Bernard Mandeville - "An Enquiry into the Origin of Honour, and the Usefulness of Christianity in War"

Charles Egbert Craddock - "The Young Mountaineers"

Clovis G. Chappell - "Sermons on Biblical Characters"

Marcus Tullius Cicero - "Cicero's Brutus or History of Famous Orators; also His Orator, or Accomplished Speaker. "

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

Unwritten Literature of Hawaii

N >> Nathaniel Bright Emerson >> Unwritten Literature of Hawaii




[Footnote 301: _Hooipo-i-ka-Malanai_. A mythical princess of
Wailua, the grandmother of Kaili. This oft-quoted phrase,
literally meaning to make love in the (gently-blowing)
trade-wind, has become almost a stock expression, standing
for romantic love, or love-making.]

[Footnote 302: _Lehua-wehe_. The piece of ocean near the mouth
of the Wailua river in which Kaili indulged her passion for
surf-riding.]

[Footnote 303: _Kalu-kalu o Kewa_. _Kalu-kalu_ may mean a
species of soft, smooth grass specially fitted for sliding
upon, which flourished on the inclined plain of Kewa, Kauai.
One would sit upon a mat, the butt end of a coconut leaf, or
a sled, while another dragged it along. The Hawaiian name for
this sport is _pahe'e_. _Kalu-kalu_ is also the name applied
to "a very thin gauze-like kapa." (See Andrews's Hawaiian
Dictionary.) If we suppose the poet to have clearly intended
the first meaning, the figure does not tally with the
following verse, the fifteenth. Verses 14 and 15 would thus
be made to read:

I desire the kalu-kalu (grass) of Kewa,
That is riding the surf of Maka-iwa.

This is an impossible figure and makes no sense. If, on the
other hand, we take another version and conceive that the
bard had in mind the gauze-like robe of _kalu-kalu_--using
this, of course, as a figure for the person clad in such a
robe--the rendering I have given,

I pine for the sylph, robed in gauze,
Who rides the surf Maka-iwa,

would not only make a possible, but a poetic, picture. Let
the critical reader judge which of these two versions hits
closer to common sense and probability.]

[Translation]

_Song._

Come up to the wildwood, come;
Let us visit Wai-kini,
And gaze on Pihana-ka-lani,
[Page 137] Its birds of plumage so fine;
5 Be comrade to Hale-lehua,
Soul-mate to Kau'kahi-alii.
O, Kaili, Kaili!
Kaili, leaf of the koa,
Graceful as leaf of the koa,
10 Granddaughter of goddess,
Whose name is the breath of love,
Darling of blooming Lehua.
My lady rides with the gray foam,
On the surge that enthralls the desire.
15 I pine for the sylph robed in gauze,
Who rides on the surf Maka-iwa--
Aye, cynosure thou of all hearts,
In all of sacred Wailua.
Forlorn and soul-empty the house;
20 You pleasure on the beach Ali-o;
Your love is up here in the wildwood.

This mele hoipoipo, love-song, like the one previously given,
is from Kauai. The proper names that abound in it, whether of
places, of persons, or of winds, seem to have been mostly of
Kauaian origin, furnished by its topography, its myths and
legends. They have, however, become the common property of
the whole group through having been interwoven in the
national songs that pass current from island to island.
[Page 138]




XXI.--THE MUSIC AND MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE HAWAIIANS


A bird is easier captured than the notes of a song. The
_mele_ and _oli_ of Hawaii's olden time have been preserved
for us; but the music to which they were chanted, a less
perdurable essence, has mostly exhaled. In the sudden
transition from the tabu system to the new order of things
that came in with the death of Kamehameha in 1819, the old
fashion of song soon found itself antiquated and
outdistanced. Its survival, so far as it did survive, was
rather as a memorial and remembrance of the past than as a
register of the living emotions of the present.

The new music, with its _pa, ko, li_--answering to our do,
re, mi[304]--was soon in everybody's mouth. From the first it
was evidently destined to enact a role different from that of
the old cantillation; none the less the musical ideas that
came in with it, the air of freedom from tabu and priestcraft
it breathed, and the diatonic scale, the highway along which
it marched to conquest, soon produced a noticeable reaction
in all the musical efforts of the people. This new seed, when
it had become a vigorous plant, began to push aside the old
indigenous stock, to cover it with new growths, and,
incredible as it may seem, to inoculate it with its own
pollen, thus producing a cross which to-day is accepted in
certain quarters as the genuine article of Hawaiian song.
Even now, the people of northwestern America are listening
with demonstrative interest to songs which they suppose to be
those of the old hula, but which in reality have no more
connection with that institution than our negro minstrelsy
has to do with the dark continent.

[Footnote 304: The early American missionaries to Hawaii named
the musical notes of the scale _pa, ko, li, ha, no, la, mi_.]

The one regrettable fact, from a historical point of view, is
that a record was not made of indigenous Hawaiian song before
this process of substitution and adulteration had begun. It
is no easy matter now to obtain the data for definite
knowledge of the subject.

While the central purpose of this chapter will be a study of
the music native to old Hawaii, and especially of that
produced in the halau, Hawaiian music of later times and of
the present day can not be entirely neglected; nor will it be
without its value for the indirect light it will shed on
ancient conditions and on racial characteristics. The
reaction that has taken place in Hawaii within historic times
in response to the stimulus from abroad can not fail to be of
[Page 139] interest in itself.

There is a peculiarity of the Hawaiian speech which can not
but have its effect in determining the lyric tone-quality of
Hawaiian music; this is the predominance of vowel and labial
sounds in the language. The phonics of Hawaiian speech, we
must remember, lack the sounds represented by our alphabetic
symbols _b, c_ or _s, d, f, g, j, q, x_, and _z_--a poverty
for which no richness in vowel sounds can make amends. The
Hawaiian speech, therefore, does not call into full play the
uppermost vocal cavities to modify and strengthen, or refine,
the throat and mouth tones of the speaker and to give reach
and emphasis to his utterances. When he strove for dramatic
and passional effect, he did not make his voice resound in
the topmost cavities of the voice-trumpet, but left it to
rumble and mutter low down in the throat-pipe, thus producing
a feature that colors Hawaiian musical recitation.

This feature, or mannerism, as it might be called, specially
marks Hawaiian music of the bombastic bravura sort in modern
times, imparting to it in its strife for emphasis a sensual
barbaric quality. It can be described further only as a
gurgling throatiness, suggestive at times of ventriloquism,
as if the singer were gloating over some wild physical
sensation, glutting his appetite of savagery, the meaning of
which is almost as foreign to us and as primitive as are the
mewing of a cat, the gurgling of an infant, and the snarl of
a mother-tiger. At the very opposite pole of development from
this throat-talk of the Hawaiian must we reckon the
highly-specialized tones of the French speech, in which we
find the nasal cavities are called upon to do their full
share in modifying the voice-sounds.

The vocal execution of Hawaiian music, like the recitation of
much of their poetry, showed a surprising mastery of a
certain kind of technique, the peculiarity of which was a
sustained and continuous outpouring of the breath to the end
of a certain period, when the lungs again drank their fill.
This seems to have been an inheritance from the old religious
style of prayer-recitation, which required the priest to
repeat the whole incantation to its finish with the outpour
of one lungful of breath. Satisfactory utterance of those old
prayer-songs of the Aryans, the _mantras_, was conditioned
likewise on its being a one-breath performance. A logical
analogy may be seen between all this and that unwritten law,
or superstition, which made it imperative for the heroes and
demigods, _kupua_, of Hawaii's mythologic age to discontinue
any unfinished work on the coming of daylight.[305]

[Footnote 305: The author can see no reason for supposing that
this prolonged utterance had anything to do with that Hindoo
practice belonging to the _yoga_, the exercise of which
consists in regulating the breath.]
[Page 140]
When one listens for the first time to the musical utterance
of a Hawaiian poem, it may seem only a monotonous onflow of
sounds faintly punctuated by the primary rhythm that belongs
to accent, but lacking those milestones of secondary rhythm
which set a period to such broader divisions as distinguish
rhetorical and musical phrasing. Further attention will
correct this impression and show that the Hawaiians paid
strict attention not only to the lesser rhythm which deals
with the time and accent of the syllable, but also to that
more comprehensive form which puts a limit to the verse.

With the Hawaiians musical phrasing was arranged to fit the
verse of the mele, not to express a musical idea. The
cadencing of a musical phrase in Hawaiian song was marked by
a peculiarity all its own. It consisted of a prolonged
trilling or fluctuating movement called _i'i_, in which the
voice went up and down in a weaving manner, touching the main
note that formed the framework of the melody, then springing
away from it for some short interval--a half of a step, or
even some shorter interval--like an electrified pith-ball,
only to return and then spring away again and again until the
impulse ceased. This was more extensively employed in the oil
proper, the verses of which were longer drawn out, than in
the mele such as formed the stock pieces of the hula. These
latter were generally divided into shorter verses.


MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

The musical instruments of the Hawaiians included many
classes, and their study can not fail to furnish substantial
data for any attempt to estimate the musical performances,
attainments, and genius of the people.

Of drums, or drumlike instruments of percussion, the
Hawaiians had four:

1. The _pahu_, or _pahu-hula_ (pl. x), was a section of
hollowed log. Breadfruit and coconut were the woods generally
used for this purpose. The tough skin of the shark was the
choice for the drumhead, which was held in place and kept
tense by tightening cords of coconut fiber, that passed down
the side of the cylinder.

The workmanship of the pahu, though rude, was of tasteful
design. So far as the author has studied them, each pahu was
constructed with a diaphragm placed about two-thirds the
distance from the head, obtained by leaving in place a cross
section of the log, thus making a closed chamber of the
drum-cavity proper, after the fashion of the kettledrum. The
lower part of the drum also was hollowed out and carved, as
will be seen in the illustration. In the carving of all the
specimens examined the artists have shown a notable fondness
for a fenestrated design representing a series of arches,
[Page 141] after the fashion of a two-storied arcade, the haunch of the
superimposed arch resting directly on the crown of that
below. In one case the lower arcade was composed of
Roman,-while the upper was of Gothic, arches. The grace of
the design and the manner of its execution are highly
pleasing, and suggest the inquiry, Whence came the
opportunity for this intimate study of the arch?

The tone of the pahu was produced by striking its head with
the finger-tips, or with the palm of the hand; never with a
stick, so far as the writer has been able to learn. Being
both heavy and unwieldly, it was allowed to rest upon the
ground, and, if used alone, was placed to the front of the
operator; if sounded in connection with the instrument next
to be mentioned, it stood at his left side.

The pahu, if not the most original, was the most important
instrument used in connection with the hula. The drum, with
its deep and solemn tones, is an instrument of recognized
efficiency in its power to stir the heart to more vigorous
pulsations, and in all ages it has been relied upon as a
means of inspiring emotions of mystery, awe, terror,
sublimity, or martial enthusiasm.

Tradition of the most direct sort ascribes the introduction
of the pahu to La'a--generally known as La'a-mai-Kahiki
(La'a-from-Kahiki)--a prince who flourished about six
centuries ago. He was of a volatile, adventurous disposition,
a navigator of some renown, having made the long voyage
between Hawaii and the archipelagoes in the southern
Pacific--Kahiki--not less than twice in each direction. On
his second arrival from the South he brought with him the big
drum, the pahu, which he sounded as he skirted the coast
quite out to sea, to the wonder and admiration of the natives
on the land. La'a, being of an artistic temperament and an
ardent patron of the hula, at once gave the divine art of
Laka the benefit of this newly imported instrument. He
traveled from place to place, instructing the teachers and
inspiring them with new ideals. It was he also who introduced
into the hula the kaekeeke as an instrument of music.

2. The _pu-niu_ (pl. XVI) was a small drum made from the
shell of a coconut. The top part, that containing the eyes,
was removed, and the shell having been smoothed and polished,
the opening was tightly covered with the skin of some
scaleless fish--that of the _kala_ (Acanthurus unicornis) was
preferred. A venerable kumu-hula states that it was his
practice to use only the skin taken from the right side of
the fish, because he found that it produced a finer quality
of sound than that of the other side. The Hawaiian mind was
very insistent on little matters of this sort--the mint,
anise, and cummin of their system. The drumhead was stretched
and placed in position while moist and flexible, and was then
made fast to a ring-shaped cushion--_poaha_--of fiber or tapa
that hugged the base of the shell.
[Page 142]
The Hawaiians sometimes made use of the clear gum of the
_kukui_ tree to aid in fixing the drumhead in place.

When in use the pu-niu was lashed to the right thigh for the
convenience of the performer, who played upon it with a thong
of braided fibers held in his right hand (fig. 2), his left
thus being free to manipulate the big drum that stood on the
other side.

Of three pu-niu in the author's collection, one, when struck,
gives off the sound of [=c] below the staff; another that of
[=c]# below the staff, and a third that of [==c]# in the
staff.

While the grand vibrations of the pahu filled the air with
their solemn tremor, the lighter and sharper tones of the
pu-niu gave a piquancy to the effect, adding a feature which
may be likened to the sparkling ripples which the breeze
carves in the ocean's swell.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Ka, drumstick for pu-niu. (Pl. XVI.)]

3. The _ipu_ or _ipu-hula_ (pl. VII), though not strictly a
drum, was a drumlike instrument. It was made by joining
closely together two pear-shaped gourds of large size in such
fashion as to make a body shaped like a figure 8. An opening
was made in the upper end of the smaller gourd to give exit
to the sound. The cavities of the two gourds were thrown into
one, thus making a single column of air, which, in vibration,
gave off a note of clear bass pitch. An ipu of large size in
the author's collection emits the tone of c in the bass.
Though of large volume, the tone is of low intensity and has
small carrying power.

For ease in handling, the ipu is provided about its waist
with a loop of cord or tapa, by which device the performer
was enabled to manipulate this bulky instrument with one
hand. The instrument was sounded by dropping or striking it
with well-adjusted force against the padded earth-floor of
the Hawaiian house.

The manner and style of performing on the ipu varied with the
sentiment of the mele, a light and caressing action when the
feeling was sentimental or pathetic, wild and emphatic when
the subject was such as to stir the feelings with enthusiasm
and passion.

Musicians inform us that the drum--exception is made in the
case of the snare and the kettle drum--is an instrument in
which the pitch is a matter of comparative indifference, its
function being to mark the time and emphasize the rhythm.
[Page 143] There are other elements, it would seem, that must be taken
into the account in estimating the value of the drum.
Attention may be directed first to its tone-character, the
quality of its note which touches the heart in its own
peculiar way, moving it to enthusiasm or bringing it within
the easy reach of awe, fear, and courage. Again, while,
except in the orchestra, the drum and other instruments of
percussion may require no exact pitch, still this does not
necessarily determine their effectiveness. The very depth and
gravity of its pitch, made pervasive by its wealth of
overtones, give to this primitive instrument a weird hold on
the emotions.

[Illustration:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 98 PLATE XVI
PU-NIU, A DRUM]

This combination of qualities we find well illustrated in the
pahu and the ipu, the tones of which range in the lower
registers of the human voice. The tone-character of the
pu-niu, on the other hand, is more subdued, yet lively and
cheerful, by reason in part of the very sharpness of its
pitch, and thus affords an agreeable offset to the solemnity
of the other two.

Ethnologically the pahu is of more world-wide interest than
any other member of its class, being one of many varieties of
the kettle-drum that are to be found scattered among the
tribes of the Pacific, all of them, perhaps, harking back to
Asiatic forbears, such as the tom-tom of the Hindus.

The sound of the pahu carries one back in imagination to the
dread sacrificial drum of the Aztec teocallis and the wild
kettles of the Tartar hordes. The drum has cruel and bloody
associations. When listening to its tones one can hardly put
away a thought of the many times they have been used to drown
the screams of some agonized creature.

For more purely local interest, inventive originality, and
simplicity, the round-bellied ipu takes the palm, a
contrivance of strictly Hawaiian, or at least Polynesian,
ingenuity. It is an instrument of fascinating interest, and
when its crisp rind puts forth its volume of sound one finds
his imagination winging itself back to the mysterious caverns
of Hawaiian mythology.

The gourd, of which the ipu is made, is a clean vegetable
product of the fields and the garden, the gift of
Lono-wahine--unrecognized daughter of mother Ceres--and is
free from all cruel alliances. Fo bleating lamb was
sacrificed to furnish parchment for its drumhead. Its
associations are as innocent as the pipes of Pan.

4. The _ka-eke-eke_, though not drumlike in form, must be
classed as an instrument of percussion from the manner of
eliciting its note. It was a simple joint of bamboo, open at
one end, the other end being left closed with the diaphragm
provided by nature. The tone is produced by striking the
closed end of the cylinder, while held in a vertical
position, with a sharp blow against some solid, nonresonant
body, such as the matted earth floor of the old Hawaiian
[Page 144] house. In the author's experiments with the kaekeeke an
excellent substitute was found in a bag filled with sand or
earth.

In choosing bamboo for the kaekeeke it is best to use a
variety which is thin-walled and long-jointed, like the
indigenous Hawaiian varieties, in preference to such as come
from the Orient, all of which are thick-walled and
short-jointed, and therefore less resonant than the Hawaiian.

The performer held a joint in each hand, the two being of
different sizes and lengths, thus producing tones of diverse
pitch. By making a proper selection of joints it would be
possible to obtain a set capable of producing a perfect
musical scale. The tone of the kaekeeke is of the utmost
purity and lacks only sustained force and carrying power to
be capable of the best effects.

An old Hawaiian once informed the writer that about the year
1850, in the reign of Kamehameha III, he was present at a
hula kaekeeke given in the royal palace in Honolulu. The
instrumentalists numbered six, each one of whom held two
bamboo joints. The old man became enthusiastic as he
described the effect produced by their performance, declaring
it to have been the most charming hula he ever witnessed.

5. The _uli-uli_ (pl. XI) consisted of a small gourd of the
size of one's two fists, into which were introduced shotlike
seeds, such as those of the canna. In character it was a
rattle, a noise-instrument pure and simple, but of a tone by
no means disagreeable to the ear, even as the note produced
by a woodpecker drumming on a log is not without its
pleasurable effect on the imagination.

The illustration of the uliuli faithfully pictured by the
artist reproduces a specimen that retains the original
simplicity of the instrument before the meretricious taste of
modern times tricked it out with silks and feathers. (For a
further description of this instrument, see p. 107.)

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