R | CULTURE
Meanwhile, Leohone, ever the task master, was determined to get him
Nāmaka helehelena. “E hehi ‘oe!”
back into step.
‘A‘ohe ne‘e iki. “E hehi ‘oe!” Ho‘omau
“E hehi ‘oe!” — Step! Nāmaka’s
He pō Kāne kēia, he ma‘au nei na ‘e‘epa o ka pō. –PŪKU‘I/ELBERT
–PŪKU‘I/ELBERT
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Ho‘omau akula nā hoa hana ‘ē a‘e i ka
‘oe!” No movement. “E hehi ‘oe!”
hehihehi ‘ana. Pa‘a ka lepo, a pa‘akikī
Leohone kept repeating the command.
hou a‘e ka hana. E pa‘ipa‘i ana ko
The others kept stepping. The earth
lākou wāwae ma luna o ka ‘ūkele. I ia
was thicker and tougher to work.
manawa i puana like ai ‘o Leohone i
Their feet slapped loudly against the
kāna ‘ōlelo me ka pana o ka hehihehi.
wet mud. Leohone now timed her
“E hehi ‘oe! E hehi ‘oe! E hehi ‘oe!” Pa‘a
words to their stepping. “E hehi ‘oe!
maila ka pana o ka hehihehi ‘ana a me
E hehi ‘oe! E hehi ‘oe!” The steady
ko Leohone leo i loko o Nāmaka. Ua
rhythm of stepping and Leohone’s
like ke kani me…ka pahu. Nā pahu!
voice was now beating in Nāmaka’s Thoughts gave way to words.
Pakika kona no‘ono‘o i ka ‘ōlelo a ka waha. “‘O nā pahu!” Wahi a Nāmaka i ho‘ōho ai me ke puoho koke ‘ana
“Drums!” Nāmaka exclaimed,
mai kona hihi‘o ‘ana. “‘O NĀ PAHU!” I
suddenly waking from his trance.
‘uā hou ai ‘o ia me ka pi‘i ‘ana o kona
“DRUMS!” he shouted even louder.
leo. ‘Uī‘uī ‘alalā mai kekahi o lākou i ka
A few of the others squealed in
pū‘iwa. Ua pū‘iwa nō ho‘i lākou a pau
response. The unexpected outburst.
i kona ho‘ōho nui ‘ana. ‘O Leohone
startled all of them; most of all,
na‘e ka pū‘iwa loa, e moe ana kona
Leohone who was now face down
alo i lalo o ka ‘ūkele. Hū maila ka ‘aka
in the mud. The group broke out in
o lākou a pau iā Leohone. Ua lilo pū
a roar of hysterical laughter at the
‘o ia i loko o ka pana o kāna oli: ‘E hehi
sight of Leohone. She, too, entered
‘oe!’ Ua ho‘opū‘iwa ko Nāmaka ‘uā
into a trance with her chanting “E
‘ana iā ia a pi‘oloke ihola. Kū mālie ‘o ia
hehi ‘oe!” Nāmaka’s yelling caught her
mai ka lepo pipili a‘e. ‘Ānai akula ‘o ia
completely off guard and spooked
i ka‘ūkele mai kona mau maka a lele
her. She slowly peeled herself from the
mai iā Nāmaka nei, ua ‘ena ka inaina i
muddy floor. She wiped the mud from
kona hilahila ‘ana. Ua māmā na‘e ‘o Nā-
her eyes and lunged at him, clearly
maka, i loko ho‘i o ka ‘ūkele. A hō‘alo
outraged and embarrassed. Even in the
ma‘alahi iā ia, hū hou a‘e ka ‘aka‘aka
mud, Nāmaka was nimble. He easily
‘ana o ka hui. I ia manawa, kōkua
dodged her and the group roared
akula he ‘elua o hoa hana iā ia ala e
again in delight. This time, two others
kū hou mai ka ‘ūkele, a holoi i kona
helped peel her from the mud and
helehelena. Mihi akula ‘o Nāmaka, akā
wiped her face. Nāmaka apologized,
e kapalili ana kona houpo i ka hō‘ike
but the revelation he had made was
hou o ka mana‘o. ‘O nā pahu kani!
thrilling. The drumming! How could I have
Pehea lā poina ai i ke kani o nā pahu!
forgotten the drumming!
48 Royal Hawaiian Center
maila ‘o Leohone i ke kauoha.
expression remained blank. “E hehi
head. It sounds like … drumming. Drums!
This is the night of Kāne, for supernatural beings are wandering about in the dark.
“E hehi ‘oe!” ‘A‘ohe loli iki ko
I ia ahiahi, noho mehameha ‘o
