Pele and HiiakaPolynesian MythologyLegend / Oral TraditionHawaiian and EnglishSharePele and Hiiaka 171Emerson - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableEmersonLanguageEnglishEspañol‹Pele and Hiiaka 1Pele and Hiiaka 2Pele and Hiiaka 3Pele and Hiiaka 4Pele and Hiiaka 5Pele and Hiiaka 6Pele and Hiiaka 7Pele and Hiiaka 8Pele and Hiiaka 9Pele and Hiiaka 10Pele and Hiiaka 11Pele and Hiiaka 12Pele and Hiiaka 13Pele and Hiiaka 14Pele and Hiiaka 15Pele and Hiiaka 16Pele and Hiiaka 17Pele and Hiiaka 18Pele and Hiiaka 19Pele and Hiiaka 20Pele and Hiiaka 21Pele and Hiiaka 22Pele and Hiiaka 23Pele and Hiiaka 24Pele and Hiiaka 25Pele and Hiiaka 26Pele and Hiiaka 27Pele and Hiiaka 28Pele and Hiiaka 29Pele and Hiiaka 30Pele and Hiiaka 31Pele and Hiiaka 32Pele and Hiiaka 33Pele and Hiiaka 34Pele and Hiiaka 35Pele and Hiiaka 36Pele and Hiiaka 37Pele and Hiiaka 38Pele and Hiiaka 39Pele and Hiiaka 40Pele and Hiiaka 41Pele and Hiiaka 42Pele and Hiiaka 43Pele and Hiiaka 44Pele and Hiiaka 45Pele and Hiiaka 46Pele and Hiiaka 47Pele and Hiiaka 48Pele and Hiiaka 49Pele and Hiiaka 50Pele and Hiiaka 51Pele and Hiiaka 52Pele and Hiiaka 53Pele and Hiiaka 54Pele and Hiiaka 55Pele and Hiiaka 56Pele and Hiiaka 57Pele and Hiiaka 58Pele and Hiiaka 59Pele and Hiiaka 60Pele and Hiiaka 61Pele and Hiiaka 62Pele and Hiiaka 63Pele and Hiiaka 64Pele and Hiiaka 65Pele and Hiiaka 66Pele and Hiiaka 67Pele and Hiiaka 68Pele and Hiiaka 69Pele and Hiiaka 70Pele and Hiiaka 71Pele and Hiiaka 72Pele and Hiiaka 73Pele and Hiiaka 74Pele and Hiiaka 75Pele and Hiiaka 76Pele and Hiiaka 77Pele and Hiiaka 78Pele and Hiiaka 79Pele and Hiiaka 80Pele and Hiiaka 81Pele and Hiiaka 82Pele and Hiiaka 83Pele and Hiiaka 84Pele and Hiiaka 85Pele and Hiiaka 86Pele and Hiiaka 87Pele and Hiiaka 88Pele and Hiiaka 89Pele and Hiiaka 90Pele and Hiiaka 91Pele and Hiiaka 92Pele and Hiiaka 93Pele and Hiiaka 94Pele and Hiiaka 95Pele and Hiiaka 96Pele and Hiiaka 97Pele and Hiiaka 98Pele and Hiiaka 99Pele and Hiiaka 100Pele and Hiiaka 101Pele and Hiiaka 102Pele and Hiiaka 103Pele and Hiiaka 104Pele and Hiiaka 105Pele and Hiiaka 106Pele and Hiiaka 107Pele and Hiiaka 108Pele and Hiiaka 109Pele and Hiiaka 110Pele and Hiiaka 111Pele and Hiiaka 112Pele and Hiiaka 113Pele and Hiiaka 114Pele and Hiiaka 115Pele and Hiiaka 116Pele and Hiiaka 117Pele and Hiiaka 118Pele and Hiiaka 119Pele and Hiiaka 120Pele and Hiiaka 121Pele and Hiiaka 122Pele and Hiiaka 123Pele and Hiiaka 124Pele and Hiiaka 125Pele and Hiiaka 126Pele and Hiiaka 127Pele and Hiiaka 128Pele and Hiiaka 129Pele and Hiiaka 130Pele and Hiiaka 131Pele and Hiiaka 132Pele and Hiiaka 133Pele and Hiiaka 134Pele and Hiiaka 135Pele and Hiiaka 136Pele and Hiiaka 137Pele and Hiiaka 138Pele and Hiiaka 139Pele and Hiiaka 140Pele and Hiiaka 141Pele and Hiiaka 142Pele and Hiiaka 143Pele and Hiiaka 144Pele and Hiiaka 145Pele and Hiiaka 146Pele and Hiiaka 147Pele and Hiiaka 148Pele and Hiiaka 149Pele and Hiiaka 150Pele and Hiiaka 151Pele and Hiiaka 152Pele and Hiiaka 153Pele and Hiiaka 154Pele and Hiiaka 155Pele and Hiiaka 156Pele and Hiiaka 157Pele and Hiiaka 158Pele and Hiiaka 159Pele and Hiiaka 160Pele and Hiiaka 161Pele and Hiiaka 162Pele and Hiiaka 163Pele and Hiiaka 164Pele and Hiiaka 165Pele and Hiiaka 166Pele and Hiiaka 167Pele and Hiiaka 168Pele and Hiiaka 169Pele and Hiiaka 170Pele and Hiiaka 171Pele and Hiiaka 172Pele and Hiiaka 173Pele and Hiiaka 174Pele and Hiiaka 175Pele and Hiiaka 176Pele and Hiiaka 177Pele and Hiiaka 178Pele and Hiiaka 179Pele and Hiiaka 180Pele and Hiiaka 181Pele and Hiiaka 182Pele and Hiiaka 183Pele and Hiiaka 184Pele and Hiiaka 185Pele and Hiiaka 186Pele and Hiiaka 187Pele and Hiiaka 188Pele and Hiiaka 189Pele and Hiiaka 190Pele and Hiiaka 191Pele and Hiiaka 192Pele and Hiiaka 193Pele and Hiiaka 194Pele and Hiiaka 195Pele and Hiiaka 196Pele and Hiiaka 197Pele and Hiiaka 198Pele and Hiiaka 199Pele and Hiiaka 200Pele and Hiiaka 201Pele and Hiiaka 202Pele and Hiiaka 203Pele and Hiiaka 204Pele and Hiiaka 205Pele and Hiiaka 206Pele and Hiiaka 207Pele and Hiiaka 208Pele and Hiiaka 209Pele and Hiiaka 210Pele and Hiiaka 211Pele and Hiiaka 212Pele and Hiiaka 213Pele and Hiiaka 214Pele and Hiiaka 215Pele and Hiiaka 216Pele and Hiiaka 217Pele and Hiiaka 218Pele and Hiiaka 219Pele and Hiiaka 220›TranslationPele and Hiiaka 171ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1Bethink you, I come from Puna-- In the power of a triple love. Girt with the might of Wahine-kapu: Beware the baleful fires of Laka: Remember, I come from Puna. 2The inner meaning and intent of this highly wrought figurative and allegorical language, which Hiiaka, according to her custom, utters at detached intervals in the form of song, does not lie on the surface, and is furthermore obscured by an untranslatable punning use of the word Puna. 3To explain the motive of this song, Hiiaka perceives that Pele-ula and Lohiau, who had once upon a time been lovers, are mutually drawn to each other by a rekindling of the old flame. In the case of Pele-ula the motive of ambition to match her own spiritual power as a makaula--seer--with that of the young woman who comes to her as the plenipotential ambassador of Pele is even stronger than the physical passion. In the kilu now to be performed she sees her opportunity. 4She will use it for all it is worth, not only that she may taste once more the delights offered by this coxcomb, but that she may pluck from the hand of this audacious creature of Pele's endowment a wreath for her own wearing. 5As to Lohiau, that plastic thing, his character, is as clay in the hands of the potter, under Pele-ula's manipulation. He is all for pleasure. Honor, constancy, ordinary prudence, are not in his purview. Hiiaka's immediate presence suffices to restrain and guide him; in her absence, his passion, a rudderless bark, is the sport of every wind that blows. 6Hiiaka, on arriving at the halau, sat by herself. Lohiau, as she observed, was sitting with Wahine-oma'o and Waikiki. Pele-ula, who was sitting alone on her side of the hall, now showed her hand by sending one of her men, named A'ala, to invite Lohiau to come over and sit with her. At this Hiiaka spoke up: "I will sit by you." 7"So be it, then," answered Pele-ula. At the same time she muttered to herself, "But she wasn't invited." 8A'ala, who caught the aside of his mistress, also put in, "It's Lohiau whom she invites." 9At this Hiiaka bravely laid down the rule, which was the accepted one, that the men and the women should sit on opposite sides of the halau; averring that any other disposition would be sure to breed trouble. Pele-ula could not but agree to this and accordingly, Wahine-oma'o and Waikiki, leaving their seats by Lohiau, came over and sat with Hiiaka and Pele-ula. 10When the presiding officer of the game--the la anoano [388]--had called the assembly to order with the well known cry "pu-heo-heo" and it came to the placing of the pahu kilu--short pyramidal blocks of wood--before each one of the players, who sat in two rows facing each other and separated by a considerable interval, Hiiaka objected to the way in which they were placed. A sharp discussion then arose between Pele-ula and Hiiaka, but the younger woman carried the day and won her point. 11Lohiau had a great and well-deserved reputation as a skilful champion in the game of kilu. When, therefore, it came his turn to hurl the kilu [389] and send it spinning across the mat with an aim that would make it strike the pahu, which was its target, everybody looked for great things and it was openly predicted that he would win every point. 12Lohiau preluded his play with a song: 13Ke hele la ka au-hula ana [390] o Ka-lalau; Ke po'i la ke kai o Milo-li'i; Ka laau [391] ku'i o Makua-iki: Lawe i ka haka la, lilo! Makua, keiki i ka poli e, i ka poli. I ka poli no ka hoa a hele; Kalakala i ke kua ka opeope aloha. Auwe ho'i, e-e! ‹Previous chapterPele and Hiiaka 170Next chapterPele and Hiiaka 172›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States via Project Gutenberg