PELE MEETS AND FASCINATES LOHIAU
Project Gutenberg EPUB3 edition
Emerson, Nathaniel Bright
As Pele drew near to the rustic hall where the hula was in full blast, the people in the outskirts of the assembly turned to look in wonder and admiration at the beauty and charm of the stranger who had appeared so unexpectedly and whose person exhaled such a fragrance, as if she had been clad with sweet-scented garlands of maile, lehua and hala. One and all declared her to be the most beautiful woman they had ever looked upon. Where was she from? Surely not from Kaua’i. Such loveliness could not have remained hidden in any nook or corner of the island, they declared.
Instinctively the wondering multitude parted and offered a lane for her to pass through and enter the halau, thus granting to Pele a full view of the musicians and performers of the hula, and, sitting in their midst, Lohiau,—as yet seemingly unconscious of her presence,—on his either hand a fellow drummer; while, flanking these to right and left, sat players with a joint of bamboo in either hand (the kaekeeke). But drummer and kaekeeke-player, musicians and actors—aye, the whole audience—became petrified and silent at the sight of Pele, as she advanced step by step, her eyes fixed on Lohiau.
Then, with intensified look, as if summoning to her aid the godlike gifts that were hers as the mistress of Kilauea, she reached out her hand and, in a clear tone, with a mastery that held the listeners spell-bound, she chanted:
Lu’ulu’u Hanalei i ka ua nui,
Kaumaha i ka noe o Alaka’i,
I ka hele ua o Manu’a-kepa;
Uoi ku i ka loa o Ko’i-alana,
I ka alaka’i ’a a ka malihini, e!
Mai hina, mai hina au,
Mai palaha ia o-e.
Imi wale ana au o kahi o ke ola,
O ke ola nei, e-e!
TRANSLATION
Tight-pressed is Hanalei’s throng,
A tree bent down by heavy rain,
Weighted with drops from the clouds,
When rain columns sweep through Manu’a-kepa,
This throng that has lured on the stranger,
Nigh to downfall, to downfall, was I,
Laid flat by your trick—aye yours!
My quest was for comfort and life,
Just for comfort and life!
The silence became oppressive. In the stillness that followed the song expectant eyes were focused upon Prince Lohiau, awaiting his reply to the address of the stranger who stood in their midst. No one knew who she was; no one imagined her to be Pele. That she was a person of distinction and rank was evident enough, one whom it was the duty and rare privilege of their chief to receive and entertain.
Presently there was wrinkling of foreheads, an exchange of glances, prompting winks and nods, inclinations of the head, a turning of the eyes—though not a word was spoken—; for his friends thought thus to rouse Lohiau from his daze and to prompt him to the dutiful rites of hospitality and gallantry. Paoa, his intimate friend, sitting at Lohiau’s right hand, with a drum between his knees, even ventured to nudge him in the side.
The silence was broken by Pele:
Kalakú Hilo i ka ua nui;
Kapu ke nu, ke i,
I ka puá o ka leo,
I ka hamahamau—hamau kakou—
I ka hawanawana;
I ke kunou maka;
I ka awihi maka;
I ka alawa iki.
Eia ho’i au, kou hoa,
Kou hoa, ho’i, e-e!
TRANSLATION
Bristling, frumpy, sits Hilo,
Drenched by the pouring rain,
Forbidden to murmur,
Or put forth a sound,