CANTO I
Lo, Pele’s the god of my choice:
Let heaven and earth in silence wait
Here is awa, potent, sacred,
Bitter sea, great Hiiaka’s root;
’Twas cut at Mauli-ola—
Awa to the women forbidden,
Let it tabu be!
Exact be the rite of your awa,
O Pele of the sacred land.