KMEiiSoN] ■ UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII 195 



And now the powerfnl thrust of the paddle, 

 10 Making niijrlity swirl of wafry yeast, 

 As of Xilit'U. the mischief-maker — 

 A mighty swirl of the yeasty wave. 

 In heaven's name, come aboard! 



After the death of Lohiaii. his best friend, Paoa. came before Pele 

 determined to invite death by pouring out the vials of his wrath on 

 the head of the goddess. The sisters of Pele sought to avert the 

 impending tragedy and persuaded him to soften his language and to 

 forego mere abuse. Paoa, a consummate actor, by his dancing, which 

 has been perpetuated in the hula Pele, and by his skillfull3'^-worded 

 prayer-songs, one of which is given above, not only appeased Pele, 

 but won her. 



The piece next appearing is also a song that Avas a prayer, and 

 seems to have been uttered by the same mouth that groaned forth the 

 one given above. 



It does not seem necessary to take the language of the mele literally. 

 The sufferings that the person in the mele describes in the first person, 

 it seems to the author, may be those of his friend Lohiau ; and the first 

 person is used for literary effect. 



Mele » 



Aole e mac ka ohn : 

 Auwe I make au i ke ahi a man 

 A ka wahine moe nana. 

 A i)ai)a eua-ena. 

 5 A wa'a kau-hi. 



Ilaila pepe mua me jiepe waena, 

 O pepe ka mu'inm'i, 



lei'na kiele, 

 Kan-meli-eli : ^ 



10 Ka maka kakahi kea 

 () Nihen kololie — 

 Ka maka kaha-kai kea. 

 Eli-eli, kan mai 1 



I Translation] 



Ahis, tliere"s no stay to the smoke; 



1 must (lie mid the quenchless flame — 

 Deed of the hag who snores in her sleep, 

 Hedded on lava plate oven-hot. 



5 Now it takes the shape of canoe; 



"The remarks on pp. 104 and 10."i i-pj^ai'dins: tlip mele on p. 104 are mostly applioable 

 to this mele. 



'' Kiiu-iHilit li. Tlie name of the dmilih' cauoe wliieh hi-<)uj;h( a company of the nods 

 from the lauds i>r the Sonth — Knkulu o Kahiki — to Hawaii. Hawaiian mytlis rel'er to 

 several migrations of the gods to Hawaii ; one of them is that described in the mele 

 given on p. 187, the first mele in this chapter. 



