction.) ↑

3Elieli, kau mai! A solemn expression often found at the end of a prayer. Hawaiians are unable to give an exact account of its meaning. The phrase kau mai by itself means overshadow me, sit upon me, possess me. ↑

4Hana-kahi, an appelation applied to Hilo derived from the name of an ancient king. ↑

5Wai-o-lama, the name applied to the eastern section of Hilo town, including the sand-beach and the river there located. ↑

6Ako ia ka hale. The hands elevated and the fingers brought together in the form of an inverted V were, I am informed, an accepted symbol that might be used in place of a heiau at a time when distress or emergency made impossible the erection of such a structure. David Malo narrates a similar incident as occurring in the mythical story of Wakea at a time when he was in peril and beset by his enemies. ↑

7Ko’i ke Akua. There is a division of opinion as to the meaning of this passage. Some, including J. W. P., think it may be the shortened, poetical form of ko’iko’i, heavy, referring to the timber used in building a temple for the deity. Others take the view that the word ko’i should be given its face-value. I see in it a possible reference to pahoehoe, the plates of which, in their hot and nascent state, are capable of felling a forest as effectively as a ko’i. One expounder (Pelei-oho-lani) finds in this word ko’i a reference to a symbolical lifting of the thumb of the left hand as a sign of prayer. The arguments on the one side and on the other are not quite convincing. ↑

8Kou pua’a kanu. Pua’a-kanu is the name of a place in Puna, said to be the spot where Pele had her sexual encounter with Kama-pua’a, the swine-god. I look upon it as meaning the encounter itself. ↑

9Kukuena wahine, an elder sister of Pele. (Some one says the first born of the Pele family. This assertion is not verified by other authorities.) She had charge of the making and distribution of the leis and of the ceremonies connected with formal awa-drinking. She was, in short, a sort of lady of the bedchamber to Pele. ↑

10Lauwili, literally, an entanglement. It refers to the lustful attack made by Kama-pua’a on Pele, an attack to which she gave seeming acquiescence. ↑

11Apa’apa’a, the name of a violent wind, here used adjectively. ↑

12Luahine moe nana, Pele, who is depicted as an old woman huddled up on a lava plate. The snoring must refer to the sounds made by the lava while in action. ↑

13Wa’a kauhi, an unrigged canoe, without iako or ama. ↑