EMEKSoxj UNWKTTTP:N LITEKATURE of HAWAII 211 



A ko-vi ka liojio o ke koh'-a, la — 



Na u'i elua." 



Ki-ki'i ka iia i ka nana keia, la.'' 



['riau!>I;i(ioiiJ 



tioiKj 



Perilous, steoj), is the climb to Haiialei woods; 

 To walk cauuy footed over its bogs ; 

 To balance oneself on its ledges, 

 And toil up ladder of hanging roots. 

 5 The bulk of my guide overhangs me, 

 His loins are well-nigh exhausted : 

 Two beautiful shapes! 

 'Neath this bank I crouch sheltered from rain. 



At first blush this mele seems to be the account of a jxTilous climb 

 through that wild mountainous region that lies back of Hanalei, 

 Kauai, a region of tangled woods, oozy steeps, fathomless bogs, nar- 

 i-ow ridges, and overhanging cliffs that fall away into profound 

 abysses, making such an excursion a most precarious adventure. This 

 is what appears on the surface. HaAvaiian poets, however, did not 

 indulge in landscape-painting for its own sake; as a rule, they had 

 some ulterior end in view, and that end was the portrayal of some 

 primal human passion, ambition, hate, jealousy, love, especially love. 

 Guided by this principle, one asks Avhat uncouth or romantic love 

 adventure this wild mountain climb symbolizes. All the Hawaiians 

 whom the author has consulted on this question deny any hidden 

 meaning to this mele. 



« V'i elua. Literally two beauties. One interpreter says the reference is to the arms, 

 with which one pulls himself up ; it is here rendered " flanks." 



" Ki-kH ka ua i ka mum keia, la. The meaning of this passage is obscure. The most 

 plausible view is that this is an exclamation made by one of the two travelers while 

 crouching for shelter under an overhansiing bank. This one. finding himself unprotected, 

 exclaims to his companion on the excellence of the shelter he has found, whereupon the 

 secor.d man comes over to share his comfort only to And that he has been hoaxed and that 

 the deceiver has stolen his former place. The language of the text seems a narrow foun- 

 dation on which to base such an incident. A learned Hawaiian friend, however, finds it 

 all implied in this passage. 



