EMERSON] UNWEITTEN LITERATUEE OF HAWAII 35 



Meantime the olohe and friends of the novitiates, inspired with the 

 proper enthusiasm of the occasion, lift their voices in joyful cantilla- 

 tions in honor of the goddess, accompanied with the clapping of 

 hands. 



The ceremony now reaches a new stage. The kumu lifts the tabu 

 by uttering a prayer — always a song — and declares the place and the 

 feast free, and the whole assembly sit down to enjoy the bounty that 

 is spread up and down the halau. On this occasion men and women 

 may eat in common. The only articles excluded from this feast are 

 luau — a food much like spinach, made by cooking the young and deli- 

 cate taro leaf — and the drupe of the hala., the pandanus (pi. xviii). 



The company sit down to eat and to drink; presently they rise to 

 dance and sing. The kumu leads in a tabu-lifting, freedom-giving 

 song and the ceremony of ai-lolo is over. The pupils have been grad- 

 uated from the school of the halau; they are now members of the 

 great guild of hula dancers. The time has come for them to make 

 their bow to the waiting public outside, to bid for the favor of the 

 world. This is to be their " little go;" they will spread their wings 

 for a greater flight on the morrow. 



The kumu with his big drum, and the musicians, the ho'o-pa'a, 

 pass through the door and take their places outside in the lanai, 

 where sit the waiting multitude. At the tap of the drum the group 

 of waiting olapa plume themselves like fine birds eager to show their 

 feathers ; and, as they pass out the halau door and present themselves 

 to the breathless audience, into every pose and motion of their glid- 

 ing, swaying figures they pour a full tide of emotion in studied and 

 unstudied efi'ort to captivate the public. 



Debut or a Hula Dancer 



The occasion is that of a lifetime; it is their imiki, 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 rush- 

 strown lanai, that we may judge of its worthiness. 



He Mele-Inoa (no Naihe)<^ 



Ka nalii niii, a ku ka nalu mai Kona, 



Ka nialo a ka mahiehie,* 



Ka onaulu-loa,<' a lele ka'ii malo. 



« Xaihe. A man of strong character, but not a high chief. He was born in Kona and 

 resided at Napoopoo. His mother was Ululani, his father Keawe-a-heulu, who was a 

 celebrated general and strategist under Kamehameha I. 



" Mahiehie. A term conferring dignity and distinction. 



"" Onaulu-loa. A roller of great length and endurance, one that reaches the shore, in 

 contrast to a Icakala. 



