134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 38 



To give love-caress to Mauu'a, 



And her neighbor Maha-mokn, 



And see the waters tiash at Mouo-lau ; 



My hand would quiet their rage, 

 10 .Would sidle and touch Lani-huli. 



Grant me but this one entreaty, 



We'll meet 'neath the omens above. 



Two flowers there are that bloom 



In your garden of being; 

 15 Entwine them into a garland, 



Fit emblem and crown of our love. 



And what the hour of your coming? 



When stands the Sun o'er the pali, 



When turns the breeze of the land, 

 20 To breathe the perfume of hala, 



While the currents swirl at Wai-pa. 



This mele is the language of passion, a song in which the lover 

 frankly pours into the ear of his inamorata the story of his love up 

 to the time of his last enthrallment. Verses 11, 12, and 17 are the 

 language of the woman. The scene is, laid in the rainy valley of 

 Hanalei, Kauai, a broad and deep basin, to the finishing of v/hich 

 the elements have contributed their share. The rush and roar of the 

 waters that unite to form the river Wai-oli, from their wild tumbling 

 in the falls of ]\Iolo-kama till they pass the river's mouth and mingle 

 with the flashing waves of the ocean at Mono-lau, Anapa i he kai o 

 Mono-lau (verse 8), are emblematic of the man's passion and his 

 quest for satisfaction. 



