Page:Pele and Hiiaka; a myth from Hawaii (IA pelehiiakamythfr00emeriala).pdf/70

O hulihia i ka ale ula,^[1] i ka ale lani,^[2]
I ka pu-ko'a,^[3] i ka a'aka^[4]—
I ke ahu a Lono^[5] e!
E lono anei, e hookuli?
E hookuli i ka uwalo, e!
Eü, e hele no e!
Hé-he-hé-e-e!

TRANSLATION

The Mount is convulsed, it belches flame;
Fire-scorched is upland Kui-hanalei—
A hail of stones shot out with sulphur-blasts.
Ka-ko'i guides the warrior-van;
The rousing peals of pearly conch
And thrilling notes of woodland shells
Stir every heart with tuneful cheer.
Heaven's blue is turmoiled with fire-clouds—
Boiling fountains of flame and cinder—
Such the form we give to our message:
Will he heed it, or turn a deaf ear?
Ah, you see, he scorns our entreaty.
Be valiant! now forward to battle!
Hé-he-hé-e-e!

Thus chanting their battle-mele (mele ka'i kaua), these gods of an old-time mythology marched, or flew, with resolute purpose to their task of rescuing Hiiaka and her little band and of ridding the land, at one and the same stroke, of their old entrenched foe, Pana-ewa. Heaven and earth stirred at their onset. The visible signs of their array were manifest in columns of seething fire-shot clouds that hovered like vultures over the advancing army. Arrived at striking distance, they let loose their lightning-bolts and sounded their thunder-gongs. Earth

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1. Ale ula, a cloud of steam and smoke, such as accompanied an eruption.
2. Ale lani, the patches of blue sky between masses of clouds.
3. Pu-ko'a, a column of steam and smoke bursting up from a volcanic eruption.
4. A'aka, a column of lapillae, accompanied by hot vapor and smoke, such as jet up from a volcanic crater or fissure.
5. Lono, a message; to hear a message, i.e., to receive it. The expression ahu a lono is at first a little puzzling. It means the visible bulk, or sign, of the message.