imparted vivacity to the motions,
on the same principle apparently as fire enables one to bend
into shape a crooked stick. The word _kapuahi_, fireplace, in
the fourth line of the mele, is undoubtedly an allusion to
this practice.

The fact that the climate of the islands, except in the
mountains and uplands, is rarely so cold as to make it
necessary to gather about a fire seems to argue that the
custom of practising this dance about a fireplace must have
originated in some land of climate more austere than Hawaii.

It is safe to say that very few kumu-hulas have seen and many
have not even heard of the hula ohelo. The author has an
authentic account of its production at Ewa in the year 1856,
its last performance, so far as he can learn, on the public
stage.

_Mele_

1

Ku, oe ko'u wahi ohelo nei la, auwe, auwe!
Maka'u au i kau mea nui wali-wali, wali-wali!
Ke hoolewa nei, a lewa la, a lewa nei!
Minomino, enaena ka ia la kapuani, kapuahi!
5 Nenea i ka la'i o Kona, o Kona, a o Kona!
Ponu malino i ke kai hawana-wana, hawana-wana!
He makau na ka lawaia nui, a nui e, a nui la!
Ke o-e nei ke aho o ka ipu-holoholona, holoholona!
[Page 234] Nana, i ka opua makai e, makai la!
10 Maikai ka hana a Mali'o e, a Mali'o la!
Kohu pono ka inu ana i ka wai, a wai e!
Auwe, ku oe ko'u wahi ohelo nei la, ohelo nei la!

2

Ki-o lele, ki-o lele, ki-o lele, e!
Ke mapu mai nei ke ala, ke ala e!
15 Ua malihini ka hale, ua hiki ia, ua hiki e!
Ho'i paoa i ka uka o Manai-ula, ula la, ula e!
Maanei oe, e ka makemake e noho malie, ma-li-e!
Ka pa kolonahe o ka Unulau mahope, ma-ho-pe!
Pe'e oe, a pe'e au, pe'e o ia la,
20 A haawe ke aloha i ke kaona, i ke kaona la!
Mo-li-a i ka nahele e, nahele la!
E hele oe a manao mai i ka luhi mua, a i-mua!
O moe hewa na iwi i ke alanui, alanui.
Kaapa Hawaii a ka moku nui, a nui e!
25