This pule, which I have heard spoken of as ka pule kanawai--from the use of the word kanawai in the last part of the mele, dates back, it is said, to the time of Paao, the priest and chief who came to Hawaii from Samoa in the remote ages. Paoa's argument--if he can be said to have had any--seems to be that Pele should cast away, throw into the ocean, the lumber of old laws and tabus and start afresh.
Before leaving the subject--the consideration of the mele--I must mention, apropos of the expression pahu kapu a ka leo, in verse 54, an incident related to me by a Hawaiian friend (J. M. P.). He says that when he was a boy, his mother, when a thunder-storm arose, would often say to him, "keep silence! that's Kane-hekili." In Kahuku, island of Oahu, at a place not far from the sugar-mill, is a cave, known as Keana. In former times this cave was the home where lived a mother and her two sons. One day, having occasion to journey to a distance, she left them with this injunction, "If during my absence you hear the sound of thunder, keep still, make no disturbance, don't utter a word. If you do it will be your death." During her absence, there sprang up a violent storm of thunder and lightning, and the young lads made an outcry of alarm. Thereupon a thunderbolt struck them dead, turning their bodies into stone. Two pillar-shaped stones standing at the mouth of the cave are to this day pointed out in confirmation of the truth of the legend.
As Paoa concluded his prayer-song the eyes of the whole company were turned upon him, and on the lips of them all was the question, "Was she then your God?"
"She is my God," he answered, "and my ancestors from the earliest times have worshipped her." ... Then, turning his eyes about him, as if to survey the land, he continued, "If this were my land, as is Kaua'i, there would be no lack of good and wholesome food-provision, and that of all kinds. Things are different here ... I am a stranger in this land."
On hearing these words, which had in them the sting of truth, for poison had been mixed with some of the food, the women stealthily hid away certain dishes and substituted for them others.
At the conclusion of the repast the women who had been in attendance brought him a girdle delicately embroidered with fibers from the coconut that he might be suitably appareled for his interview with the woman Pele. "You will find," they said, "that Pele is in reality a woman of wonderful beauty.... In order to win her, however, you will need to use all your arts of fascination ... and your caution as well. Make hot love to her, but, look out! don't let your fancy lead you to smile upon any other beauty."