And eat till the mouth is awry.
Lo, this the reward—the canoe.
Footnote 60:[ (return) ] This utterance of passion is said to have been, the composition of the Princess-Kamamalu, as an address to Prince William Lunalilo, to whom she was at one time affianced and would have married, but that King Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) would not allow the marriage. Thereby hangs a tragedy.
Footnote 61:[ (return) ] La’a. The region in Hawaii now known as Ola’a was originally called La’a. The particle o has become fused with the word.
Footnote 62:[ (return) ] Hewa ka waha. This expression, here tortured into “(till) the mouth awry,” is difficult of translation. A skilled Hawaiian scholar suggests, it may mean to change one from, an enemy to a friend by stopping his mouth with food.
Footnote 63:[ (return) ] Wa’a. Literally a canoe. This is a euphemism for the human body, a gift often too freely granted. It will be noted that in the answering mele komo, the song of admission, the reward promised is more modestly measured—“Simply the voice.”
The answer to this appeal for admission was in these words:
Mele Komo
E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko,
E hanai ai a hewa waha;