"The rows of stars of Kane,
The stars in the firmament,
The stars that have been fastened up,
Fast, fast, on the surface of the heaven of Kane,
And the wandering stars,
The tabued stars of Kane,
The moving stars of Kane;
Innumerable are the stars;
The large stars,
The little stars,
The red stars of Kane. O infinite space!
The great Moon of Kane,
The great Sun of Kane
Moving, floating,
Set moving about in the great space of Kane.
The Great Earth of Kane,
The Earth squeezed dry by Kane,
The Earth that Kane set in motion.
Moving are the stars, moving is the Moon,
Moving is the great Earth of Kane."[6]
I find the meles to Laka especially pretty, such as these, taken from Emerson's "Unwritten Literature of Hawaii":
"O goddess Laka!
O wildwood bouquet, O Laka!
O Laka, queen of the voice!
O Laka, giver of gifts!
O Laka, giver of bounty!
O Laka, giver of all things!"
"This is my wish, my burning desire,
That in the season of slumber,
Thy spirit my soul may inspire,
Altar dweller,
Heaven guest,
Soul awakener,
Bird from covert calling,
Where forest champions stand,
There roamed I too with Laka."
This one from the same collection is interesting in its simplicity and strength:
"O Pele, god Pele!
Burst forth now! burst forth!
Launch a bolt from the sky!
Let thy lightnings fly!...
Fires of the goddess burn.
Now for the dance, the dance,
Bring out the dance made public;
Turn about back, turn about face;
Dance toward the sea, dance toward the land,
Toward the pit that is Pele,
Portentous consumer of rocks in Puna!"
The Hawaiian myths, I find, are not nearly so original or so full of charm as the Japanese and Chinese stories, and the long names are tiresome. They have, moreover, lost their freshness, their individuality and their primitive quality in translation and through American influence. They had been handed down entirely by word of mouth until the missionaries arrived. Many of the myths bear some resemblance to Old Testament stories as well as to the traditions told by the head-hunters of the Philippines. The legends of the volcano seem more distinctly Hawaiian.
There are many legends of Pele as well as chants in her honour, which generally represent her as wreaking her vengeance on mortals who have been so unfortunate as to offend her. I quote one that is told to account for the origin of a stream of unusually black lava, which long, long ago flowed down to the coast on Maui:
"A withered old woman stopped to ask food and hospitality at the house of a dweller on this promontory, noted for his penuriousness. His kalo (taro) patches flourished, cocoanuts and bananas shaded his hut, nature was lavish of her wealth all around him. But the withered hag was sent away unfed, and as she turned her back on the man she said, 'I will return to-morrow.'
"This was Pele, goddess of the volcano, and she kept her word, and came back the next day in earthquakes and thunderings, rent the mountain, and blotted out every trace of the man and his dwelling with a flood of fire."