“A god,” said he.
“How is that? A mele-inoa celebrates the name and glory of a king, not of a god.”
His answer was, “The gods composed the mele; men did not compose it.”
Like an old-time geologist, he solved the puzzle of a novel phenomenon by ascribing it to God.
MAHELE III
(Ai-ha’a)
A Koa’e-kea,[169] i Pueo-hulu-nui, [169]
Neeu a’e la ka makahiapo o ka pali;
A a’e, a a’e, a’e [170] la iluna