Meanwhile, Ke-ao-mele-mele was living with her cloud-watchmen and Mo-o-inanea at Ke-alohi-lani. She began to have dreams, hearing a sweet voice singing and seeing a glorious woman dancing, while winds were whispering in the forests. For five nights she heard the song and the sound of the dance. Then she told Mo-o-inanea, who explained her dream, saying: "That is the voice of Paliula, your sister, who is dancing and singing near the steep places of Kauai. Her brother-husband has forsaken her and she has had much trouble. He is living with Poliahu on Hawaii."
When Ke-ao-mele-mele heard this, she thought she would go and live with her sister. Mo-o-inanea approved of the thought and gave her all kinds of kupua power. She told her to go and see the god Kane, who would tell her what to do.
At last she started on her journey with her watching clouds. She went to see Hina and Olopana, and Ku and Hiilei. She saw Kau-mai-liula (twilight resting in the sky), who was very beautiful, like the fair red flowers of the ohia in the shadows of the leaves of the tree. She determined to come back and marry him after her journey to Oahu.
When she left Kuai-he-lani with her followers she flew like a bird over the waves of the sea. Soon she passed Niihau and came to Kauai to the place where Paliula was dancing, and as a cloud with her cloud friends spied out the land. The soft mists of her native land were scattered over the people by these clouds above them. Paliula was reminded of her birth-land and the loved people of her home.
Ke-ao-mele-mele saw the beauty of the dance and understood the love expressed in the chant. She flew away from Kauai, crossed the channel, came to Waolani, met Kane and Kanaloa and told them she had come to learn from them what was the right thing to do for the sister and the husband who had deserted her. Kane suggested a visit to Hawaii to see Paliula and the chief, so she flew over the islands to Hawaii. Then she went up the mountain with the ao-pii-kai (a cloud rising from the sea and climbing the mountain) until she saw Poliahu and her beautiful sisters.
Poliahu looked down the mountain-side and saw a woman coming, but she looked again and the woman had disappeared. In a little while a golden cloud rested on the summit of the mountain. It was the maid in her cloud body watching her brother and the girl of the white mountains. For more than twenty days she remained in that place. Then she returned to Waolani on Oahu.
Ke-ao-mele-mele determined to learn the hulas and the accompanying songs. Kane told her she ought to learn these things. There was a fine field for dancing at the foot of the mountain near Waolani, and Kane had planted a large kukui-tree by its side to give it shade.
Kane and his sister Anuenue went to this field and sat down in their place. The daughters of Nuuanu Pali were there. Kane sent Ke-ao-mele-mele after the dancing-goddess, Kapo, who lived at Mauna Loa. She was the sister of the poison-gods and knew the art of sorcery. Ke-ao-mele-mele took gifts, went to Kapo, made offerings, and thus for the first time secured a goddess for the hula.
DANCING THE HULA