la, who stood behind a screen, by
insinuating his hands under the clothing of the marionette,
could impart to it such movements as were called for by the
action of the play, while at the same time he repeated the
words of his part, words supposed to be uttered by the
marionette.

The hula ki'i was, perhaps, the nearest approximation made by
the Hawaiians to a genuine dramatic performance. Its usual
instrument of musical accompaniment was the ipu, previously
described. This drumlike object was handled by that division
of the performers called the hoopa'a, who sat in full view of
the audience manipulating the ipu in a quiet, sentimental
manner, similar to that employed in the hula kuolo.

As a sample of the stories illustrated in a performance of
the hula ki'i the following may be adduced, the dramatis
personae of which are four:

1. _Maka-ku_: a famous warrior, a rude, strong-handed
braggart, as boastful as Ajax.

2. _Puapua-kea_, a small man, but brave and active.

3. _Maile-lau-lii_ (Small-leafed-maile), a young woman, who
becomes the wife of Maka-ku.

4. _Maile-Pakaha_, the younger sister of Maile-lau-lii, who
becomes the wife of Puapua-kea.

Maka-ku, a rude and boastful son of Mars, at heart a bully,
if not a coward, is represented as ever aching for a fight,
in which his domineering spirit and rough-and-tumble ways for
a time gave him the advantage over abler, but more modest,
adversaries.

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, BULLETIN 38 PLATE IX
MARIONETTE, MAKA-KU]

[Page 93]

Puapuakea, a man of genuine courage, hearing of the boastful
achievements of Maka-ku, seeks him out and challenges him.

At the first contest they fought with javelins, _ihe_, each
one taking his turn according to lot in casting his javelins
to the full tale of the prescribed number; after which the
other contestant did the same. Neither was victorious.

Next they fought with slings, each one having the right to
sling forty stones at the other. In this conflict also
neither one of them got the better of the other. T