Pele and Hiiaka—A Myth
81
Haawi pauku oko'a me ko ha'i kini.
He aloha ole no o Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani ma
I ka anaaná ia Ole-pau, e.
Lapu Ole-pau, e:
Ua akua ka ai a ka ilo!
He aloha ole no o Kaua-kahi-ma-hiku-lani ma
I ka anaaná ia Ole-pau, e.
Lapu Ole-pau, e:
Ua akua ka ai a ka ilo!
She pauses for a moment, then continues:
Anu Wai-he'e i ka makani Kili-o'opu;
He i'a iki mai ke kele honua[1] o Wailuku,
Mai ke kila o Pa-ha'a-lele la, e.
Ha'alele ke ea o Ole-pau;
Ua pokaka'a ka uhane,
Ua kaalo ia Milu.
He i'a iki mai ke kele honua[1] o Wailuku,
Mai ke kila o Pa-ha'a-lele la, e.
Ha'alele ke ea o Ole-pau;
Ua pokaka'a ka uhane,
Ua kaalo ia Milu.
TRANSLATION
O Kau-akahi-ma-hiku-lani,
You cast away the wilted fruit,
And with it the fortunes of many:
'Twas an act of unlove, that of yours—
To hurl this prayer-shaft at Ole-pau:
He'll become but a houseless ghost;
The maggots shall batten like gods.
Waihe'e crouches in the cold blast
Of the raging Kili-o'opu.
This atom soul I plucked from the grave,
From a fastness desolate now:
The spirit flits from Ole-pau,
Goes down the steep to destruction,
To the somber caverns of Milu.
You cast away the wilted fruit,
And with it the fortunes of many:
'Twas an act of unlove, that of yours—
To hurl this prayer-shaft at Ole-pau:
He'll become but a houseless ghost;
The maggots shall batten like gods.
Waihe'e crouches in the cold blast
Of the raging Kili-o'opu.
This atom soul I plucked from the grave,
From a fastness desolate now:
The spirit flits from Ole-pau,
Goes down the steep to destruction,
To the somber caverns of Milu.
With this she dashed the captive soul against the rock, and that was the end of Ka-ula-hea.
There was something in the manner of Hiiaka as she called the name of the kahuna Kau-akahi that chilled the courage of the group of sorcery gods. They saw that their game was played out, and they sneaked away and hid themselves.
- ↑ Kele honua, an instance of a noun placed after its adjective. The meaning of kele honua, literally, the miry soil, a deep taro patch.
