44 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [boll. 38 



10 Of Lea and Loa a wilderness-child; 



On ridge, in forest boon companion she 



To the heart that throbbed in me. 

 O Laka, O Laka, 



Hark to my call ! 

 15 You approach, it is well; 



You possess me, I am blest ! 



In the translation of this pule the author has found it necessary to 

 de]3art from the verse arrangement that obtains in the Hawaiian text. 



The religious services of the halau, though inspired by one motive, 

 were not tied to a single ritual or to one set of prayers. Prayer 

 marked the beginning and the ending of every play — that is, of every 

 dance — and of every important event in the programme of the halau ; 

 but there were many prayers from which tlie priest might select. 

 After the prayer specially addressed to Laka the visitor might use a 

 petition of more general scope. Such is the one now to be given : 



He Pule Kiiahu (ia Kane ame Kapo) ; a he Pule Hoolei 



Kane, hiki a'e, he malilma " ia luna ; 

 Ha'aha'a, he maliima ia lalo ; 

 Oni-oni,^ he malama ia ka'u ; 

 He wahiue '^ lei, malama ia Kapo; 

 5 E Kapo nui, hala-hala <* a i'a ; 

 E Kapo nui, hala-hala "^ a mea, 

 Ka alihi ^ luna, ka alihi lalo ; 

 E ka poha-ku.fl' 



Noho ana Kapo i ka ulu wehi-wehi; 

 10 Ku ana i Moo-helaia,'' 



Ka ohi'a-Ku iluna o Mauna-loa. 

 Aloha mai Kaulana-a-ula '" ia'u; 

 Eia ka ula la, he ula leo,J 

 He iiku, he mohai, he alana, 



« Malama. Accented on the penult, as here, the word means to enlighten or a light (same 

 in second verse). In the third and fourth verses the accent is changed to the first syl- 

 lable, and the v^ord here means to preserve, to foster. These words furnish an example 

 of poetical word-repetition. 



'' Onioiii. To squirm, to dodge, to move. The meaning here seems to be to move with 

 delight. 



" Wahiiie lei. A reference to Laka, the child of Kapo, who was symbolized by a block 

 of wood on the altar. (See p. 23.) 



'^ Hala-hala a i'a. Said to be a certain kind of fish that was ornamented about its tail- 

 end with a band of bright color ; therefore an object of admiration and desire. 



« Hala-hala a mea. The ending mea is perhaps taken from the last half of the proper 

 name Hau-mea who was Kapo's mother. It belongs to the land, in contrast to the sea, 

 and seems to be intended to intensify and extend the meaning of the term previously used. 

 The passage is difficult. Expert Hawaiians profess their inability to fathom its meaning. 



f Alihi luna. The line or " stretching cord." that runs the length of a net at its top, the 

 a. lalo being the corresponding line at the bottom of the net. The exact significance of 

 this language complimentary to Kapo can not be phrased compactly. 



? Poha-ku. Tlie line that runs up and down at the end of a long net, by which it may 

 be anchored. 



* Moo-helaia. See note n, p. 33. 



* Kaulana-a-ula. See note rf, p. 33. 

 J Ula leu. See note e, p. 33. 



