Before proceeding2 to her task Hiiaka instructed Malae ha’a-koa to call in the guards stationed at Lohiau’s sepulcher3 and to keep the hula going for the next ten days as an attraction to draw off the people from playing the spy on her performances.
Hiiaka and her companion conquered the impossible and scaled the mountain wall as if their feet had the clinging property of the fly. Lohiau’s ghost would have escaped, but with birdlike quickness she caught it. At her command Wahine-oma’o gathered certain aromatic4 and fragrant5 herbs of the wilderness6, and having made a fire, they bruised7 and warmed the samples and spread them upon a sheet of leaves.
While Wahine-oma’o kept fast hold of the feet, Hiiaka forced the soul-particle to pass in through one of the eye-sockets. It went as far as the cavity of the chest, then turned back and strove to escape. Hiiaka guarded the ways of exit and with skillful manipulations compelled it to go on. Reaching the loins, it balked8 again; but Hiiaka’s art conquered its resistance and the human particle extended its journey to the feet. There was a twitching9 of these parts; the hands began to move, the eye-lids to quiver; breath once more entered the body. They lifted and laid it on the blanket of aromatics10 and restoratives, swathing it from head to foot.
Hiiaka set a calabash of water before her and, addressing Wahine-oma’o, said, “Listen to my prayer. If it is correct and faultless, our man will live; but if it is wrong or imperfect, he will die.”
“He will not survive,” replied Wahine-oma’o gloomily.
Kuli ke kahuna i-mua
Ia ku’i, nei, anapu, iluna, ilalo
O Hana-ia-ka-malama,1 o Mai-u’u,2 o Ma-a’a,2 [139]
O Nahinahi-ana,3 awihi, kau Kanaloa—
He akua, ua lele i ka lani,
Me Kuhulu ma4—o ka hanau a Kane,5
A na Wahine:6—o na Wahine i ka pa’i-pa’i:7
O Pa’i-kua,8 o Pa’i-alo,9 o Pa’i-kau-hale;10
O loiele ka aha,11 o lele wale12 ka pule,
A pa ia’u, pa ia oe;13
Halulu i ka manawa, he upe,
He waimaka—he waimaka aloha, e-e!
I e-e, holo ho’i, e-e!
TRANSLATION
Come Mistress of tabus; come ye who string leis,
And the Goddess who mixes the dyes.
Kanaloa, alert, soars aloft, [140]
With hairy Ku,—the offspring of Kane—
And the Women who cheer with a touch,
On the back, the chest, or knock at the door;
Lest the charm depart, the prayer go wrong,
With damage to me and damage to you—
A pain in the head, a drooling nose,
A shedding of tears—of love and regret.
Now let the prayer speed on its way!
“How was my prayer?” asked Hiiaka, turning to Wahine-oma’o.
“It was a good prayer,” she replied. “Its only fault was that it sped on too quickly and came to an end too soon.”
“In its haste to obtain recovery, no doubt,” said Hiiaka.
“Perhaps so,” the woman replied.
“Listen now to this prayer,” Hiiaka said. “If it is a good prayer our man will recover:”
A luna i Wahine-kapu,14
A Kilauea i ka Lua;
A lele, e, na Hoalii,15
O Ku-wa’a,16 o Ku-haili-moe,17
O ka naele18 o Hawaii.
E hi’i kapu o Kanaloa,
O Kui-kui,19 o Koli-koli,20
O Kaha-ula,21 o ka oaka kapa ulaula, [141]
Kapa eleele, o Kapa-ahu, o Lono-makua,22
O ke oahi maka a ka Ua la, e-e!
I e, holo e-e!
TRANSLATION
Ho, comrades from the sacred plateau!
Hither fly with art and cunning:
Ku, who fells and guides the war-boat;
Ku, who pilots us through dream-land;
All ye Gods of broad Hawaii;
Kanaloa, guard well your tabus;
Candle-maker, Candle-snuffer;
Goddess, too, of passion’s visions;
Lightning red all heaven filling—
Pitchy darkness turned to brightness—
Lono, come, thou god of all fire;
Come, too, thou piercing Eye of Rain:
Speed, speed my prayer upon its quest!
“How is my prayer?” said Hiiaka, turning to her companion. The answer was the same as before.
Hiiaka devotes herself to gentle ministrations of healing; but without intermitting the chanting of prayer-songs, the burden of whose petition is that the Spirit of Health shall prevail in Lohiau and restore him completely. After again sprinkling the body with water from the calabash, she breaks forth14:
Ia ho’uluulu ia mai au,
E Kane-kapolei23 imua e-e;
Ia ulu Kini o ke Akua, la;
Ulu mai o Kane, o Kanaloa—
O Hiiaka, kaula mana ia, e-e, [142]
Nana i ho’uluulu i na ma’i—
A a’e, a ulu, a noho i kou kuahu.
Eia ka wai la, he Wai Ola, e-e!
E ola, ho’i, e-e!
TRANSLATION
Come, enter, possess and inspire me;
Thou first, God of the flowery wild;
Ye roving sprites of the wildwood;
And master gods, Kane and Loa;—
Hiiaka, who calls you, lacks not
In power to heal and inspire—
In this one, your patron and guard.
Here is water, the Water of Life.
Give us this Life!
As in archery the character of the arrow, the skill of the archer16, and the caprice of the air-currents that blow athwart the course of the arrow’s flight may severally or collectively make or mar17 success, so likewise with the kahuna and his praying, success or failure were spelled by the quality of his prayer-shaft, by the manner of his utterance18 of it, and lastly, by the physical and moral state of the atmosphere as to the existence or absence of noise and disturbance19.
It was not, then, through a mere20 silly curiosity or pride of utterance that Hiiaka appealed to her attendant to learn what she thought of her prayer. Nor was it a vain and meaningless compliment when the latter declared the prayer to be good, the conditions favorable. At the same time she could not repress the criticism that from her emotional stand-point of view, the prayer seemed short.
Again Hiiaka sprinkled the body with water from the calabash while she uttered this prayer-song:
Eia ana au, e Laká,24 [143]
Kane a Ha’i-wahine25—
Ha’i pua o ka nahelehele,
Haki hana maile o ka wao,
Houluulu lei, ho’i, o Laká;
O Hiiaka, kaula mana ia, e-e,
Nana i ho’ouluulu na ma’i.
A a’e, a ulu, a noho i kou kahu:
Eia ka Wai la; he Wai Ola, e-e!
E ola, ho’i, e-e!
TRANSLATION
Here stand I in stress, Laká,
Thou husband of Haina-kolo.
What flowers have I plucked in the wild,
What maile stripped in the forest,
And her’s was the magic of cure.
But come thou, mount, enter, possess;
Give life to thy servant and priest.
Here’s water, the Water of Life!
Grant life!
The work of completely restoring Lohiau by the necromancies of the kahuna, like a process of nature, required the ripening23 hand of time. The utterance of prayer must be unremitting. [144]
1Hana-ia-ka-malama, a benevolent24 goddess who presided over the tabus that were the birthright of certain chiefs. The rules and observances that etiquette25 prescribed in the life and conduct of such a chief were intricate and burdensome to the last degree. It was, for instance, required that an infant who inherited this sort of a tabu must not be placed in such a position that the sun’s rays could shine on its vertex. ↑
2Mai-u’u, Ma-a’a, two goddesses (of the wilderness) whose function it was to string or twine leis and wreaths for the decoration of the superior gods. All the gods here mentioned were sometimes grouped under the appellation26 Akua o ka wa po—gods of the night-time—the fact being, however, that they worked as much by day as by night. ↑
3Nahinahi-ana, another name for the goddess Hina-ulu-ohi’a, under which appelation her function was to make the dyes used in coloring and printing the tapas. ↑
4Kuhulu ma. The particle-affix ma indicates that this name, or cognomen27 rather, comprises a group—in this case a family group—of deities28. Under the family cognomen Ku were ranged a large and important group of deities, to whom were given individual appelations appropriate to their functions. Thus, Ku-huluhulu and Ku-ka-ohi’a-laka were deities worshipped by the canoe-makers. Ku-hulu and his set (ma) exercised a function akin29 to that of the water-carrier. They had charge of the fabled30, life-giving water of Kane, Wai a Kane, and served it out according to the needs of men. ↑
5Hanau a Kane, offspring of Kane. This appellation is intended, apparently31, to cover the whole list of names already mentioned and, perhaps, some to be mentioned later in the mele. ↑
6Wahine. Who these women, goddesses, were is brought out in what follows. ↑
7Na Wahine i ka pa’ipa’i, literally32, the women who clapped, or applauded; but more closely specified33 as: ↑
8Pa’i-kua, the goddess who slapped the back, as was done in the hula. ↑
9Pa’i-alo, the goddess who slapped the chest, as was also done in the hula. ↑
10Pa’i-kauhale, she who knocked at the doors of the village, i.e., who roused the people generally. ↑
11Aha, the charm of a pule, its ceremonial correctness, its power as an incantation. ↑
12Lele wale, to get off the track; to go astray; to fail to hit the point. ↑
13A pa ia’u, pa ia oe, with results disastrous34 to me and to you. ↑
14Wahine-kapu, a bluff35 in the north-western wall that surrounds the caldera of Kilauea, the tabu residence of god Ka-moho-alii, a brother of Pele. ↑
15Hoali’i (Hoa, companion and alii, chief); a fellow chief. ↑
16Ku-wa’a, a god who presided at the hauling of a canoe-log. The shout raised on such an occasion, though it sounds almost like a repetition of this god’s name, being “ku maumau wa,” had a different origin. ↑
17Ku-haili-moe, one of the Ku gods, whose function it was to induce or preside over dreams at night. ↑
18Naele o Hawaii, probably meaning the whole broad area of Hawaii. One view would make it refer specially36 to the swampy37 lands. ↑
19Kui-kui, an archaic38 form of the word kukui; here meaning both the candle made from the kukui nut and the god who had the same under his special charge. ↑
20Koli-koli, the god who presided over the snuffling of the kukui nut candles. These were made by stringing the roasted nuts on a coconut39 leaf-rib. ↑
21Kaha-ula, the goddess who presided over erotic dreams. ↑
22Lono-makua, a god one of whose functions was to act as guardian40 of fire. When Pele and Kama-pua’a fought together and Kama-pua’a had succeeded in extinguishing the fires of Kilauea, Pele, in dismay, appealed to Lono-makua, saying, “There is no fire left.” Lono-makua calmly pointed41 to his armpit and said, “Here is the fire, in these fire-sticks,” (aunaki and aulima). The armpit was his place for carrying these sticks. When the Hawaiians first saw a White man with a lighted pipe in his mouth, smoke issuing therefrom, they said, “Surely, this is the great god Lono-makua; he breathes out fire.” ↑
24Laka, a god, or demi-god of various functions, such as fishing, agriculture, and house-building. Malo mentions Ku-ka-ohi’a-Laka as a god invoked43 by canoe-makers. Laka is evidently derived44 from the name Rata, which in Tahiti, Raro-tonga and New Zealand is the name of the ohi’a tree. Laka is to be distinguished45 from Laka, the goddess of the hula. ↑
25Haina-kolo, the same as Ha’i-wahine, the name used in the Hawaiian text. Ha’ina-kolo is a name that spells tragedy. She was a princess of Hawaii who married a mythical46 being, Ke-anini-ula-o-ka-lani and went with him to his home in the South. Being deserted47 by her husband, after the birth of her child she started to swim home to Hawaii. Arriving in a famished48 condition in Kohala, she ate of some ulei berries without first making an offering to the gods. For this offense49 she was afflicted50 with insanity51, and being distraught, she wandered in the wilderness until her repentant52 husband sent for her and restored her by his returning love.
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1
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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2
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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sepulcher
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| n.坟墓 | |
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aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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5
fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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7
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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8
balked
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| v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑 | |
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9
twitching
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| n.颤搐 | |
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10
aromatics
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| n.芳香植物( aromatic的名词复数 )；芳香剂，芳香药物 | |
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11
growl
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| v.（狗等）嗥叫，（炮等）轰鸣；n.嗥叫，轰鸣 | |
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12
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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13
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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14
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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15
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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16
archer
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| n.射手，弓箭手 | |
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17
mar
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| vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟 | |
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18
utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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19
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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20
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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21
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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22
toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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23
ripening
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| v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成 | |
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24
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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25
etiquette
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| n.礼仪，礼节；规矩 | |
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26
appellation
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| n.名称，称呼 | |
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27
cognomen
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| n.姓；绰号 | |
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28
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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29
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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30
fabled
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| adj.寓言中的，虚构的 | |
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31
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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32
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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33
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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35
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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36
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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37
swampy
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| adj.沼泽的，湿地的 | |
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38
archaic
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| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
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39
coconut
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| n.椰子 | |
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40
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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41
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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42
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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43
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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44
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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45
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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46
mythical
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| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
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47
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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48
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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49
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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50
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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51
insanity
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| n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐 | |
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52
repentant
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| adj.对…感到悔恨的 | |
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