XXVII.—THE HULA KIELÉI
The hula kí-e-léi, or kí-le-léi, was a performance of Hawaii’s classic times, and finds mention as such in the professedly imperfect list of hulas given by the historian David Malo. [395] It was marked by strenuous bodily action, gestures with feet and hands, and that vigorous exercise of the pelvis and body termed ami, the chief feature of which was a rotation of the pelvis in circles and ellipses, which is not to be regarded as an effort to portray sexual attitudes. It was a performance in which the whole company stood and chanted the mele without instrumental accompaniment.
Footnote 395:[ (return) ] Hawaiian Antiquities, by David Malo; translated by N.B. Emerson, A.M., M.D. Honolulu, the Hawaiian Gazette Company (Limited), 1903.
The sacrifice offered at the kuahu in connection with the production of this hula consisted of a black pig, a cock of the color termed ula-hiwa—black pointed with red—a white hen, and awa. According to some authorities the offerings deemed appropriate for the sacrifice that accompanied each hula varied with the hula, but was definitely established for each variety of hula. The author’s studies, however, lead him to conclude that, whatever may have been the original demands of the gods, in the long run they were not overparticular and were not only willing to put up with, but were well pleased so long as the offering contained, good pork or fish and strong awa.
Mele
Ku piliki’i Hanalei-lehua, [396] la;
Kao’o [397]’luna o ka naéle, [398] la;
Ka Pili-iki i ka Hua-moa, la;
E ka mauna o ke a’a lewalewa [399] la.
A lewa ka hope o ko’u hoa, la,
A ko-ú ka hope o ke koléa, la—
Na u’i elua. [400]
Ki-ki’i ka ua i ka nana keia, la. [401]
Footnote 396:[ (return) ] Hanalei-lehua. A wilderness back of Hanalei valley, Kauai, in which the lehua tree abounds. The features of this region are as above described.
Footnote 397:[ (return) ] Kaó’o. To bend down the shrubs and tussocks of grass to furnish solid footing in crossing swampy ground.
Footnote 398:[ (return) ] Naé’le. Boggy ground; a swamp, such as pitted the summit of Kauai’s central mountain mass, Waiáleále.
Footnote 399:[ (return) ] A’a lewalewa. Aerial roots such as are put forth by the lehua trees in high altitudes and in a damp climate. They often aid the traveler by furnishing him with a sort of ladder.
Footnote 400:[ (return) ] U’i elua. Literally two beauties. One interpreter says the reference is to the arms, with which one pulls himself up; it is here rendered “flanks.”
Footnote 401:[ (return) ] Ki-ki’i ka ua i ka nana keia, la. The meaning of this passage is obscure. The most plausible view is that this is an exclamation made by one of the two travelers while crouching for shelter under an overhanging bank. This one, finding himself unprotected, exclaims to his companion on the excellence of the shelter he has found, whereupon the second man comes over to share his comfort only to find that he has been hoaxed and that the deceiver has stolen his former place. The language of the text seems a narrow foundation on which to base such an incident. A learned Hawaiian friend, however, finds it all implied in this passage.
