The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai

IC NATURE OF

skill competitively. The oihana haku-mele, or "business of song making," was hence an aristocratic art. The able composer, man or woman, even if of low rank, was sure of patronage as the haku mele, "sorter of songs," for some chief; and his name was attached to the song he composed. A single poet working alone might produce the panegyric; but for the longer and more important songs of occasion a group got together, the theme was proposed and eithe

s sons were trained to recite the genealogical chants, those who were incapable were believed to

h, and hence exact transmission is a matter of extreme importance. Facility in debate is not only a competitive art, with high stakes attached, but is employed in time of war to shame an enemy,[5] quickness of retort being believed, like quickness of hand, to be a God-given power. Chants in memory of the dead are demanded of each relative at the burial ceremony.[6] Song may be used to disgrace an enemy, to avenge an in

II, 1: Aristocratic Na

of prominent persons or the annals of the nation were perpetuated. The chief art lay in the formation of short metrical sentences without much regard to the rhythmical terminations. Monosyllables, dissyllables, a

lis's Tour

: Moerenhou

Islander, 1875, p. 3

re, pp.

memorizes in a single night a new chant just imported from Kau

Williams and Calvert, I, 46, 50, the notes on

, Myths and Songs

s stories of Lonoikamakahik

URE: ITS EMO

cts, or phases of nature which constitute the learning of the aspirant for mastery in the art of expression. He is taught, says one tale, "about everything in the earth and in the heavens"-- that is, their names,

seems in no way to overtax the reciter's memory. Missionaries tell us that "the Hawaiians will commit to memory the genealogical tables given in the Bible, and delight to repeat them as some

grandize the family of the famous chief Kualii, which carries back the chiefly

onua t

ilani th

, Kepapaiale

ons evidently fitting the sound t

on of the "Song of Cr

up in the heave

f enjoyments and li

with Kii and

crease to

o the enumeration

a was bo

e his b

u was bo

born, the yo

e enumeration proceeds by variations upon a single name. We have first some 50 Kupo (dark nights)-"of wandering," "of wrestling,"

this series

born, Tide

, and also bur

also rushing, rumb

eath of Kupololiilialiimualoipo, whose nomenclature has been so vastly accumulating through the 200 o

istic of Icelandic saga-a care to record the ancestry of each character as it is introduced into the story. To be sure, they commonly begin with the names of the father and mother of the hero, and their setting; but in the older mythological tales these are almost

ost of them for the mere purpose of identifying a route of travel. A popular form of folk tale is the following, told in Waianae, Oahu: "Over in Kahuku lived a high chief, Kaho'alii. He instructed his son 'Fly abou

rge (kanikau) the aim seems to be chiefly to enumerate every place associated with the subject, and to give that place some special epithet, either attached to it by commonpl

the bat

warrior is

field o

ni, at

ured the wat

work at

s of Kapapa,

ey lean

ome rhetorical tinkering, but in general the purpose here i

arison or contrast, the present situation. It is important for the poet to know, for example, that the phrase "flowers of Paiahaa" refers to the place on Kau, Hawaii, where love

entry for travelers to Oahu from Kauai was the seacoast village of Waianae. Between it and the village of Waialua runs a great spur of the range, which breaks off abruptly at the sea, into the point Kaena. Kahuku point lies beyond Waialua at the northern

Ka

inherited f

the calm

e is

d, Ka

back, where the w

low sits

lua

a dish for

the shark roa

f the shar

at goes alon

auai, t

ua

and the surf or "sea" of each locality. All these descriptive appellations the composer must employ to enrich his means of place allusion. Even to-day the Hawaiian editor with a nice sense of emotional values will not, in his obituary notice, speak of a man being missed in his native district, but will express the idea in some such way as this: "Never more will the pleasant Kupuupuu (mist-bearing wind) dampen his brow." The songs of the pleading sisters i

s lord the names of the winds and rains of all the districts about each island in succession, and then, by means of his grandmother's bo

are! Ther

they

wind of

harp wind o

mist of

in the cocoanut

wind of

alm o

like wind

the hala-tre

wind of

rlwind

evous wind

riven wind

laden wind

er over the forces the reciter calls by name, as a descen

word debate or riddling. The classic example in Hawaiian song is the famous canoe-chant, which, in the legend of Kana, Uli uses in preparing the canoe for her grandsons' war expedition against th

ble canoe of

o the ou

oa the

part und

alani t

his "seagoing loin cloth." There is no wordplay perceptible in this chant, but it is doubtful whether the object is to record a historical occur

dible seaweed known to the Hawaiians. The reciters avail themselves of these well-known terms, sometimes for quick comparison, often for mere enumeration. It is interesting to see how, in the "Song of Creation," in listing pla

born, the Moana was bo

he Maumau was born

the Mana was born i

ty-five or thirty other pairs whose signification is in most cases lost if indeed they are not ent

was born

Lauhau that gre

born and live

alahee that grew

two objects is evidently fixed

to a well-known folk tale. But star stories do not appear in Hawaiian collections, and even sun and moon stories are rare, all belonging to the older and

es. We have seen how he conceives a series of heavens above the earth, order in creation, rank in the divisions of men on earth and of gods in heaven. In the passage of time he records how the sun measures the changes from day to night; how the moon marks off the month; how the weather change

vine privilege being conceived in the mere act of naming, by which a supernatural power is gained over the object named. The names, as the objects for which they stand, come from the gods. Thus in the story of Pupuhuluena, the cultu

f the remote relative of a chief might cost a man a valuable patron or even life itself. Some chiefs are so sacred that their names

invoked all around the compass. In the art of verbal debate-called hoopapa in Hawaii-the test is to match a rival's series with one exactly parallel in every particular or to add to a whole some undiscovered part.[4] A charm mentioned in folk tale is "to name every word that

hief, the s

hief, the f

hief, the s

chief, the e

ief, the tent

the path of the r

rrior, the s

rrior, the f

rrior, the s

arrior, the e

rrior, the t

o makes the Kin

warrior of

s made of counting-out lines in the famous chant of the "Mirage of Mana" in

element, that of climax. The last place is given to the important character. Although everyone is aware that the younger sister is the most competent member of the group, the audience must not be deprived of the pleasure of seeing each one try and fail in turn b

eir native land. In the songs in the Halemano which the lover sings to win his lady and the chant in Lonoikamakahiki with which the disgraced favorite seeks to win back his lord, those places are recalled to mind in which the friends have met hardship together, in order, if possible, to evoke the same emotions of love and loyalty which were theirs under the circumstances described. Hawaiians of all classes, in mourning their dead, will recall vividly in a wailing chant the scene

beholder-a beauty seldom described in detail save occasionally by similes from nature. In the Laieikawai the sight of the heroine's beauty creates such an ecstasy in the heart of a mere countryman that he leaves his business to run all about the island heralding his discovery. Dreaming of the beauty of Laieikawai, the young chief feels his heart glow with passion for this "red blossom of Puna" as the fiery volcano scorches the wind that fans across its bosom. A divine hero must select a bride of faul

Section III,

louds, in dreams, or the flight of birds, or to practice some form of divination with the entrails of animals. In Hawaii, according to Fornander, the soothsayers constitute three of the ten large orders of priests, called Oneoneihonua, Kilokilo, and Nanauli, and these are subdivided into lesser orders. Ike, knowledge, means literally "to see with, the eyes," but it is used also to express mental vision, or knowledge with reference to the objective means by which such knowledge is obtained. So the "gourd of wisdom"-ka ipu o ka ike-which Laieikawai consults, brings distant objects before the eyes so that the woman "knows by seeing" what is going on below. Signs in the clouds are especially observed, both as weather indicators and to forecast the doings of chiefs. According to Westervelt's story of Keaomelemele, the lore is taught to mythical ancestors of the Hawaiian race by the gods themselves. The best analysis of South S

officer called the "Night-walker," Hare-po, whose duty it was to recite the chants all night long at the sacred places. If he hesitated a moment it was a bad omen. "Perf

bered correctly the names of officers and scholars who came to

8 lines, one copy collected on Hawaii, another on Oahu, did not vary in a single line; of the Hauikalani, written just before

practiced to insure exact articulation. (See

n, Unwritten Litera

well illustrated in

tion with the orato

a on Kauai.

u la e k

i ka waa

e i ka w

i ka waa

uai, Molo

anai, K

Kauiki,

Makapu,

there, m

ich my canoe

ich my canoe

ch my canoe s

uai, Molo

anai, K

Kauiki,

, Makapu

e no islands left. We have taken up

the

ku e, k

la, ulu

iu, ulu

, holo ua

y island,

where g

ut grows,

tand, an

or you. It is an isla

ll island off

n try

au kinikin

elu a ho

iku h

a hau l

ku hau

ihau la

au hau

u hau l

una hau

ka mauna

any hau tre

e hau tree I h

und se

the outrigge

he joining pi

bark mak

wood mak

bush mak

hau tree

ain hau m

, but if you fail you shall surely die. We will twist your nose till you see the sun at Kumukena. We will poke your eyes

age, why can't I, a lad, find other uses, to save myself so that I may live. I shall search

u kiniki

elu hook

ku ha

ohau la

ihau

hau la

uloa l

ukea l

uiki l

i ka waa ko

any hau tre

le hau I have

und se

hau ma

u make

u make

oa mak

ea mak

ki mak

ives the canoe at

places in the

hau, you men wi

ians differ from the Polynesians in th

ITS PICTOR

the shade and are prized for such work. "These are the natives," they said; then pointing slyly to the coarse, light ferns burned in the sun they added, "these are the foreigners." After the closing exercises of a mission school in Hawaii one of the parents was called upon to make an address. He said: "As I listen to the songs and recitations I am like one who walks through the forest where the birds are singing. I do not understand the words, but the sound is sweet to the ear." The boys in a certain district school on Hawaii call the weekly head inspection "playing the ukulele" in allusion to the literal interpretation of the name for the native banjo. These homely illustrations, taken from the everyday life of the people, illustrate a habit of mind which, when applied for conscious emotional effect, results in mu

a rock that shows itself above water. Lilolilo means "to spread out, expand as blossom from bud;" it also applies to an open-handed person. Nee may mean "to hitch along from one place to another," or "to change the mind." Palele means "separate, put somewhere else when there is no place vacant;" it also applies to stammering. These illustrations gathered almost at random may be indefinitely multiplied. I recall a clergyman in a small hamlet on Hawaii who wished to describe the character of the people of that place. Picking up a stone of very close grain of the kind us

ckbird

of Kaul

p there ab

trees, their long locks." Kailua distric

in the Hauikalani in which chiefs at war are compared with a cockfight, the favorite

; the trained cocks

dark-red cock awake

s valiantly-Loe

purs, he pecks

arena-this Hilo-th

*

d cock. The chi

ehouse till the dr

, like many-colored

hed K

and fall at the st

d the bright-red paddles of his war fleet are compared to the motion of a fighting cock's bright feathers, t

on of the exact and characteristic truth which suggests the likeness, an exactness necessary to carry the all

the winter c

th away, pressi

e hair in

thet employed in recalling a place, person, or object. Transferred to matters of feeling or e

s have become fix

ow quiet like one in

ining heavily,

of the rain is

ll yet be swol

A HAWAIIAN PA

ompared with the lament of Laukiamanuikahiki when, abandoned by her

is up, i

s ever up

at sorrow, it is pri

burden when

g tears ar

he myths heroes climb the heavens, dwelling half in the air; again they are amphibian like their great lizard ancestors. In the Laieikawai, as in so many stories, note how much of the action takes place on or in the sea-canoeing, swimming, or surfing. In less humanized tales the real

e body's v

o the bough

a bird, it s

nd combs its

epared for l

plumes the

ation stories being of the essence of Polynesian as of much primitive speculati

Section III

Turner, Sam

bid.; Moerenho

oa, pp. 216-221; William

illiams and Ca

: Moerenhou

E MEANING; P

describing natural scenery that may not have beneath it some implied, often in

, in which the speaker might couch his secret resolves and commands unsuspected by those who stood within earshot. Quick interpretation of such symbols was the test of chiefly rank and training. On the other hand, the wish to appear innocent led him to hide his meaning in a commonplace observation. Hence nature and the object

sts in one village "to go dove catching," and has the laugh on his simple host because he takes him at his word instead of bringing him a wife. In a Tongan story[2] the chief grows hungry while out on a canoe trip, and bids his servant, "Look for a banana stalk on the weather side of the boat." As this is the side of the women, the command meant "Kill a woman for me to eat." The woman designed for slaughter is in this case wise enough to catch his meaning and save herself and child by hiding under the canoe. In Fornander's story a usurper and his accomplice

men that stand, the men that lie down, the men that are folded," and "Plaited all around, plaited to the bottom, leaving an opening." The answer is in both cases a house, for in the first riddle "the timbers stand, the batons lie down, the grass is folded under the cords"; in the second, the p

shivers in the rain, in Pu

to "find another n

t shines in the rain

hidden

y in the song in two ways, h

ne of the songs sung by Halemano to win back his lost lady love, the beauty of Puna. The circumstances are as follows: Halemano, a Kauai chief, has wedded a famous beauty of Puna, Hawaii, who has now deserted him for a royal lover. Meanwhile a

la e ke kai

ana me he

o la i ka

ai i luna

nei loko i

a inaina n

a au i ke

, pehea au

uu wah

a ulu hapap

ki anuanu

ea aloha o

iia wela k

kuu piko

u kino no

ua he a'u

ne hoi e

aua e hoo

a o ia ain

sea are the panda

anding ther

ude in the lo

sea rises above

nce more within m

to man

iendless over th

is way, what

my w

shallow planted br

rising cold

lse the lov

templ

rally "middle") is

r bonds to her (the

, a wandering A

e, com

et us warm each

ndless land (literall

d, the son

but I am braced by anger. Alas! my wife, have you forgotten the days when we dwelt in Kalapana and saw the sun rise beyond Cape Kumukahi? I burn and freeze for your love,

a, "to cut," which begins the parallel, and He Kokua, which is also used to mean cutting, but implies assisting, literally "bracing the back," and carries over the image to its analogue; and, second, upon the play upon the word ola, life: "The sea floods the

analogy, coupled with a precise nomenclature, insures its suggestive value. So we find in the language of nature vivid, naturalistic accounts of everyday happenings in fantastic reshapings, realistically conceived and ascribed to the gods who rule natural phenomena; a figurative language of signs t

ction III, 4: T

enhout, II, 210; Jarv

Ellis, I, 288; Gracia,

s, p

2: Fison

TIVE ELEMEN

necessity of memorizing also had its effect. A composition was planned for oral delivery and intended to please the ear; tone values were accordingly of great importance. The variation between narrative, recitative, and formal song; the frequent dialogue, sometimes strictly dramatic; the repetitive series in which the same a

n III, 5: Construct

les are taken from the Laieikawa

n were mine,

tside" (to express mas

, men and women; low chiefs,

; if you wish to stay, t

do to me, so s

ch, you, you mu

comes night a

will consent; if n

nce from A's party an

by night, ...

consent, through

e, our wi

Waka's work; thunder peale

ok back, f

y to all;" "we will not forsa

dward, go t

n before like this; never

s a god, non

tood, you

ain of you, you have not

tructure is often handl

her die; however many da

eath to himself, death t

frie

ould tell you his desire,

nt, force him

again the chief waited .

nd

hed his prayer to the am

ot long after anot

e the wife, then take me to my grave without pity. But if she has hearkened .

uncommon, or the repetitio

ear, have

, delay not

ength, all your

schief maker, ro

d Hawaii, Laieika

etention, p

, lord, p

occur more than 50 ejaculatory phrases, more than half

follow and is printed without the point-aia hoi, literally,

ontradiction of a plausible conjecture-aole ka! "not so!". Both these forms occ

you?" is used to intro

se (common in ordinary spe

kupapaha, is literally "a strange thin

is used to expres

to be understood, may be given; for example: A heaha la o Haua-i-liki ia Laie-i-ka-wai? he opala paha, "What was Ha