rage hula dancer of modern times
shows great ignorance of the mele he recites, and this is
true even of the kumu-hula. His work too often is largely
perfunctory, a matter of sound and form, without appeal to
the intellect.

It would not be legitimate, however, to conclude from this
that ignorance of the meaning was the rule in old times;
those were the days when the nation's traditional songs,
myths, and lore formed the equipment of every alert and
receptive mind, chief or commoner. There was no printed page
to while away the hours of idleness. The library was stored
in one's memory. The language of the mele, which now has
[Page 29] become antiquated, then was familiar speech. For a kumu-hula
to have given instruction in the meaning of a song would have
been a superfluity, as if one at the present day were to
inform a group of well-educated actors and actresses who was
Pompey or Julius Caesar.

"Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you,
trippingly on the tongue." Hamlet's words to the players
were, it may be supposed, the substance of the kumu's
instructions to the pupils in his halau.

The organization of a hula company was largely democratic.
The kumu--in modern sense, the teacher--was the leader and
conductor, responsible for the training and discipline of the
company. He was the business manager of the enterprise; the
priest, _kahuna_, the leader in the religious exercises, the
one who interpreted the will of heaven, especially of the
gods whose favor determined success. He might be called to
his position by the choice of the company, appointed by the
command of the alii who promoted the enterprise, or
self-elected in case the enterprise was his own. He had under
him a _kokua kumu_, a deputy, who took charge during his
absence.

The _po'o-puaa_ was an officer chosen by the pupils to be
their special agent and mouthpiece. He saw to the execution
of the kumu's judgments and commands, collected the fines,
and exacted the penalties imposed by the kumu. It fell to him
to convey to the altar the presents of garlan