Canto Ii

Bedeck now the board for the feast; Fill up the last bowl to the brim; Then pour a draught in the sun-cave Shall flow to the mellow haze, That tints the land of the gods.

All hail to the stranger gods! This my offering, simply a voice, Only a welcoming voice. Turn in! Lo, the feast!

This prayer, though presented in two parts or cantos, is really one, its purpose being to offer a welcome, kanaenae, to the feast and ceremony to the gods who had a right to expect that courtesy.

One more mele of the number specially used in the hula Pele:

Mele

Nou paha e, ka inoa E ka’i-ka’i ku ana, A kau i ka nuku. E hapa-hapai a’e; A pa i ke kihi O Ki-lau-é-a. Ilaila ku’u kama, O Ku-nui-akea. Hookomo a’e iloko A o Hale-ma’u-ma’u; A ma-ú na pu’u E óla-olá, nei. E kulipe’e nui ai-ahua. E Pele, e Pele! E Pele, e Pele! Huai’na! huai’na! Ku ia ka lani, Pae a huila!

[Translation.]

Song

Yours, doubtless, this name. Which people are toasting With loudest acclaim. Now raise it, aye raise it, Till it reaches the niches Of Kí-lau-é-a. Enshrined is there my kinsman, Kú-núi-akéa. Then give it a place In the temple of Pele; And a bowl for the throats That are croaking with thirst. Knock-kneed eater of land, O Pele, god Pele! O Pele, god Pele! Burst forth now! burst forth! Launch a bolt from the sky! Let thy lightnings fly:

When this poem first came into the author’s hands, though attracted by its classic form and vigorous style, he could not avoid being repelled by an evident grossness. An old Hawaiian, to whom he stated his objections, assured him that the mele was innocent of all bad intent, and when the offensive word was pointed out he protested that it was an interloper. The substitution of the right word showed that the man was correct. The offense was at once removed. This set the whole poem in a new light and it is presented with satisfaction. The mele is properly a name-song, mele-inoa. The poet represents some one as lifting a name to his mouth for praise and adulation. He tells him to take it to Kilauea—that it may reecho, doubtless, from the walls of the crater.