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 thicke