EMERSON] UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII 41 



Mele Kahea ^ 



Ka uka bolo-kia ahi-manu o La'a,^ 

 I po-ele i ka nabi, uoe ka nahele, 

 Nohe-uoliea i ka makaui luliau-pua. 

 He pua oni ke kanaka — * 



5 He mea lalia ole ia oe. 

 Mai kaua e hea nei ; 

 E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko, 

 E hanai ai a hewa " ka wa'ha. 

 Eia no ka uku la, o ka wa'a.<^ 



[Translation] 



Password — Song 



In the uplands, the darting flame-bird of La'a, 

 While smoke and mist blur the woodland, 

 Is keen for the breath of frost-bitten flowers. 



A fickle flower is man — 

 5 A trick this not native to 5'ou. 



Come thou with her who is calling to thee; 

 A call to the man to come in 

 And eat till the mouth is awry. 



Lo, this the reward — the canoe. 



The answer to this appeal for admission was in these words: 



Mele Komo 



E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko, 

 E hanai ai a hewa waha ; 

 Eia no ka uku la, o ka leo, 

 A he leo wale no, e ! 



[Translation] 



Welcoming-Song 



Call to the man to come in, 

 And eat till the mouth is estopt; 

 And this the reward, the voice, 

 Simply the voice. 



The cantillation of the mele komo^ in answer to the visitor's peti- 

 tion, meant not only the opening to him of the halan door, but also 

 his welcome to the life of the halau as a heart-guest of honor, trebly 

 welcome as the bringer of fresh tidings from the outside world. 



" This utterance of passion is said to have been the composition of the Princess Ka- 

 mamalu, as an address to Prince William Lunalilo, to whom she was at one time affi- 

 anced and would have married, but that King Lihohho (Kamehameha IV) would not 

 allow the marriage. Thereby hangs a tragedy. 



''La'a. The region in Hawaii now known as Ola'a was originally called La'a. The 

 particle o has become fused with the word. 



" Heiva ka waha. This expression, here tortured into "(till) the mouth awry," is 

 difficult of translation. A skilled Hawaiian scholar suggests it may mean to change one 

 from an enemy to a friend by stopping his mouth with food. 



<* Wa'a. Literally a canoe. This is a euphemism for the human body, a gift often too 

 freely granted. It will be noted that in the answering mele komo, the song of admis- 

 sion, the reward promised is more modestly measured — " Simply the voice." 



