The Traditional Literature of Hawaii - Sacred Songs of the Hula. Nathaniel Bright Emerson

O awili o Malu-á. The most direct and evident sense of the word awili is to wrap. It probably means the wrapping of the pa-ú about the loins; or it may mean the movable, shifty action of the pa-ú caused by the lively actions of the dancer. The expression Malw-á may be taken from the utterance of the king's ilamuku (constable or sheriff) or other official, who, in proclaiming a tabu, held an idol in his arms and at the same time called out Kapu, o-o! The meaning is that the pa-ú, when wrapped about the woman's loins, laid a tabu on the woman. The old Hawaiian consulted on the meaning of this passage quoted the following, which illustrates the fondness of his people for endless repetitions and play upon words:

Awiliwili i ka hale 119 o ka lauwili, e.

He lauwili ka makanl, he Kaua-ula, 120

      I hoapaapa i ka hale o ka lauwili, e:

      [Translation]

      Unstable the house of the shifty man,

      Fickle as the wind Kaua-ula.

      Treachery lurks in the house of Unstable.

115. Kaupoku. A variant of the usual form, which is kaupaku, the ridgepole of a house, its apex. The pa-ti when, worn takes the shape of a grass house, which has the form of a haystack.

116. Ula ka pali. Red shows the pali, i.e., the side hill. This is a euphemism for some accident by which the pa-ú has been displaced, and an exposure of the person has taken place, as a result of which the boys scream and even the sea-bird, the a'o, shrieks itself hoarse.

117. A'o. A sea-bird, whose raucous voice is heard in the air at night at certain seasons.

118. Hi'i-lawe. A celebrated waterfall in Wai-pi'o valley, Hawaii.

119. Primitive meaning, house; second, the body as the house of the soul.

120. Kaua-ula. A strong wind that shifted from one point to another, and that blew, often with great violence, at Lahaina, Maul. The above triplet was often quoted by the chiefs of olden time apropos of a person who was fickle in love or residence. As the old book has it, "The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." (O ke kanáka lolilua ka manao lauwili kona mau aoao a pau.)

121. Umi. It was Liloa, the father of Umi, who covered himself with a ti leaf instead of a malo after the amour that resulted in the birth of Umi. His malo he had given as a pledge to the woman, who became the mother of Umi.

122. Lau (archaic). Four hundred.

123. Mahu'ilani. A poetlcal name for the right hand; this the olapa, the dancing girls, lifted in extension as they entered the halau from, the dressing room. The left hand was termed Kaohi-lani.

124. Kauna-lewa. The name of a celebrated grove of coconuts at Kekaha, Kauai, near the residence of the late Mr. Knudsen.

125. Wahine. The woman, Pele.