Verses
11, 12, and 17 are the language of the woman. The scene is
laid in the rainy valley of Hanalei, Kauai, a broad and deep
basin, to the finishing of which the elements have
contributed their share. The rush and roar of the waters that
unite to form the river Wai-oli, from their wild tumbling in
the falls of Molo-kama till they pass the river's mouth and
mingle with the flashing waves of the ocean at Mono-lau,
_Anapa i ke kai o Mono-lau_ (verse 8), are emblematic of the
man's passion and his quest for satisfaction.

[Illustration:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 38 PLATE XV
WOMAN PLAYING ON THE NOSE-FLUTE (OHE-HANO-IHU)]

[Page 135]

XX.--THE HULA OHE

The action of the hula _ohe_ had some resemblance to one of
the figures of the Virginia reel. The dancers, ranged in two
parallel rows, moved forward with an accompaniment of
gestures until the head of each row had reached the limit in
that direction, and then, turning outward to right and left,
countermarched in the same manner to the point of starting,
and so continued to do. They kept step and timed their
gestures and movements to the music of the bamboo nose-flute,
the _ohe_.

In a performance of this hula witnessed by an informant the
chorus of dancers was composed entirely of girls, while the
kumu operated the nose-flute and at the same time led the
cantillation of the mele. This seemed an extraordinary
statement, and the author challenged the possibility of a
person blowing with the nose into a flute and at the same
time uttering words with the mouth. The Hawaiian asserted,
nevertheless, that, the leader of the hula, the kumu, did
accomplish these two functions; yet his answer did not remove
doubt that they were accomplished jointly and at the same
time. The author is inclined to think that the kumu performed
the two actions alternately.

The musical range of the nose-flute was very limited; it had
but two or, at the most, three stops. The player with his
left hand held the flute to the nostril, at the same time
applying a finger of the