Kawelo, of the island of Kauai, was a sort of giant; handsome, well made, muscular, his prodigious strength defied animate and inanimate nature. In his early youth, he felt a violent pa.s.sion kindle in his bowels for the Princess Kaakaukuhimalani, so that he sought in every way to touch her heart. But the princess, too proud, and too high a lady, did not deign to cast her eyes upon him.
Despairing of making her reciprocate his love, Kawelo poured into his mother"s bosom his grief and his tears. "Mother," said he, "how shall I succeed in espousing this proud princess? What must I do? Give me your counsel."
"My son," replied his mother, "a youth who wishes to please ought to make himself ready at labor, and skillful in fishing; this is the only secret of making a good match."
Kawelo too eagerly followed his mother"s advice, and soon there was not on the island a more indefatigable planter of kalo, nor a more expert fisherman. But what succeeds with common women is not always the thing to charm the daughters of kings. Kaakaukuhimalani could make nothing of a husband who was a skillful farmer or a lucky fisherman; other talents are required to touch the hearts of n.o.bles, and hers remained indifferent, insensible to the sighs of Kawelo. n.o.bles then, as to-day, regarded pleasure above all things; and a good comedian was worth more to them than an honest workman.
In his great perplexity, Kawelo consulted an old dancing-master, who told him, "Dancing and poetry are the arts most esteemed and appreciated by those in power. Come with me into the mountains. I will instruct you, and if you turn out an accomplished dancer, you will have a sure means of pleasing the insensible Kaakaukuhimalani." Kawelo listened to the advice of the poet dancing-master, and withdrew into the mountains to pursue his duties.
He soon became a very skillful dancer, and an excellent reciter of the mele; so the fame of his skill was not slow in extending through all the valleys of the island.
One day when Kaakaukuhimalani desired to collect all the accomplished dancers of Kauai, her attendants spoke to her of Kawelo as a prodigy in the art, who had not his equal from one end to the other of the group, from Hawaii to Niihau. "Let some one bring me this marvel!" cried the princess, p.r.i.c.ked with a lively curiosity. The old and cunning preceptor of the mountains directed his pupil not to present himself at the first invitation, in order to make his presence more ardently desired. Kawelo, understanding the value of this advice, did not obey until the third request; he danced before the princess with a skill so extraordinary that she fell in love with him, and married him. So Kawelo found himself raised to princely rank.
The happy parvenu had three older brothers. They were: Kawelomakainoino, with fierce look and evil eye; Kawelomakahuhu, with unpleasant countenance and angry expression; Kawelomakaoluolu, with a lovable and gracious face.
All three were endued with the same athletic strength as their younger brother.
Jealous of the good fortune which a princely marriage had brought their brother, they resolved to humble him for their pleasure. Taking advantage of the absence of Kaakaukuhimalani, they seized Kawelo and poured a calabash of poi over his head. Poor Kawelo! The paste ran down from his head over all his body, and covered him with a sticky plaster which almost suffocated him. Overwhelmed with shame at having to undergo so humiliating a punishment, Kawelo fancied that he could no longer live at Kauai; he determined to exile himself, and live in Oahu.
He had already embarked in his canoe and prepared to set sail with some faithful friends, when he saw his wife on the sh.o.r.e. Seated beneath the shade of a kou (_Gordia sebestena_) Kaakaukuhimalani waved her hand to Kawelo, crying:
Hoi mai Toi mai kaua! Mai hele aku oe!
Return, Return with me! Go not away from me!
Kawelo, touched with love for his wife, but immovably determined to leave his island, chants his adieu, which forms the subject of the first canto.
PAHA AKAHI.
Aloha kou e, aloha kou; Ke aloha mai kou ka hoahele I ka makani, i ka apaapaa Anuu o Ahulua.
Moe iho uei au I ka po uliuli, Po uliuli eleele.
Anapanapa, alohi mai ana ia"u Ke aa o Akua Nunu.
Ine ee au e kui e lei Ia kuana na aa kulikuli.
Papa o hee ia nei lae.
E u"alo, e u"alo Ua alo mai nei ia"u Ka launiu e o peahi e; E hoi au e, e hoi aku.
CANTO I.
Thou lovest me still! Oh yes Thou lovest me; thou, The companion who has followed me.
In the tempest and in the icy Winds of Ahulua. I, alas!
Sleep in dark night, in dark And sombre night. My eyes Have seen the gleaming flashes Of the face of the G.o.d Nunu.
If I resist, I am smitten as by The thunder-bolts of the deepening storm.
Go, daughter of Papa, away from this Headland; cease thy lamentations; Cease to beckon to me With thy fan of cocoa-nut leaves, I will come again. Depart thou!
On his arrival at Oahu, Kawelo was well received by the king of that island, Kakuihewa, who loaded him with favors, and even accorded him great privileges, to do honor to his wonderful strength. Kawelo did not forget himself in the midst of the pleasures his strength procured him. He had vengeful thoughts toward Kauai for the injury he had received from his brothers. Retiring to a secluded place, and concealing himself as much as possible from the notice of Kakuihewa, he secretly set about recruiting a small army of devoted men for an expedition against the island of Kauai.
When he had collected enough warriors, he put to sea with a fleet of light canoes. Hardly had he left the sh.o.r.e of Oahu, when the marine monster, Apukohai, met him--an evil omen. He was but the precursor of another monster, Uhumakaikai, who could raise great waves and capsize canoes. The oldest sailors never fail to return to land at the first appearance of Apukohai; all the pilots then advised Kawelo to go back with all speed.
But the chief, full of determination which nothing could shake, would not change his course; he persisted in sailing toward his destination. This is the subject of the second canto.
PAHA ELUA.
O ka"u hoa no ia, E hoolulu ai maua i ka nahele, I anehu au me he kua ua la I oee au me he wai la.
I haalulu au me he kikili la.
I anei wau me he olai la.
I alapa au me he uila la.
I ahiki welawela au me he la la.
Melemele ka lau ohia, Kupu a melemele, I ka ua o na" pua eha, Eha, o na ole eha eha, O na kaula" ha i ke kua No paihi, o ka paihi o main.
A Haku, Haku ai i ka manawa, E Pueo e kania, Manawai ka ua i ka lehua, E hoi ka ua a ka maka o ka lehua; La noho mai; E hoi ka makani A ka maka oka opua La noho mai E hoi ke kai a manawai Nui ka oo, la noho mai.
E kuu e au i kuu wahi upena Ma kahi lae: E hei ka makani la"u.
E kuu e au i kuu wahi upena Ma ka" lua lae, E hei ka ino ia "u E kuu e au e kuu wahi upena Ma ka "kolu lae, E hei ke kona ia "u E kuu e au e kuu wahi upena Ma ka" ha lae, E hei luna, e hei lalo, E hei uka, e hei kai, E hei Uhumakaikai.
I ke olo no Hina, E hina kohia i ka aa, Uhumakaikai.
CANTO II.
I had a friend with whom I lived peacefully in the wilderness.
I swung like a cloud full of rain, I murmured like a rivulet, I shook like a thunder-bolt, I overturned every thing like an earthquake, I flashed as lightning, I consumed like the sun.
Yellow was the ohia leaf; Unfolding, it turned yellow Under the rain of the four clouds, In the month of the four _ole_, When the fisherman, four ropes Upon his back, enjoyed calm and fair weather.
Be Lord, be lord of the weather.
O Owl, whose cries give life!
Send down the rain upon the lehua; Let the rain come again upon The buds of the lehua. Rest, O Sun!
Let the wind fly Before the face of the clouds.
Rest, O Sun!
Return, O Ocean of the mighty waters; Great is thy tumult! Sun rest here.
Rest, O Sun! I will cast my net At the first headland; I shall catch the wind.
I will cast my net At the second headland; I shall catch a tempest.
I will cast forth my net At the third headland; I shall get the south wind.
I will cast forth my net At the fourth headland; I shall take above, below, Land and sea-- I shall take Uhumakaikai.
At a single word of Hina He shall fall; hard pressed Shall be the neck of Uhumakaikai.
In the sixteenth verse of this second canto Kawelo invokes the owl, which the Hawaiians regarded as a G.o.d. In extreme perils, if the owl made its cries heard, it was a sign of safety, as the voice of this bird was sacred; and more than once has it happened that men, destined to be immolated on the altar of sacrifices as expiatory victims, have escaped death merely because the owl (_Pueo_) was heard before the immolation. It is easy to understand, after this, the invocation that Kawelo made to Pueo when he found himself in combat with the terrible Uhumakaikai.
In the third canto Kawelo endeavors to destroy the monster. He commences by saying that he, a chief (_ka lani_), does not disdain to work as a simple fisherman. Then he pays a tribute to those who have woven the net he is going to use to capture the monster of the sea. The olona (_Boehmeria_), a shrub whose bark furnishes the Hawaiians with an excellent fibre, was regarded as a sort of deity. Before spinning its fibres, they made libations, and offered sacrifices of hogs, fowls, etc.
Kawelo refers to all this in his song.
PAHA EKOLU.
Huki kuu ka lani Keaweawekaokai honua, Kupu ola ua ulu ke opuu.
Ke kahi "ke olona.
Kahoekukama kohi lani.
O kia ka piko o ke olona, Ihi a ka ili no moki no lena, Ahi kuni ka aala, Kunia, haina, paia, Holea, hoomoe ka Papa, Ke kahi ke olona, Ke kau ko opua, Ke kea ka maawe Kau hae ka ilo ka uha, Ke kaakalawa ka upena: O kuu aku i kai, I kai a Papa; ua hina, E hina, kohia i ka aa O Uhumakaikai.
CANTO III.
I, a chief, willingly Cast my net of olona; The olona springs up, it grows, It branches and is cut down.
The paddles of the chief beat the sea.
Stripped off is the bark of the alona, Peeled is the bark of the yellow moki.
The fire exhales a sweet odor; The sacrifice is ready.
The bark is peeled, the board[F] is made ready, The olona is carded, And laid on the board.
White is the cord, The cord is twisted on the thigh, Finished is the net!