98 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 38 



in her travels, and it was at Berlin, she says, that she witnessed for 

 the first time the European counterpart of the hula ki'i, the " Punch 

 and Judy" show : 



Meic no ka Hula Ki'i 



E le'e kau-kau, kala le'e; 

 E le'e kau-kau. 

 E le'e kau-kau, kala le'e. 

 E lepe kau-kau. 

 5 E o-ku ana i kai; 

 E u-au ai aku ; 

 E u-au ai aku ; 

 E u-au ai aku ! 

 E-he-he, e ! 



[Translation] 



Song for the Hula KVi 



Now for the dance, dance in accord; 

 Prepare for the dance. 

 Now for the dance, dance in time. 

 Up, now, with the flag ! 

 ' 5 Step out to the right ; 



Step out to the left ! 

 Ha, ha, ha ! 



This translation is the result of much research, yet its absolute 

 accuracy can not be vouched for. The most learned authorities 

 {kaha-olelo) in old Hawaiian lore that have been found by the writer 

 express themselves as greatly puzzled at the exact meaning of the mele 

 just given. Some scholars, no doubt, would dub these nonsense-lines. 

 The author can not consent to any such view. The old Hawaiians 

 were too much in earnest to permit themselves to juggle with words 

 in such fashion. They were fond of mystery and concealment, appre- 

 ciated a joke, given to slang, but to string a lot of words together 

 without meaning, after the fashion of a college student who delights 

 to relieve his mind by shouting " Upidee, upida," Avas not their way. 

 " The i^eople of the hula," said one man, " had ways of fun-making 

 peculiar to themselves." 



A\Tien the hula-dancer who communicated to the author the above 

 song — a very accomplished and intelligent woman — was asked for 

 information that would render possible its proper translation, she 

 replied that her part was only that of a mouthpiece to repeat the 

 words and to make appropriate gestures, he pono hula icale. 7io, 

 mere parrot-work. The language, she said, was such " classic " 

 Hawaiian as to be beyond her understanding. 



