EMERSON] UNWRITTEN LITERATURE OF HAWAII 218 



(Translationl 



Kauln \vi-('alli(>s hvv brow with the ocean; 

 Niihau shines forth in the calm. 

 After the calm blows the Inn-wai. 

 And the palms of Nane drink of the salt. 

 5 From Nane the palm, from Pnna the maid, 

 Aye, from the pit of Kilauea. 



The hula mini-muhi^ literally the dance of the uiaiined, has lono- 

 been out of A'ogue. so that the author has met with l)iit one person, 

 and he not a practitioner of the hula, who has witnessed its i^erfonn- 

 ance. This was in Puna, Hawaii; the performance was by women 

 onl}^ and was without instrumental accompaniment. The actors were 

 seated in a half-reclining- position, or kneeling. Their arms, as if in 

 imitation of a maimed person, were bent at the elbows and doubled 

 up, so that their o-estures were made Avith the upper arms. The 

 mele they cantillat<'d went as follows: 



Pii ana a -a ma." 



A-ama kai nui, 



Kai ima-lena : 



A-ama, itai-e-a,'' 

 5 Naholo i ka lanpapa. 



Popo'i, popo'i, popo'i ! 



Pii mai i)ipiin,^ alealea ; 



Noho i ka malna kai 



O-n,'* o-i kela. 

 10 Ai ka limu akaha-kaha : ^ 



Kn e, Kahiki, i ke kai nni ! 



T ke kai pnalena a Kane! 



A ke Akna o ka Ina, 



I'a hiki i kai ! 

 15 Ai hnmn-hnmn, 



E lau, e Ian e, 



Ka opihi ^ koele ! 



Pa i uka, pa i kai. 



Kahi a ke Akua i pe'e ai. 



•^ A-dma. An edible black crab. When the surf is high it climbs up on the rocks. 



* Pai-r-n. An edible gray crab. The favorite time for taking thes(> crabs is when the 

 high tide or surf forces tliem to leave the water for protection. 



f PipipL A black seashell (Nerita). With it is often found the alea-led, a gray shell. 

 These shellfish, like the crabs above mentioned, crawl up the rocks and cliffs during stormy 

 weather. 



<* O-i'i. \ variety of eel that lurks in holes ; it is wont to keep its head lifted. The 

 o-i' (same verse) is an eel that snakes about in the shallow water or on the sand at 

 the edge of the water. 



<■ AkiiJiokiihd. A variety of moss. If one ate of this as he gathered it, the ocean at once 

 became tempestuous. 



f Opihi. An edible bivalve found in the salt waters of Hawaii. Pele is said to have 

 been very fond of it. There is an old saying, He akua ai opihi o Pelr — " Pele is a goddess 

 who eats the opihi." In proof of this statement they point to the huge piles of opihi 

 shells that may be found along the coast of Puna, the middens, no doubt, of the old-time 

 people. Korle was a term applied to the opihi that lives well under water, and theri^- 

 fore are delicate eating. Another meaning given to the word koele — opiJii koele, line 

 17 — is "heaped up." 



