[Translation.]
Song
Ka-la-kaua, a great name,
A flower not wilted by the sun;
It blooms on the mountains,
In the forests of Mauna-kea;
It burns in Ki-lau-e-a,
Illumines the cliff Wahine-kapu,
The heights of Uwe-kabuna,
The sacred pali of Ka-au-e-a.
Shine forth, king of bird-hunters,
Resplendent in plumage of mamo,
Bright flower of Hawaii:
Ka-la-kaua, the Illustrious!
The proper names Wahine-kapu, Uwe-kahuna, and Ka-au-e-a in the sixth, seventh, and eighth verses are localities, cliffs, bluffs, precipices, etc., in and about the great caldera of Kilauea, following up the mention (in the fifth verse) of that giant among the world’s active volcanoes.
The purpose of the poem seems to be to magnify the prowess of this once famous king as a captivator of the hearts and loving attentions of the fair sex.
Mele
Kona kai opua [253] i kala i ka la’i;
Opua binano ua i ka malie;
Hiolo na wai naoa a ke kehau,
Ke’ na-ú [254] la na kamalii,
Ke kaohi la i ke kukuna o ka la;
Ku’u la koili i ke kai—
Pumehana wale ia aina!
Aloha wale ke kini o Hoolulu,
Aohe lua ia oe ke aloha,
O ku’u puni, o ka me’ owá.
Footnote 253:[ (return) ] Opua means a distinct cloud-pile, an omen, a weather-sign.
Footnote 254:[ (return) ] The word na-ú refers to a sportive contest involving a trial of lung-power, that was practised by the youth of Kona, Hawaii, as well as of other places. They stood on the shore at sunset, and as the lower limb of the sun touched the ocean horizon each one, having filled his lungs to the utmost, began the utterance of the sound na-u-u-u-u, which he must, according to the rules of the game, maintain continuously until the sun had disappeared, a lapse of about two minutes’ time. This must be done without taking fresh breath. Anyone inhaling more air into his lungs or intermitting the utterance of the sound was compelled by the umpire to withdraw from the contest and to sit down, while anyone who maintained the droning utterance during the prescribed time was declared victor. It was no mean trial.