XXXVII.— THE HULA ULILI 



The hula ulili, also called by the descriptive name holili — to wave 

 or flutter, as a pennant — was a hula that was not at all times con- 

 fined to the tabu restrictions of the halau. Like a truant schoolboy, 

 it delighted to break loose from restraint and join the informal pleas- 

 urings of the people. Imagine an assembly of men and women in 

 the picturesque illumination given by flaring kulaii torches, the men 

 on one side, the women on the other. Husbands and wives, smoth- 

 ering the jealousy instinctive to the human heart, are there by 

 mutual consent — their daughters the}^ leave at home — each one ready 

 to play his part to the finish, Avith no thought of future recrimina- 

 tion. It was a game of love- forfeits, on the same lines as kilu and 

 ume. 



Two men, armed with wands furnished with tufts of gay feathers, 

 pass up and down the files of men and women, waving their deco- 

 rated staffs, ever and anon indicating with a touch of the wand per- 

 sons of the opposite sex, who under the rules must pay the forfeit 

 demanded of them. The kissing, of course, goes by favor. The 

 wand-bearers, as they move along, troll an amorous ditty: 



OU 



Kii na ka ipo * * * 

 Mabele-hele i ka la o Kona ! " 

 O Kona,. kai a ke Akua.'' 

 Elua la, hull ka Wai-opua.'" 

 r> Nehe i ke kula, 



Leha iluna o Wai-aloha.<^ 

 Kaui ka aka a ka ua i ka laan, 

 Hoolaaii ana i ke aloha ilaila. 

 Pili la, a pili i ka'u iiiauu — 

 10 O pili o ka La-hiki-ola. 

 Ola ke kiui o-lalo. 

 Hana i ka mea lie ipo. 

 A hui e hui la ! 

 Hui Koolau-wahine ^ o Pua-ke-i ! f 



" La Kona. A day of Kona, i. e., of fine weather. 



'> Kai a ke Akua. Sea of the gods, because calm. 



<• Wai-opua. A wind which clianged its direction after blowing for a few days from one 

 quarter. 



<* Wai-aloha. The name of a hill. In the translation the author has followed its mean- 

 ing ("water of love"). 



« Koolau-wahine. The name of a refreshing wind, often mentioned in Hawaiian poetry ; 

 here used as a symbol of female affection. 



f Pua-ke-i. The name of a sharp, bracing wind felt on the windward side of Molokai ; 

 used here apparently as a symbol of strong masculine passion. 



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