Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth From Hawaii

52Kiope, to scatter, said of a fire, in order to extinguish it. ↑

53Ku mau-mau wa. The literal meaning is, stand in order, or, as I have put it, stand shoulder to shoulder. It corresponded to and served the purpose of a sailor’s chantey, and was employed in the ancient times to Hawaiian history to give spirit and precision to the work of the men straining at the hauling line of a canoe-log. The koa tree has been felled and rudely fashioned; a strong line is made fast to one end of it, and the men, having ranged themselves along, rope in hand, their chief, sometimes standing on the log itself, gives the signal for them to be ready for a start by uttering the inspiring cry “I ku mau-mau wa!” “I ku mau wa,” answer the men, and with a mighty pull the huge log starts on its way to its ocean-home. ↑

54Mauli, contracted form of Mauli-ola; the name of a kupua, a deity, who had to do with health, after some ideal fashion, a sort of Hygeia; also the name of that kupua’s mystical abode. The name Mauli, or Mauli-ola, was also given, as I learn, to the site of the present Kilauea Volcano House. ↑

55Hua-wai maka, literally, an unripe water-gourd. In this place it means a small collection of dew or rain-water, a water-hole, a thing much sought after by men, even as the owl—as remarks the poet in the next verse—searches after it. Whether the poet is correct in his assertion about the owl, is more than I can say. ↑

56Pu oe i kau laau me kou makaainana. Kou makaainana is, undoubtedly, Pele. The reference is to the practice spoken of in note 48. ↑

57Hahau i ke Akua, offer to the god. ↑

58Ku’u ia a’e Pele. (In the text the ia is shortened to a). The meaning seems to be that Pele is exonerated from blame. That would not, however, alter the facts and render back to Pele the sacredness that belonged to her uncontaminated body. ↑

59Lapu’u ’na Pele. This seems to have a double meaning, referring at once to the dismissal of hard feelings against Pele and to her rising up from her customary attitude in repose, that with her head crouched forward and her legs drawn up towards the body. ↑

60Kauwiki, a hill in Hana, Maui, famous in history. ↑

61Ho’oili, to come together in a bunch, said of fish. This is an unusual use of the word, though an old Hawaiian (J. T. P.) tells me his mother used it in this way. It refers not to the swarming of fish, but their bunching together when driven. ↑

62Paiea, a species of crab that resembles the a’ama. The background color of the paiea is black; this is strewn with spots and markings of dark red, producing a highly artistic effect. The specimen I examined was found in the Honolulu fish market and came from Kona, Hawaii. In spite of mutilation, it still retained a formidable claw. ↑

63Maunu paiea. The Hawaiian fisherman often prepared his bait by chewing it fine, after which he blew it into the water to attract the fish. The poet finds a parallel between this action of the fisherman and the discharge of venomous words by an angered person. ↑

64Nie, an elided form of niele, to question. ↑

65Ea, the sea-turtle. ↑

66Honu, the land-turtle. ↑

67Kukuau, a hairy, spotted crab, said to be poisonous. ↑

68Hinalea, a name applied to fish of several different species, among which one that is rare is the Hinalea akilolo (Macropharyngodon geoffroy, Quoy and Gaimard). Another less rare, though beautiful, species is the Hinalea i’iwi (Gomphosus tricolor, Quoy and Gaimard). ↑

69Apuhihi. ↑

70Hihi-wai, a bivalve shell that is found clinging to rocks or reeds in fresh or brackish water streams. Its dorsum is jetty black, its front white, shading into yellow. ↑

71Loli-pua, loli-koko and loli-ka’e, different species of holothuriae, or sea-slugs, some of which are esteemed as food by the Hawaiians. They were, nevertheless, looked upon as kupua. ↑

72Lelea, a marine creature that is said to be slimy and adheres to the rocks. ↑

73Kahi-kona, said to be a god of the fishermen. ↑

74Leo hokiki, an imperfect tone caused by a torn drumhead. ↑

75Kua a. The penalty of approaching Pele from behind was death: she is said to have had a consuming back. ↑

76Kai oki’a, an engulfing abyss. ↑

77Ala muku, the rainbow. (For further comments on these difficult passages, see notes 11, 12, and 13, on page 114.) ↑

78Ho’o-nou o ka lani. This must be Pele. The word ho-onou is used of a person striving to accomplish some physical task, as of a woman straining in labor. ↑

79Ku-walu, literally, eighth in order of succession. ↑

80Ulu-po, said to be the name of a heiau at Kailua, Oahu. ↑

81Iku-wa, the name of a month in the Hawaiian year, corresponding, according to one account, pretty closely to October; according to another nomenclature it corresponds pretty nearly to our April. The name etymologically connoted thunder and reverberations. ↑

82Eka mua, literally, the first blast of a storm; here used figuratively to mean the first sexual ecstacy. ↑

83Hoaka, a setting forth in figures. (Hoakaka). ↑

84Ana-ku, the name of a cave situated somewhere in the caldera of Kilauea, a place of assembly for the gods. Its use here is evidently for a highly figurative purpose, and has, of course, to do with Pele and her affair with Kama-pua’a. ↑

85Ha-amo, the name of the road to Ana-ku. (Peleioholani). ↑

86Pahu. It is doubtful whether this means a drum or a post. In either case, in the smash-up of the one or the overthrow of the other, the figure evidently is designed to set forth the confusion caused by the catastrophe—Pele’s debauchment. The other figures that follow have the same purpose. ↑

87Halau ololo, literally, a long shed or canoe-house, meaning a place of common assembly for people. The figure is applied to Pele and is intended to declare that, through her affair with Kama-pua’a she had degraded herself and robbed her body of its tabu, its sanctity. ↑

88Kiko, a mark to indicate a tabu. Two ti leaves placed crosswise, and held in place by a pebble, would constitute a kiko. ↑

89Mo’a, literally, cooked; meaning that the tabu has expired, been abrogated. ↑

90Pu’e-pu’e, the hills of taro. Kaele means the division or apportioning of them. ↑

91Ne’ine’i, the more scattered, smaller, hills of taro, those that are nearer the bank. ↑