Now raise it, aye raise it,
5 Till it reaches the niches
Of Ki-lau-e-a.
Enshrined is there my kinsman,
Ku-nui-akea.
Then give it a place
10 In the temple of Pele;
And a bowl for the throats
That are croaking with thirst.
Knock-kneed eater of land,
O Pele, god Pele!
15 O Pele, god Pele!
Burst forth now! burst forth!
Launch a bolt from the sky!
Let thy lightnings fly:

When this poem[367] first came into the author's hands, though
attracted by its classic form and vigorous style, he could
not avoid being repelled by an evident grossness. An old
Hawaiian, to whom he stated his objections, assured him that
the mele was innocent of all bad intent, and when the
offensive word was pointed out he protested that it was an
interloper. The substitution of the right word showed that
the man was correct. The offense was at once removed. This
set the whole poem in a new light and it is presented with
satisfaction. The mele is properly a name-song, _mele-inoa_.
The poet represents some one as lifting a name to his mouth
for praise and adulation. He tells him to take it to
Kilauea--that it may reecho, doubtless, from the walls of the
crater.

[Footnote 367: It is said to ue the work of a hula-master, now
some years dead, by the name of Namakeelua.]
[Page 202]

XXV.--THE HULA PA'I-UMAUMA

The hula _pa'i-umauma_--chest-beating hula--called also hula
_Pa-lani_,[368] was an energetic dance, in which the actors, who
were also the singers, maintained a kneeling position, with
the buttocks at times resting on the heels. In spite of the
restrictions imposed by this attitude, they managed to put a
spirited action into the performance; there were vigorous
gestures, a frequent smiting of the chest with the open hand,
and a strenuous movement of the pelvis and lower part of the
body called _ami_. This consisted of rhythmic motions,
sidewise, backward, forward, and in a circular or elliptical