tic plaint given
below is ascribed to this goddess.

_Mele_

Mao wale i ka lani
Ka leo o ke Akua pololi.
A pololi a moe au
O ku'u la pololi,
5 A ola i kou aloha;
I na'i pu no i ka waimaka e uwe nei.
E uwe kaua, e!

[Translation]

_Song_

Engulfed ill heaven's abyss
Is the cry of the famished god.
I sank to the ground from faintness,
My day of utter starvation;
5 Was rescued, revived, by your love:
Ours a contest of tears sympathetic--
Let us pour out together our tears.

The Hawaiian thought it not undignified to express sympathy
(_aloha-ino_) with tears.
[Page 244]

XXXVI.--THE HULA HOO-NA-NA

The hula _hoo-na-na_--to quiet, amuse--was an informal dance,
such as was performed without the usual restrictions of tabu
that hedged about the set dances of the halau. The occasion
of an outdoor festival, an _ahaaina_ or _luau_, was made the
opportunity for the exhibition of this dance. It seems to
have been an expression of pure sportiveness and
mirth-making, and was therefore performed without sacrifice
or religious ceremony. While the king, chiefs, and
_aialo_--courtiers who ate in the king's presence--are
sitting with the guests about the festal board, two or three
dancers of graceful carriage make a circuit of the place,
ambling, capering, gesturing as they go in time to the words
of a gay song.

A performance of this sort was witnessed by the author's
informant in Honolulu many years ago; the occasion was the
giving of a royal luau. There was no musical instrument, the
performers were men, and the mele they cantillated went as
follows:

A pili, a pili,
A pili ka'u manu
Ke kepau[485] o ka ulu-laau.
Poai a puni,
5 Noho ana i muli-wa'a;[486]
Hoonu'u ka momona a ke alii.
Eli-eli[487] ke kapu; ua noa.
Noa ia wai?
No