[Translation.]
Song
Perilous, steep, is the climb to Hanalei woods;
To walk canny footed over its bogs;
To balance oneself on its ledges,
And toil up ladder of hanging roots.
The bulk of my guide overhangs me,
His loins are well-nigh exhausted;
Two beautiful shapes!
’Neath this bank I crouch sheltered from rain.
At first blush this mele seems to be the account of a perilous climb through that wild mountainous region that lies back of Hanalei, Kauai, a region of tangled woods, oozy steeps, fathomless bogs, narrow ridges, and overhanging cliffs that fall away into profound abysses, making such an excursion a most precarious adventure. This is what appears on the surface. Hawaiian poets, however, did not indulge in landscape-painting for its own sake; as a rule, they had some ulterior end in view, and that end was the portrayal of some primal human passion, ambition, hate, jealousy, love, especially love. Guided by this principle, one asks what uncouth or romantic love adventure this wild mountain climb symbolizes. All the Hawaiians whom the author has consulted on this question deny any hidden meaning to this mele.