EMERSON] UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII 141 



a two-storied arcade, the haunch of the superimposed arch resting 

 directly on the crown of that below. In one case the lower arcade 

 Avas composed of Roman, while the upper was of Gothic, arches. The 

 grace of the design and the manner of its execution are highly pleas- 

 ing, and suggest the inquiry. Whence came the opportunity for this 

 intimate study of the arch ? 



The tone of the pahu was produced by striking its head with the 

 finger-tips, or with the palm of the hand ; never with a stick, so far 

 as the writer has been able to learn. Being both heavy and unwieldly, 

 it was allowed to rest upon the ground, and, if used alone, was placed 

 to the front of the operator; if sounded in connection with the in- 

 strument next to be mentioned, it stood at his left side. 



The pahu, if not the most original, was the most important instru- 

 ment used in connection with the hula. The drum, with its deep and 

 solemn tones, is an instrument of recognized efficiency in its power 

 to stir the heart to more vigorous pulsations, and in all ages it has 

 l)een relied upon as a means of insjDiring emotions of mystery, awe, 

 terror, sublimity, or martial enthusiasm. 



Tradition of the most direct sort ascribes the introduction of the 

 l^ahu to La'a — generally known as La'a-mai-Kahiki (La'a-from- 

 Kahiki) — a prince who flourished about six centuries ago. He was of 

 a volatile, adventurous disposition, a navigator of some renown, hav- 

 ing made the long voyage between Hawaii and the archipelagoes in 

 the southern Pacific — Kahiki — not less than twice in each direction. 

 On his second arrival from the South he brought with him the big 

 drum, the pahu, which he sounded as he skirted the coast quite out 

 to sea, to the wonder and admiration of the natives on the land. La'a, 

 being of an artistic temperament and an ardent patron of the hula, 

 at once gave the divine art of Laka the benefit of this newly im- 

 ported instrument. He traveled from place to place, instructing the 

 teachers and inspiring them with new ideals. It was he also who 

 introduced into the hula the kaekeeke as an instrument of music. 



2. The pu-niu (pi. xvi) was a small drum made from the shell of 

 a coconut. The top part, that containing the eyes, was removed, 

 and the shell having been smoothed and polished, the opening was 

 tightl}^ covered with the skin of some scaleless fish — that of the 

 kala (Acanthurus unicornis) was preferred. A venerable kumu-hula 

 states that it was his practice to use only the skin taken from the 

 right side of the fish, because he found that it produced a finer quality 

 of sound than that of the other side. The Hawaiian mind was very 

 insistent on little matters of this sort — the mint, anise, and cummin 

 of their system. The drumhead was stretched and placed in position 

 while moist and flexible, and was then made fast to a ring-shaped 

 cushion — poaha — of fiber or tapa that hugged the base of the shell. 



