EMEHSON] UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII 159 



In all our discussions and conclusions we must bear in mind that 

 the Hawaiian did not approach song merely for its own sake; the 

 song did not sing of itself. First in order came the poem, then the 

 rhythm of song keeping time to the rhythm of the poetry. The Ha- 

 waiian sang not from a mere bubbling up of indefinable emotion, but 

 because he had something to say for which he could find no other 

 adequate form of expression. The Hawaiian boy, as he walks the 

 woods, never whistles to keep his courage up. When he paces the 

 dim aisles of Kaliuwa'a, he sets up an altar and heaps on it a sacrifice 

 of fruit and flowers and green leaves, but he keeps as silent as a 

 mouse. 



During his performance Kualii cantillated his song while han- 

 dling a round wooden tray in place of a drum ; his wife meanwhile 

 performed the dance. This she did very gracefully and in perfect 

 time. In marking the accent the left foot was, if anything, the 

 favorite, yet each foot in general took two measures ; that is, the left 

 marked the clown-beat in measures 1 and 2, 5 and 6, and so on, 

 while the right, in turn, marked the rhythmic accent that comes with 

 the down-beat in measures 3 and 4, 7 and 8, and so on. During the 

 four steps taken by the left foot, covering the time of two measures, 

 the body was gracefully poised on the other foot. Then a shift was 

 made, the position was reversed, and during two measures the em- 

 phasis came on the right foot. 



The motions of the hands, arms, and of the whole body, including 

 the pelvis — which has its own peculiar orbital and sidelong swing — 

 were in perfect sympathy one part with another. The movements 

 were so fascinating that one was at first almost hypnotized and dis- 

 qualified for criticism and analytic judgment. Xot to derogate 

 from the propriety and modesty of the woman's motions, under the 

 influence of her Delsartian grace one gained new appreciation of 

 " the charm of woven paces and of waving hands." 



Throughout the whole performance of Kualii and his wife Abi- 

 gaila it was noticed that, while he Avas the reciter, she took the part 

 of the olapa (see p. 28) and performed the dance; but to this role she 

 added that of prompter, repeating to him in advance the words of 

 the next verse, which he then took up. Her verbal memory, it was 

 evident, was superior to his. 



Experience with Kualii and his partner, as well as with others, 

 emphasizes the fact that one of the great difficulties encountered in 

 the attempt to write out the slender thread of music {leo) of a Ha- 

 waiian mele and fit to it the words as uttered by the singer arises 

 from the constant interweaving of meaningless vowel sounds. This, 

 which the Hawaiians call ^'^, is a phenomenon comparable to the 

 weaving of a vine about a framework, or to the pen-flourishes that 



