XXXVIII.—THE HULA O-NIU
The so-called hula o-niu is not to be classed with the regular dances of the halau. It was rather a popular sport, in which men and women capered about in an informal dance while the players engaged in a competitive game of top-spinning: The instrument of sport was made from the lower pointed half of an oval coconut shell, or from the corresponding part of a small gourd. The sport was conducted in the presence of a mixed gathering of people amid the enthusiasm and boisterous effervescence which betting always greatly stimulated in Hawaii.
The players were divided into two sides of equal number, and each player had before him a plank, slightly hollowed in the center—like the board on which the Hawaiians pounded their poi—to be used as the bed for spinning his top. The naked hand, unaided by whip or string, was used to impart to the rude top a spinning motion and at the same time the necessary projectile force—a balancing of forces that called for nice adjustment, lest the whirling thing reel too far to one side or run wild and fly its smooth bed. Victory was declared and the wager given to the player whose top spun the longest.
The feature that most interests us is the singing, or cantillation, of the oli. In a dance and game of this sort, which the author’s informant witnessed at Kahuku, Oahu, in 1844, one contestant on each side, in turn, cantillated an oli during the performance of the game and the dance.
Oli
Ke pohá, nei; u’ína la!
Kani óle-oléi, hau-walaau!
Ke wawa Pu’u-hina-hina; [495]
Kani ka aka, he-hene na pali,
Na pali o Ka-iwi-ku’i. [496]
Hanohano, makana i ka Wai-opua. [497]
Malihini ka hale, ua hiki mai;
Kani ka pahu a Lohiau,
A Lohiau-ipo [498] i Haena la.
Enaena ke aloha, ke hiki mai;
Auau i ka wai a Kanaloa. [499]
Nana kaua ia Lima-huli, [500] e.
E huli oe a loaa pono
Ka ia nei o-niu.
Footnote 495:[ (return) ] Pu’u-hina-hina. A precipitous place on the coast near Haena.
Footnote 496:[ (return) ] Ka-iwi-ku’i. A high cliff against which the waves dash.
Footnote 497:[ (return) ] Wai-opua. The name of a pleasant breeze.
Footnote 498:[ (return) ] Lohiau-ipo. The epithet ipo, sweetheart, dear one, was often affixed to the name of Lohiau, in token, no doubt, of his being distinguished as the object of Pele’s passionate regard.
Footnote 499:[ (return) ] Kanaloa. There is a deep basin, of clear water, almost fluorescent in its sparkle, in one of the arched caves of Haena, which is called the water of Kanaloa—the name of the great God. This is a favorite bathing place.
Footnote 500:[ (return) ] Lima-huli. The name of a beautiful valley that lies back of Haena.