MAHELE III (Ai-ha’a) A Koa’e-kea,[169] i Pueo-hulu-nui,[169] Neeu a’e la ka makahiapo o ka pali; A a’e, a a’e, a’e[170] la iluna Kaholo-kua-iwa, ka pali o Ha’i.[171] 5 Ha’i a’e la ka pali; Ha-nu’u ka pali; Hala e Malu-ó; Hala a’e la Ka-maha-la’a-wili, Ke kaupoku hale a ka ua. 10 Me he mea i uwae’na a’e la ka pali; Me he hale pi’o ka lei na ka manawa o ka pali Halehale-o-ú; Me he aho i hilo ’a la ka wai o Wai-hi-lau; Me he uahi pulehu-manu la ke kai o ka auwala hula ana. Au ana Maka’u-kiu[172] iloko o ke kai; 15 Pohaku lele[173] o Lau-nui, Lau-pahoehoe. Ka eku’na a ke kai i ka ala o Ka-wai-kapu— Eku ana, me he pua’a la, ka lae Makani-lele, Koho-lá-lele. [Translation.] CANTO III (Bombastic style) Haunt of white tropic-bird and big ruffled owl, Up rises the firstborn child of the pali. He climbs, he climbs, he climbs up aloft, Kaholo-ku’-iwa, the pali of Ha’i. 5 Accomplished now is the steep, The ladder-like series of steps. Malu-ó is left far below. [Page 68] Passed is Ka-maha-la’-wili, The very ridge-pole of the rain— 10 It’s as if the peak cut it in twain— An arched roof the peak’s crest Hale-hale-o-ú. A twisted cord hangs the brook Wai-hilau; Like smoke from roasting bird Ocean’s wild dance; The shark-god is swimming the sea; 15 The rocks leap down at Big-leaf[174] and Flat-leaf—[174] See the ocean charge ’gainst the cliffs, Thrust snout like rooting boar against Windy-cape, Against Koholá-lele. [Footnote 169: _Koa’e-kea, Pueo hulu-nui_. Steep declivities, _pali_, on the side of Waipio valley, Hawaii. Instead of inserting these names, which would be meaningless without an explanation, the author has given a literal translation of the names themselves, thus getting a closer insight into the Hawaiian thought.] [Footnote 170: _A’e_. The precipices rise one above another like the steps of a stairway, climbing, climbing up, though the probable intent of the poet is to represent some one as climbing the ascent.]