48
Pele and Hiiaka—A Myth
Au ma ka hula-ana!
Kai-ko'o ka pali!
Pihapiha o Eleele,
Ke kai o Maka'u-kiu!
Aole au e hopo i ka loa
O Hono-kane-iki.
I Kane, la, olua;
I wahine, la, wau, e!
Kai-ko'o ka pali!
Pihapiha o Eleele,
Ke kai o Maka'u-kiu!
Aole au e hopo i ka loa
O Hono-kane-iki.
I Kane, la, olua;
I wahine, la, wau, e!
TRANSLATION
To swim this tossing sea,
While waves are lashing the cliff
And the ocean rages high,
At Eleele, the haunt of the shark!
I balk not the length of the road
By Hono-kane-iki.
Be you two stubborn as men!
Let me be guideful as woman.
While waves are lashing the cliff
And the ocean rages high,
At Eleele, the haunt of the shark!
I balk not the length of the road
By Hono-kane-iki.
Be you two stubborn as men!
Let me be guideful as woman.
Hiiaka then threw the peeled stick into the ocean and in a moment it was snatched out of sight. "There! If we were to swim we would be seized and eaten by Maka'u-kiu."
"When you tossed the stick into the ocean, the sea-moss covered and concealed it, and you thought it was the work of a shark," was the reply of Wahine-oma'o. Again they made ready to plunge into the sea. Hiiaka threw another stick and that too was instantly swallowed; whereupon she chanted again:
Hookukú ka au-hula-ana o ka pali!
Ke pu'e 'a la e ke kai a nalo ka auki;
He i'a ko lalo, he i'a, o Maka'u-kiu—
Maka'u-kiu, ho'i, e!
Ke pu'e 'a la e ke kai a nalo ka auki;
He i'a ko lalo, he i'a, o Maka'u-kiu—
Maka'u-kiu, ho'i, e!
TRANSLATION
Have done with this fool-hardy swim!
The ocean just gulps down the stick!
A monster fish dwells in the depth—
That monster shark, Maka'u-kiu;
Aye, the shark-god Maka'u-kiu!
The ocean just gulps down the stick!
A monster fish dwells in the depth—
That monster shark, Maka'u-kiu;
Aye, the shark-god Maka'u-kiu!
