Na 'Oli: Ritual for the Children Of The Rainbow

Tradition dictates that this offeratory 'Awa Ceremony hula be done to the beat of a Pahu drum ...

'Amama 'ua noa!

He Pule no Pele

PALE I

O Pele la ko’u akua:

Miha ka lani, miha ka honua.

Awa iku, awa lani;

Kai awaawa, ka awa nui a Hiiaka,

I kua i Mauli-ola;

He awa kapu no na wahine.

E kapu!

Ka’i kapu kou awa, e Pele a Honua-mea;

E kala, e Haumea wahine,

O ka wahine i Kilauea,

Nana i eli a hohonu ka lua

O Mau-wahine, o Kupu-ena,

O na wahine i ka inu-hana awa.

E ola na ’kua malihini!

PALE II

I kama’a-ma’a la i ka pua-lei;

E loa ka wai apua,

Ka pii’na i Ku-ka-la-ula;

Hoopuka aku i Puu-lena,

Aina a ke Akua i noho ai.

Kanaenae a ke Akua malihini;

O ka’u wale iho la no la, o ka leo,

He leo wale no, e-e!

E ho-i!

Eia ka ai!

[Translation]

A Prayer to Pele

CANTO I

Lo, Pele's the god of my choice:

Let heaven and earth in silence wait

Here is awa, potent, sacred,

Bitter sea, great Hiiaka's root;

'Twas cut at Mauli-ola

Awa to the women forbidden,

Let it tabu be!

Exact be the rite of your awa,

O Pele of the sacred land.

Proclaim it, mother, Haumea,

Of the goddess of Kilauea;

She who dug the pit world-deep,

And Mau-wahine and Kupu-ena,

Who prepare the awa for drink.

A health to the stranger gods?

CANTO II

Bedeck now the board for the feast;

Fill up the last bowl to the brim;

Then pour a draught in the sun-cave

Shall flow to the mellow haze,

That tints the land of the gods.

All hail to the stranger gods!

This my offering, simply a voice,

Only a welcoming voice.

Turn in!

Lo, the feast!