Page:Pele and Hiiaka; a myth from Hawaii (IA pelehiiakamythfr00emeriala).pdf/69

TRANSLATION

The voice from above of a man supreme
Flies east, flies west, in the cry of a bird:
Curl over, thou yeasty billow of Kane!
Be rent, O Heaven, and quake, O Earth!
Kahiki's pillars, flame ye and burn!
Ka-moho-alii doth wake and rise
From his couch on banks of purple cloud.
To heaven return with thy tabu, O Ku!
Salvation, O Ku, for Hi'iaka—
Hi'iaka the darling of Pele!
Immortal life to her!

At this the gods of war sprang into array, as if unleashed by the words of Pele. At their head marched Ku-lili-ai-kaua, a veteran who had followed Pele in her voyage from Kahiki. With him, went Ke-ka-ko'i, a guide (hookele) well acquainted with the forest trails. In the van strode three weird figures (Ka-maiau, Ka-hinihini and Mápu) bearing conchs, to which they ever and anon applied their lips and sent forth resounding blasts. But even more thrilling and inspiring than the horns of Triton was the voice of these gods of war as they chanted their war-song:

Mele Ka'i Kaua

Hulihia ka mauna, wela i ke ahi;
Wela mo'a-nopu ka uka o Kui-hanalei,^[1]
I ke a pohaku Pu'u-lena^[2] e lele mai iuka.
O Ke-ka-ko'i^[3] ka hookele mai ka Lua;
O Ka-maiau^[4] kani pololei, kani le'ale'a;
O ka Hinihini^[5] kani kua mauna;
O ka Mápu^[6] leo nui, kani kóhakohá;

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1. Kui-hanalei, a region in Puna, not far from the caldera of Kilauea, said to be covered now with pahoehoe and aa.
2. Pu'u-lena, a wind that blows in the region of the volcano.
3. Ke-ka-ko'i (literally, the ax-maker), the name of the guide and path-finder to the company.
4. Ka-maiau, their trumpeter who carried a conch.
5. Hinihini, a poetical name for a land-shell, probably one of the genus Achatinella, which was popularly believed to give a shrill piping note.
6. Mapu, one of the trumpeters.