Début Of A Hula Dancer

The occasion is that of a lifetime; it is their uniki, their debut. The song chosen must rise to the dignity of the occasion. Let us listen to the song that enthralls the audience seated in the rushstrown lanai, that we may judge of its worthiness.

He Mele-Inoa (no Naihe)

Ka nalu nui, a ku ka nalu mai Kona, Ka malo a ka mahiehie, Ka onaulu-loa, a lele ka’u malo. O kakai malo hoaka, O ka malo kai, malo o ke alii E ku, e hume a paa i ka malo.

E ka’ika’i ka la i ka papa o Halepó; A pae o Halepó i ka nalu. Ho-e’e i ka nalu mai Kahiki; He nalu Wakea, nalu ho’ohua. Haki opu’u ka nalu, haki kua-pa.

Ea mai ka makakai he’e-nalu, Kai he’e kakala o ka moku, Kai-ká o ka nalu nui, Ka hu’a o ka nalu o Hiki-au. Kai he’e-nalu i ke awakea.

Ku ka puna, ke ko’a i-uka. Ka makahá o ka nalu o Kuhihewa. Ua o ia, nohá ka papa! Noná Maui, nauweuwe, Nauweuwe, nakelekele.

Nakele ka ili o ka i he’e-kai. Lalilali ole ka ili o ke akamai; Kahilihili ke kai a ka he’e-nalu. Ike’a ka nalu nui o Puna, o Hilo.

[Translation.]

A Name-Song, a Eulogy (for Naihe)

The huge roller, roller that surges from Kona, Makes loin-cloth fit for a lord; Far-reaching swell, my malo streams in the wind; Shape the crescent malo to the loins— The loin-cloth the sea, cloth for king’s girding. Stand, gird fast the loin-cloth!

Let the sun guide the board Halepó, Till Halepó lifts on the swell. It mounts the swell that rolls from Kahiki, From Wakea’s age enrolling. The roller plumes and ruffles its crest.

Here comes the champion surf-man, While wave-ridden wave beats the island, A fringe of mountain-high waves. Spume lashes the Hiki-an altar—A surf this to ride at noontide.

The coral, horned coral, it sweeps far ashore. We gaze at the surf of Ka-kuhi-hewa. The surf-board snags, is shivered; Maui splits with a crash, Trembles, dissolves into slime.

Glossy the skin of the surf-man; Undrenched the skin of the expert; Wave-feathers fan the wave-rider. You’ve seen the grand surf of Puna, of Hilo.

This spirited song, while not a full description of a surf-riding scene, gives a vivid picture of that noble sport. The last nine verses have been omitted, as they add neither to the action nor to the interest.

It seems surprising that the accident spoken of in line 19 should be mentioned; for it is in glaring opposition to the canons that were usually observed in the composition of a mele-inoa. In the construction of a eulogy the Hawaiians were not only punctiliously careful to avoid mention of anything susceptible of sinister interpretation, but they were superstitiously sensitive to any such unintentional happening. As already mentioned (p. 27), they believed that the fate compelling power of a word of ill-omen was inevitable. If it did not result in the death of the one eulogized, retributive justice turned the evil influence back on him who uttered it.