X.— THE HULA PA-IPU, OE KUCLO 



The pa-ipy^ called also the kuolo, was a hnla of dignified char- 

 acter, in which all the performers maintained the kneeling ]:)()sition 

 and accompanied their songs with the solemn tones of the 'tpn (pi. 

 VII ) , with which each one was provided. The proper handling of this 

 drumlike instrument in concert with the cantillation of the mele 

 made such demands upon the artist, who was both singer and instru- 

 mentalist, that only persons of the most approved skill and experi- 

 ence were chosen to take part in the performance of this hula. 



The manner of treating the ipu in this hula differed somewhat 

 from that employed in the ala'a-papa, being subdued and quiet in 

 that, whereas in the pa-ipu it was at times marked with great vigor 

 and demonstrativeness, so that in moments of excitement and for the 

 expression of passion, fierce joy, or grief the ipu might be lifted on 

 high and wildly brandished. It thus made good its title as the most 

 important instrument of the Hawaiian orchestra. 



In the pa-ipu, as in the hulas generally, while the actors were 

 sometimes grouped according to sex, they were quite as often dis- 

 tributed indiscriminatel}^, the place for the leader, the kumu, being 

 the center. 



The vigor that marks the literary style of the mele now given 

 stamps it as belonging to the archaic period, which closed in the 

 early part of the eighteenth century, that century which saw the 

 white man make his advent in Hawaii. The poem deals apparently 

 with an incident in one of the migrations such as took place during 

 the period of intercourse between the North and the South Pacific. 

 This was a time of great stir and contention, a time when there was 

 much paddling and sailing about and canoe-fleets, often manned by 

 warriors, traversed the great ocean in every direction. It was then 

 that Hawaii received many colonists from the archipelagoes that lie 

 to the southward. 



Mele 



(Ko'i-lionua) 



Wela Kahiki, e! 

 Wela Kaliiki. e ! 

 Wela aku la Kahiki ; 

 Ua kaulu-wela ka mokii ; 



73 



