Yours, doubtless, this name. Which people are toasting With loudest acclaim. Now raise it, aye raise it, 5 Till it reaches the niches Of Kí-lau-é-a. Enshrined is there my kinsman, Kú-núi-akéa. Then give it a place 10 In the temple of Pele; And a bowl for the throats That are croaking with thirst. Knock-kneed eater of land, O Pele, god Pele! 15 O Pele, god Pele! Burst forth now! burst forth! Launch a bolt from the sky! Let thy lightnings fly: When this poem[367] first came into the author’s hands, though attracted by its classic form and vigorous style, he could not avoid being repelled by an evident grossness. An old Hawaiian, to whom he stated his objections, assured him that the mele was innocent of all bad intent, and when the offensive word was pointed out he protested that it was an interloper. The substitution of the right word showed that the man was correct. The offense was at once removed. This set the whole poem in a new light and it is presented with satisfaction. The mele is properly a name-song, _mele-inoa_. The poet represents some one as lifting a name to his mouth for praise and adulation. He tells him to take it to Kilauea—that it may reecho, doubtless, from the walls of the crater. [Footnote 367: It is said to be the work of a hula-master, now some years dead, by the name of Namakeelua.] [Page 202] XXV.—THE HULA PA’I-UMAUMA The hula _pa’i-umauma_—chest-beating hula—called also hula _Pa-láni_,[368] was an energetic dance, in which the actors, who were also the singers, maintained a kneeling position, with the buttocks at times resting on the heels. In spite of the restrictions imposed by this attitude, they managed to put a spirited action into the performance; there were vigorous gestures, a frequent smiting of the chest with the open hand, and a strenuous movement of the pelvis and lower part of the body called _ami_. This consisted of rhythmic motions, sidewise, backward, forward, and in a circular or elliptical orbit, all of which was done with the precision worthy of an acrobat, an accomplishment attained only after long practice. It was a hula of classic celebrity, and was performed without the accompaniment of instrumental music.