William le Queux - "The Four Faces"

L. de Hegermann Lindencrone - "In the Courts of Memory 1858 1875."

Marcel Proust - "A L'Ombre Des Jeunes Filles en Fleur, Volume 3"

Hurlo Thrumbo (pseudonym) - "The Merry Thought: or the Glass Window and Bog House Miscellany"

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




[Translation.]

_Password_

Long, long have I tarried with love
In the uplands of Kohola-lele,
The wildwood above Ka-papala.
To enter, permit me to enter, I pray;
5 Refuse me not recognition; I am he,
A traveler offering mead of praise,
Just a voice,
Only a human voice.
Oh, what I suffer out here,
10 Rain, storm, cold, and wet.
O sweetheart of mine,
Let me come in to you.

[Footnote 58: _Ka-popala._ A verdant region on the
southeastern flank of Mauua-Loa.]

Hear now the answer chanted by voices from within:

_Mele Komo_

Aloha na hale o makou i maka-maka ole,
Ke alanui hele mauka o Pu'u-kahea la, e-e!
Ka-he-a!
E Kahea aku ka pono e komo mai oe iloko nei.
Eia ka pu'u nui o waho nei, he anu.

[Page 40]

[Translation]

_Song of Welcome_

What love to our cottage-homes, now vacant,
As one climbs the mount of Entreaty!
We call,
We voice the welcome, invite you to enter.
The hill of Affliction out there is the cold.

Another fragment that was sometimes used as a password is the
following bit of song taken from the story of Hiiaka, sister
of Pele. She is journeying with the beautiful Hopoe to feteh
prince Lohiau to the court of Pele. They have come by a steep
and narrow path to the brink of the Wai-lua river, Kauai, at
this point spanned by a single plank. But the bridge is gone,
removed by an ill-tempered naiad (witch) said to have come
from Kahiki, whose name, Wai-lua, is the same as that of the
stream. Hiiaka calls out, demanding that the plank be
restored to its place. Wai-lua does not recognize the deity
in Hiiaka and, sullen, makes no response. At this the goddess
puts forth her strength, and Wai-lua, stripped of her power
and reduced to her true station, that of a _mo'o,_ a reptile,
seeks refuge in the caverns beneath the river. Hiiaka betters
the condition of the crossing by sowing it with stepping
stones. The stones remain in evidence to this day.

_Mele Kahea_

Kunihi ka mauna i ka la'i e,
O Wai-ale-ale[59] la i Wai-lua,
Huki a'e la i ka lani
Ka papa au-wai o ka Wai-kini;
5 Alai ia a'e la e Nou-nou,
Nalo ka Ipu-ha'a,
Ka laula mauka o Kapa'a, e!
Mai pa'a i ka leo!
He ole ka hea mai, e!

[Translation]

Password--Song

Steep stands the mountain in calm,
Profile of Wai-ale-ale at Wai-lua.
Gone the stream-spanning plank of Wai-kini,
Filched away by Nou-nou;
5 Shut off the view of the hill Ipu-ha'a,
And the upland expanse of Ka-pa'a.
Give voice and make answer.
Dead silence--no voice in reply.

In later, in historic times, this visitor, whom we have kept
long waiting at the door, might have voiced his appeal in the
passionate words of this comparatively modern song:

[Footnote 59: _Wai-ale-ale_ (Leaping-water). The central
mountain-mass of Kauai.]
[Page 41]


_Mele Kahea_[60]

Ka uka holo-kia ahi-manu o La'a,[61]
I po-ele i ka uahi, noe ka nahele,
Nohe-nohea i ka makani luhau-pua.
He pua oni ke kanaka--
5 He mea laha ole la oe.
Mai kaua e hea nei;
E hea i ke kanaka e komo maloko,
B hanai ai a hewa[62] ka wa'ha.
Eia no ka uku la, o ka wa'a.[63]

Translation]

_Password--Song_

In the uplands, the darting flame-bird of La'a,
While smoke and mist blur the woodland,
Is keen for the breath of frost-bitten flowers.
A fickle flower is man--
5 A trick this not native to you.
Come thou with her who is calling to thee;
A call to the man to come in
And eat till the mouth is awry.
Lo, this the reward--the canoe.

[Footnote 60: 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 Lihohho
(Kamehameha IV) would not allow the marriage. Thereby hangs a
tragedy.]

[Footnote 61: _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: _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: _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;
Eia no ka uku la, o ka leo,
A he leo wale no, e!

[Translation]

Welcoming-Song

Call to the man to come in,
And eat till the mouth is estopt;
And this the reward, the voice,
Simply the voice.

The cantillation of the _mele komo_: in answer to the
visitor's petition, meant not only the opening to him of the
halau door, but also his welcome to the life of the halau as
a heart-guest of honor, trebly welcome as the bringer of
fresh tidings from the outside world.
[Page 42]




VII.--WORSHIP AT THE ALTAR OF THE HALAU


The first duty of a visitor on being admitted to the halau
while the tabu was on--that is, during the conduct of a
regular hula--was to do reverence at the kuahu. The
obligations of religion took precedence of all social
etiquette. He reverently approaches the altar, to which all
eyes are turned, and with outstretched hands pours out a
supplication that breathes the aroma of ancient prayer:

_Pule Kuahu_ (no Laka)

O Laka oe,
O ke akua i ke a'a-lii[64] nui.
E Laka mai uka!
E Laka mai kai!
5 O hoo-ulu[65] o Lono,
O ka ilio nana e haehae ke aha,
O ka ie-le ku i ka wao,
O ka maile hihi i ka nahele,
O ka lau ki-ele[66] ula o ke akua,
10 O na ku'i[67] o Hauoli,
O Ha'i-ka-malama,[68]
Wahine o Kina'u.[69]
Kapo ula[70] o Kina'u.
O Laka oe,
15 O ke akua i ke kuahu nei la, e!
E ho'i, e ho'i a nolao i kou kuahu.
Hoo-ulu ia!

[Footnote 64: _A'a-lii_. A deep-rooted tree, sacred to Laka
or to Kapo.]

[Footnote 65: Hoo-ulu. Literally to make grow; secondarily,
to inspire, to prosper, to bring good luck. This is the
meaning most in mind in modern times, since the hula has
become a commercial venture.]

[Footnote 66: _Ki-ele_. A flowering plant native to the
Hawaiian woods, also cultivated, sacred to Laka, and perhaps
to Kapo. The leaves are said to be pointed and curved like
the beak of the bird _i-iwi_, and the flower has the gorgeous
yellow-red color of that bird.]

[Footnote 67: It has been proposed to amend this verse by
substituting _akua_, for _ku'i_, thus making the idea the
gods of the hula.]

[Footnote 68: _Hai-ka-malama_. An epithet applied to Laka.]

[Footnote 69: _Kina'u_. Said to mean Hiiaka, the sister of
Pele.]

[Footnote 70: _Kapo ula_. Red, _ula_, was the favorite color
of Kapo. The _kahuna anaana_, high priests of sorcery, of the
black art, and of murder, to whom Kapo was at times
procuress, made themselves known as such by the display of a
red flag and the wearing of a red malo.]

[Translation]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

Thou art Laka,
God of the deep-rooted a'a-lii.
O Laka from the mountains,
O Laka from the ocean!
[Page 43] 5 Let Lono bless the service,
Shutting the mouth of the dog,
That breaks the charm with his barking.
Bring the i-e that grows in the wilds,
The maile that twines in the thicket,
10 Red-beaked kiele, leaf of the goddess,
The joyous pulse of the dance
In honor of Ha'i-ka-malama,
Friend of Kina'u,
Red-robed friend of Kina'u.
15 Thou art Laka,
God of this altar here.
Return, return and reside at your altar!
Bring it good luck!

A single prayer may not suffice as the offering at Laka's
altar. His repertory is full; the visitor begins anew, this
time on a different tack:

_Pule Kuahu_ (no Laka)

Eia ke kuko, ka li'a;
I ka manawa he hiamoe ko'u,
Hoala ana oe,
O oe o Halau-lani,
5 O Hoa-lani,
O Puoho-lani,
Me he manu e hea ana i ka maha lehua
Ku moho kiekie la i-uka.
I-uka ho'i au me Laka
10 A Lea,[71] a Wahie-loa,[72], i ka nahelehele;
He hoa kaana ia no'u,
No kela kuahiwi, kualono hoi.
E Laka, e Laka, e!
B maliu mai!
15 A maliu mai oe pono au,
A a'e mai oe pono au!

[Translation]

_Altar-Prayer_ (to Laka)

This my wish, my burning desire,
That in the season of slumber
Thy spirit my soul may inspire,
Altar-dweller,
5 Heaven-guest,
Soul-awakener,
Bird from covert calling,
Where forest champions stand.
There roamed I too with Laka,
[Page 44] 10 Of Lea and Loa a wilderness-child;
On ridge, in forest boon companion she
To the heart that throbbed in me.
O Laka, O Laka,
Hark to my call!
15 You approach, it is well;
You possess me, I am blest!

[Footnote 71: _Lea_. The same as Laia, or probably Haumea.]

[Footnote 72: _Wahie loa_. This must be a mistake. Laka the
son of Wahie-loa was a great voyager. His canoe
(_kau-meli-eli_) was built for him by the gods. In it he
sailed to the South to rescue his father's bones from the
witch who had murdered him. This Laka had his home at
Kipahulu, Maui, and is not to be confounded with Laka,
goddess of the hula.]

In the translation of this pule the author has found it
necessary to depart from the verse arrangement that obtains
in the Hawaiian text.

The religious services of the halau, though inspired by one
motive, were not tied to a single ritual or to one set of
prayers. Prayer marked the beginning and the ending of every
play--that is, of every dance--and of every important event
in the programme of the halau; but there were many prayers
from which the priest might select. After the prayer
specially addressed to Laka the visitor might use a petition
of more general scope. Such is 'the one now to be given:

He Pule Kuahu (ia Kane ame Kapo); _a he Pule Hoolei_

Kane, hikii a'e, he malama [73] la luna;
Ha'aha'a, he malama ia lalo;
Oni-oni,[74] he malama ia ka'u;
He wahine [75] lei, malama ia Kapo;
5 E Kapo nui, hala-hala [76] a i'a;
E Kapo nui, hala-hala [77] a mea,
Ka alihl [78] luna, ka alihi lalo;
E ka poha-ku.[79]
Noho ana Kapo i ka ulu wehi-wehi;
10 Ku ana i Moo-helaia,[80]
Ka ohi'a-Ku iluna o Mauna-loa.
Aloha mai Kaulana-a-ula [81] ia'u;
Eia ka ula la, he ula leo,[82]
He uku, he mohai, he alana,
[Page 45] 15 He kanaenae na'u ia oe, e Kapo ku-lani.
E moe hauna-ike, e hea au, e o mai oe.
Ata la na Iehua o Kaana,[83]
Ke kui ia mai la e na wahlne a lawa
I lei no Kapo--
20 O Kapo, alii nui no ia moku,
Ki'e-ki'e, ha'a-ha'a;
Ka la o ka ike e ike aku ai:
He ike kumu, he ike lono;
He ike pu-awa [84] hiwa,
25 He ike a ke Akua, e!
E Kapo, ho'i!
E ho'i a noho i kou kuahu.
Ho'ulu ia!
Eia ka wai,[85] la,
30 He wai e ola.
E ola nou, e!

[Footnote 73: _ Malama_. Accented on the penult, as here, the
word means to enlighten or a light (same in second verse). In
the third and fourth verses the accent is changed to the
first syllable, and the word here means to preserve, to
foster. These words furnish an example of poetical
word-repetition.]

[Footnote 74: _Onioni._ To squirm, to dodge, to move. The
meaning here seems to be to move with delight.]

[Footnote 75: _Waliine lei._ A reference to _Laka,_ the child
of Kapo, who was symbolized by a block of wood on the altar.
(See p. 23.)]

[Footnote 76: _Hala-hala a i'a._ Said to be a certain kind of
fish that was ornamented about its tailend with a band of
bright color; therefore an object of admiration and desire.]

[Footnote 77: _Hala-Hala a mea._ The ending _mea_ is perhaps
taken from the last half of the proper name _Hau-mea_ who was
Kapo's mother. It belongs to the land, in contrast to the
sea, and seems to be intended to intensify and extend the
meaning of the term previously used. The passage is
difficult. Expert Hawaiians profess their inability to fathom
its meaning.]

[Footnote 78: _Alihi luna._ The line or "stretching cord,"
that runs the length of a net at its top, the _a lalo_ being
the corresponding line at the bottom of the net. The exact
significance of this language complimentary to Kapo can not
be phrased compactly.]

[Footnote 79: _Poha-ku._ The line that runs up and down at the
end of a long net, by which it may be anchored.]

[Footnote 80: _Moo-helaia._ See note a, p. 33.]

[Footnote 81: _Kaulana-a-ula._ See note d, p, 33.]

[Footnote 82: _Ula leo._ See note e, p. 33.]

[Footnote 83: _Kaana._ A place on Mauna-loa, Molokai, where
the lehua greatly flourished. The body of Kapo, it is said,
now lies there in appearance a rock. The same claim is made
for a rock at Wailua, Hana, Maui.]

[Footnote 84: _Pu-awa hiwa (hiwa,_ black). A kind of strong
awa. The gentle exhilaration, as well as the deep sleep, of
awa were benefits ascribed to the gods. Awa was an essential
to most complete sacrifices.]

[Footnote 85: _Wai._ Literally water, refers to the bowl of
awa, replenished each day, which set on the altar of the
goddess.]

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 38 PLATE V
TI (DRACAENA TERMINALIS)]

Verses 9 to 15, inclusive, are almost identical in form with
the first seven verses in the Mele Kuahu addressed to Laka,
given on page 33.

[Translation]

An _Altar-Prayer_ (to Kane and Kapo): _also a Garland-Prayer,
used while decorating the altar_

Now, Kane, approach, illumine the altar;
Stoop, and enlighten mortals below;
Rejoice in the gifts I have brought.
Wreathed goddess fostered by Kapo--
5 Hail Kapo, of beauty resplendent!
Great Kapo, of sea and land,
The topmost stay of the net,
Its lower stay and anchoring line.
Kapo sits in her darksome covert;
10 On the terrace, at Mo'o-he-laia,
Stands the god-tree of Ku, on Mauna-loa.
God Kaulana-ula twigs now mine ear,
His whispered suggestion to me is
This payment, sacrifice, offering,
15 Tribute of praise to thee, O Kapo divine.
Inspiring spirit in sleep, answer my call.
Behold, of Iehua bloom of Kaana
The women are stringing enough
To enwreath goddess Kapo;
20 Kapo, great queen of that island,
Of the high and the low.
The day of revealing shall see what it sees:
[Page 46] A seeing of facts, a sifting of rumors,
An insight won by the black sacred awa,
25 A vision like that of a god!
O Kapo, return!
Return, and abide in your altar!
Make it fruitful!
Lo, here is the water,
30 The water of life!
Hail, now, to thee!

The little god-folk, whom the ancients called Kini
Akua--myriads of gods--and who made the wildwoods and
wilderness their playground, must also be placated. They were
a lawless set of imps; the elfins, brownies, and kobolds of
our fairy world were not "up to them" in wanton deviltry. If
there is to be any luck in the house, it can only be when
they are dissuaded from outbreaking mischief.

The pule next given is a polite invitation to these little
brown men of the woods to honor the occasion with their
presence and to bring good luck at their coming. It is such a
prayer as the visitor might choose to repeat at this time, or
it might be used on other occasions, as at the consecration
of the kuahu:


_He Pule Kuahu_ (no Kini Akua)

E ulu, e ulu, Kini o ke Akua!
Ulu Kane me Kanaloa!
Ulu Ohi'a-lau-koa, me ka Ie-ie!
A'e mai a noho i kou kuahu!
5 Eia ka wai la, he wai e ola.
E ola no, e-e!

[Translation]

_An Altar-Prayer_ (to the Kini Akua)

Gather, oh gather, ye hosts of godlings!
Come Kane with Kanaloa!
Come leafy Ohi'a and I-e!
Possess me and dwell in your altar!
5 Here's water, water of life!
Life, give us life!

The visitor, having satisfied his sense of what the occasion
demands, changes his tone from that of cantillation to
ordinary speech, and concludes his worship with a petition
conceived in the spirit of the following prayer:

E ola ia'u, i ka malihini; a pela hoi na kamaaina, ke kumu,
na haumana, ia oe, e Laka. E Laka ia Pohaku i ka wawae. E
Laka i ke kupe'e. E Laka ia Luukia i ka pa-u; e Laka i ke
kuhi; e Laka i ka leo; e Laka i ka lei. E Laka i ke ku ana
imua o ke anaina.
[Page 47]

[Translation]

Thy blessing, O Laka, on me the stranger, and on the
residents, teacher and pupils. O Laka, give grace to the feet
of Pohaku; and to her bracelets and anklets; comeliness to
the figure and skirt of Luukia. To (each one) give gesture
and voice. O Laka, make beautiful the lei; inspire the
dancers when they stand before the assembly.

At the close of this service of song and prayer the visitor
will turn from the kuahu and exchange salutations and
greetings with his friends in the halau.

The song-prayer "Now, Kane, approach, illumine the altar" (p.
45) calls for remark. It brings up again the question,
previously discussed, whether there were not two distinct
cults of worshipers, the one devoted to Laka, the other to
Kapo. The following facts will throw light on the question.
On either side of the approach to the altar stood,
sentinel-like, a tall stem of hala-pepe, a graceful, slender
column, its head of green sword-leaves and scarlet drupes
making a beautiful picture. (See p. 24.) These are said to
have been the special emblems of the goddess Kapo.

The following account of a conversation the author had with
an old woman, whose youthful days were spent as a hula
dancer, will also help to disentangle the subject and explain
the relation of Kapo to the hula:

"Will you not recite again the prayer you just now uttered,
and slowly, that it may be written down?" the author asked of
her. "Many prayers for the kuahu have been collected, but
this one differs from them all."

"We Hawaiians," she answered, "have been taught that these
matters are sacred (_kapu_) and must not be bandied about
from mouth to mouth."

"Aye, but the time of the tabus has passed. Then, too, in a
sense having been initiated into hula matters, there can be
no impropriety in my dealing with them in a kindly spirit."

"No harm, of course, will come to you, a _haole_ (foreigner).
The question is how it will affect us."

"Tell me, were there two different classes of worshipers, one
class devoted to the worship of Laka and another class
devoted to the worship of Kapo?"

"No," she answered, "Kapo and Laka were one in spirit, though
their names were two."

"Haumea was the mother of Kapo. Who was her father?"

"Yes, Haumea was the mother, and Kua-ha-ilo [86] was the
father:"

"How about Laka?"

[Footnote 86: _Kua-ha-ilo._ A god of the _kahuna anaana;_
meaning literally to breed maggots in the back.]
[Page 48]
"Laka was the daughter of Kapo. Yet as a patron, of the hula
Laka stands first; she was worshiped at an earlier date than
Kapo; but they are really one."

Further questioning brought out the explanation that Laka was
not begotten in ordinary generation; she was a sort of
emanation from Kapo. It was as if the goddess should sneeze
and a deity should issue with the breath from her nostrils;
or should wink, and thereby beget spiritual offspring from
the eye, or as if a spirit should issue forth at some
movement of the ear or mouth.

When the old woman's; scruples had been laid to rest, she
repeated slowly for the author's benefit the pule given on
pages 45 and 46, "Now, Kane, approach," ... of which the
first eight lines and much of the last part, to him, were
new.

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