CHAPTER VII HIIAKA STARTS ON HER JOURNEY

 The refusal of her sisters to undertake the mission to fetch Lohiau had angered Hiiaka. Her intrepid¹ fealty² to Pele, their oldest sister and their alii, laughed to scorn the perils³ of the journey. She could not and, for a time, would not bring herself to understand their prudential attitude. Pele was their alii, and it was rank disloyalty in them to shirk any danger or to decline any command Pele might think fit to impose. In judging the conduct of her sisters, it did not at first enter the head of Hiiaka that motives⁵ of sound worldly prudence⁶ justified⁷ them in declining for themselves an errand full of danger, or in putting obstacles in the way of her going on the same errand: she saw in it only a failure to rise to the level of her own loyalty⁴.

 

The situation, then, was heavily charged with estrangement⁸, and when the woman in Hiiaka could not refrain from one more farewell, the color and tone of voice and song had in them the snap of electricity:

 

Ke ku nei au e hele, a noho oe;

A noho ana na Wahine o Lu-lu’u

E ka pae1 moku lehua

I uka o Ka-li’u, la.

Li’uli’u wale ka hele ana

O ka huaka’i moe ipo.

Aloha mai ka ipo,

O Lohiau ipo, e-e!

[23]

 

TRANSLATION

 

Here stand I begirt for travel;

You must tarry at home, and these …

These … women … who sit downcast.

Oh, care for my parks of lehua—

How they bloom in upland Ka-li’u!

Long is the way and many the day

Before you shall come to the bed of love,

But, hark! the call of the lover,

The voice of the lover, Lohiau!

At the utterance⁹ of this name Pele brightened and called to Hiiaka, “Yes, that is the name of our man. I purposely kept it back until you should have reached the water-shed (kaupaku2 o ka hale o kaua, literally¹⁰ the ridgepole) of our house, intending then to reveal it to you; but you have divined the man’s name. Go on your journey. Nothing shall avail to block your road. Yours is the power of woman; the power of man is nothing to that.”

 

On reaching the plateau of Wahine-kapu Hiiaka received a spiritual message telling her that Lohiau—the object of her errand—was dead. She at once turned towards Pele and commemorated¹¹ the fact in song:

 

I Akani-hia,

I Akani-kolea,

I Pu’u-wa’a-hia,

I Pu’u-manawa-le’a,

I Pu’u-aloha, la:

He mea e ke aloha o ke kane, e.

Ke haale iho nei au e hanini, e;

E uwé au, e!

TRANSLATION

 

Let us sound it aloud—

Far as the plover’s flight;

With full breath shout it,

And with a full heart,

Big with affection. [24]

Ah, wondrous¹² the love for a man!

The feelings that strive,

As these tears, to rush out—

I can not repress them!

Pele did not know this name-song of Lohiau until she heard it recited by Hiiaka. This it was that led Hiiaka to come back within easy hearing distance:

 

Ke uwá ia mai la e ka ua;

Ke kahe ia mai la e ka wai:

Na lehua i Wai-a’ama, la, lilo,

Lilo a’u opala lehua

I kai o Pi’i-honua, la;

Mai Po’i-honua no a Pi’i-lani.

TRANSLATION

 

It sobs¹³ in the rain;

It moans in the rushing tide.

Gone is my grove¹⁴ of lehuas—

My rubbish grove, that stood

By the pilfering¹⁵ waters—flown,

He has flown, like its smoke, to heaven.

’Tis there I must seek him!

“How absurd of you,” said Pele; “you were not sent on an expedition to heaven, but to bring a man who is here on earth. If you fly up to heaven, you will pass him by and leave him here below.”

 

Hiiaka and her faithful companion—Pau-o-pala’e—had gotten well away from the vast pit of Kilauea, with its fringe of steam-cracks and fumaroles that radiate from it like the stays of a spider-web, and they were nearing the borders of Pana-ewa, when Hiiaka’s quick ear caught the sound of a squealing¹⁶ pig. Her ready intuition furnished the right interpretation¹⁷ to this seemingly insignificant¹⁸ occurrence:

 

A loko au o Pana-ewa,

Halawai me ka pua’a

A Wahine-oma’o,

Me ku’u maka lehua i uka. [25]

Me ka Malu-ko’i3 i ka nahele,

E uwé ana i ka laau.

Alalá ka pua’a a ka wahine—

He pua’a kanaenae,

He kanaenae mohai ola—

E ola ia Pele,

I ka Wahine o ka Lua, e-e!

TRANSLATION

 

In the heart of Pana-ewa—

Lehuas were heavy with bud,

The dim aisles¹⁹ solemn with shadow—

I met with a suckling pig,

The pet of Wahine-oma’o,

A wailing²¹ voice in the wilderness²²:

’Twas the creature wail²⁰ of the thing,

Foredoomed as an offering, this

Wailing thing was a sacrifice,

An appeal to Pele for life,

To the Woman who dwells in the Pit.

At this moment a young woman of attractive person appeared on the scene and, prostrating²³ herself to the earth, said, “O, Pele, behold²⁴ my offering, which I bring to thee in fulfillment of the pledge made by my parents, that I should first seek thee, O Pele, before I come to my marriage bed. Accept this suckling which I offer to thee, O Pele.”

 

“I am not the one you are seeking: I am not Pele,” said Hiiaka. “Pele is over yonder in the Pit.”

 

The woman was persistent²⁵ and begged that Hiiaka would not despise her offering. After undeceiving her, Hiiaka carefully instructed her, lest she make some fatal mistake in her approach to the jealous goddess: “When you come to the Pit you must be careful in your approach to Pele. The least departure from the etiquette²⁶ she demands would be the cause of your death. Do not imagine that the fine large woman sitting at the door is Pele, nor that any one of the women seated within is she. You must pay no attention to these. Look for the figure of a wrinkled old woman lying bundled up on the hearth²⁷: that is Pele: make the offering to no one else but to her.” [26]

 

“Alas for me,” said Wahine-oma’o. “You will be gone a long way from this place by the time I shall return to seek you. I shall not be able to find you.”

 

“You will find us here,” replied Hiiaka assuringly.

 

Hiiaka used her power to bring the woman at once to her destination. Following the instructions given her, Wahine-oma’o was quickly transported into the presence of Pele and, having made her offering in due form, was about to retire, when Pele called her back and said, “Did you not meet some women going from here as you came this way?”

 

“I met some women,” she answered.

 

“Make haste and come up with them,” said Pele. “The younger woman is very dear to me. Attach yourself to her as a friend.”

 

“That I will do,” said Wahine-oma’o. Then, moved by an impulse that came to her (the work, it is said, of Hiiaka), she said to Pele, “I had imagined you to be a beautiful woman, Pele. But, lo, you are old and wrinkled; and your eyes are red and watery²⁸.” Thus saying, Wahine-oma’o took her departure and almost immediately found herself again with Hiiaka.

 

“You have made quick time,” Hiiaka said. “How did you get on?”

 

“I followed your instructions and presented my offering to the woman who was lying on the hearth. She asked me if I had met you, and when I said yes, she told me to look after you as a friend.”

 

“Is that all?”

 

“She also told me to watch you, to observe how you behaved towards the man—whether you kissed him or had any dalliance with him.”

 

“And did you say anything to Pele?”

 

“U-m, I bantered²⁹ her about her looks; told her she was a very ill-favored woman, while the women attending her were very handsome.”

 

Hiiaka laughed at this naive³⁰ account.

 

Night shut down upon them at Kuolo, a place just on the border of Pana-ewa. Paú-o-pala’e proposed that they should seek a resting place for the night with the people of the hamlet. Hiiaka would not hear to it: “Travelers should sleep in the open, in the road; in that way they can rise and resume their journey with no delay.” (O ka po’e hele he pono ia lakou e moe i ke alanui, i ala no a hele no.) [27]

 

1 One critic says it should be po’e. ↑

 

2Kaupaku o ka hale o kaua. A hidden reference to sexual intercourse³¹. ↑

 

3Malu-ko’i, dark and gloomy. 

1 intrepid   

adj.无畏的，刚毅的

参考例句：

• He is not really satisfied with his intrepid action.他没有真正满意他的无畏行动。
• John's intrepid personality made him a good choice for team leader.约翰勇敢的个性适合作领导工作。

2 fealty   

n.忠贞，忠节

参考例句：

• He swore fealty to the king.他宣誓效忠国王。
• If you are fealty and virtuous,then I would like to meet you.如果你孝顺善良，我很愿意认识你。

3 perils   

极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）

参考例句：

• The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
• With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？

4 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

5 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

6 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

7 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

8 estrangement   

n.疏远，失和，不和

参考例句：

• a period of estrangement from his wife 他与妻子分居期间
• The quarrel led to a complete estrangement between her and her family. 这一争吵使她同家人完全疏远了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

10 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

11 commemorated   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Lincoln commemorated the soldiers killed in the battle in his address. 林肯在演说中表扬阵亡将士。 来自辞典例句
• You'll be commemorated for killing a spy, and be specially discharged. 你们每杀一个间谍将会被记录到特殊档案。 来自电影对白

12 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

13 sobs   

啜泣（声），呜咽（声）( sob的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She was struggling to suppress her sobs. 她拼命不让自己哭出来。
• She burst into a convulsive sobs. 她突然抽泣起来。

14 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

15 pilfering   

v.偷窃（小东西），小偷( pilfer的现在分词 )；偷窃（一般指小偷小摸）

参考例句：

• He was caught pilfering. 他行窃时被抓个正着。
• Pilfering has stopped entirely since they put Angus in charge of the stores. 自从他们让安格斯掌管商店以来，小偷小摸就杜绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 squealing   

v.长声尖叫，用长而尖锐的声音说( squeal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
• The pigs were squealing. 猪尖叫着。

17 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

18 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

19 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

20 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

21 wailing   

v.哭叫，哀号( wail的现在分词 )；沱

参考例句：

• A police car raced past with its siren wailing. 一辆警车鸣着警报器飞驰而过。
• The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。

22 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

23 prostrating   

v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力

参考例句：

• The pain associated with pancreatitis has been described as prostrating. 胰腺炎的疼痛曾被描述为衰竭性的。 来自辞典例句

24 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

25 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

26 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

27 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

28 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

29 bantered   

v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的过去式和过去分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄

参考例句：

• We bantered Nick on the subject of marriage. 我们就婚姻问题取笑尼克。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rival team members bantered before the game. 双方队员在比赛前互相说笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

31 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。