Unwritten Literature of Hawaii | Page 8

one
deflowered the woods of their fronds of _íe-íe_ and fern or tore the
trailing lengths of _maile_--albeit in honor of Laka herself--the body of
the goddess was being despoiled, and the despoiling must be done with
all tactful grace and etiquette.
It must not be gathered from this that the occasion was made solemn
and oppressive with weight of ceremony, as when a temple was erected

or as when a tabu chief walked abroad, and all men lay with their
mouths in the dust. On the contrary, it was a time of joy and decorous
exultation, a time when in prayer-songs and ascriptions of praise the
poet ransacked all nature for figures and allusions to be used in
caressing the deity.
The following adulatory prayer (_kánaenáe_) in adoration of Laka was
recited while gathering the woodland decorations for the altar. It is
worthy of preservation for its intrinsic beauty, for the spirit of
trustfulness it breathes. We remark the petitions it utters for the growth
of tree and shrub, as if Laka had been the alma mater under whose
influence all nature budded and rejoiced.
It would seem as if the physical ecstasy of the dance and the sensuous
joy of all nature's finery had breathed their spirit into the aspiration and
that the beauty of leaf and flower, all of them familiar forms of the
god's
metamorphosis--accessible to their touch and for the regalement
of their senses--had brought such nearness and dearness, of affection
between goddess and worshiper that all fear was removed.
_He kánaenáe no Laka_
A ke kua-hiwi, i ke kua-lono,
Ku ana o Laka i ka mauna;
Noho ana o Laka i ke po'o o ka ohu.
O Laka kumu hula,
5 Nana i a'e ka tvao-kele,[3]
Kahi, kahi i moli'a i ka pua'a,
I ke po'o pua'a,
He pua'a hiwa na Kane.[4]
[Page 17] He kane na Laka,
10 Na ka wahine i oni a kelakela i ka
lani:
I kupu ke a'a i ke kumu,
I lau a puka ka mu'o,
Ka liko, ka ao i-luna.
Kupu ka lala, hua ma ka Hikina;
15 Kupu ka laau ona a Maka-li'i,[5]
O Maka-lei,[6] laau kaulana mai ka
Po mai.[7]

Mai ka Po mai ka oiaio--
I ho-i'o i-luna, i o'o i-luna.
He luna au e ki'i mai nei ia oe, e
Laka,
20 E ho'i ke ko-kua[8] pa-ú;