ir presence and inspiration, but
especially of that one, Laka, whose bodily presence is
symbolized by a rude block of wood arrayed in yellow tapa
that is set up on the altar itself. Thus does the kumu sing:

_Pule Kuahu_

El' au e Laka mai uka,
E Laka mai kai;
O hooulu
O ka ilio[18] nana e hae,
5 O ka maile hihi i ka wao,
O ka lau-ki[19] lei o ke akua,
O na ku'i hauoli
O Ha'i-ka-manawa.[20]
O Laka oe,
10 O ke akua i ke kuahu nei, la;
E ho'i, ho'i mai a noho i kou kuahu!

[Translation]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

Here am I, oh Laka from the mountains,
Oh Laka from the shore;
Protect us
Against the dog that barks;

[Page 21] 5 Reside in the wild-twining maile
And the goddess-enwreathing ti.
All, the joyful pulses.
Of the woman Ha'i-ka-manawa!
Thou art Laka,
10 The god of this altar;
Return, return, abide in thy shrine!

[Footnote 18: _Ilio nana e hae_. The barking of a dog, the
crowing of a cock, the grunting of a pig, the hooting of an
owl, or any such sound occurring at the time of a religious
solemnity, _aha_, broke the spell of the incantation and
vitiated the ceremony. Such an untimely accident was as much
deprecated as were the Turk, the Comet, and the Devil by
pious Christian souls during the Middle Ages.]

[Footnote 19: _Lau-ki_. The leaf of the _ti_ plant--the
same as the _ki_--(Dracaena terminalis), much used as an emblem
of divine power, a charm or defense against malign spiritual
influences. The kahuna often wore about his neck a fillet of
this leaf. The _ti_ leaf was a special emblem of Ha'i-wahine,
or of Li'a-wahine. It was much used as a decoration about the
halau.]

[Footnote 20: _Ha'i-ka-manawa_. It is conjectured that this is
the same as Ha'i-wahine. She was a mythological character,
about whom there is a long and tragic story.]

The prayers which the hula folk of