Again, it should be remembered that the entire body of material forming the repertory of the hula—pule, mele, and oli—was intrusted to the keeping of the memory, without the aid of letters or, so far as known, of any mnemonic device; and the human mind, even under the most athletic discipline, is at best an imperfect conservator of literary form. The result was what might be expected: as the imagination and emotions of the minstrel warmed under the inspiration of his trust, glosses and amendments crept in. These, however, caused but slight variations in the text. The substance remains substantially the same.
After carefully weighing the matter, the author can not avoid the conclusion that jealousy had much to do with the slight differences now manifest, that one version is as authoritative as another, and that it would be well for each kumu-hula to have kept in mind the wise adage that shines among the sayings of his nation: Aohe pau ka ike i kau halau [56]—“Think not that all of wisdom resides in you halau.” [57]
Footnote 56:[ (return) ] Sophocles (Antigone, 705) had said the same thing:[Greek: me nun en ethos pounon en sautô phorei ôs phes su, kouden allo, tout’ orphôs echein]—“Don’t get this idea fixed in your head, that what you say, and nothing else, is right.”
Footnote 57:[ (return) ] Halau. As previously explained, in this connection halau has a meaning similar to our word “school,” or “academy,” a place where some art was taught, as wrestling, boxing, or the hula.
Mele Kahea
Li’u-li’u aloha ia’u,
Ka uka o Koholá-lele,
Ka nahele mauka o Ka-papala [58] la.
Komo, e komo aku hoi au maloko.
Mai ho’ohewahewa mai oe ia’u; oau no ia,