Canto I

Lo, Pele’s the god of my choice: Let heaven and earth in silence wait Here is awa, potent, sacred, Bitter sea, great Hiiaka’s root; ’Twas cut at Mauli-ola— Awa to the women forbidden, Let it tabu be! Exact be the rite of your awa, O Pele of the sacred land.

Proclaim it, mother. Haumea, Of the goddess of Kilauea; She who dug the pit world-deep, And Mau-wahine and Kupu-ena, Who prepare the awa for drink. A health to the stranger gods!