THE POETRY OF PRE-LITERATE PEOPLES
An unpublished anthology gathered by Kenneth Rexroth (ca. 1975)
Part 5: The South Seas
Society Islanders (Hawaiian)
Tuamotuan
Polynesian
Easter Islanders
Maori
Kuman
Marquesas Islanders
Kekeo
Ziriwina
Kuanua
Rovana
Ifaluk
Society Islanders (Hawaiian)
[1]
Of Mehiti the evil clan
With victims laden
Manslaying is their profession.
[2]
It’s Toahotu, recoursed to for sacrifices,
A bad land.
Land of black art, land of sacrifices.
It spares not the arii,
When it takes, it takes to keep,
Triumphant over Vairao!
[3]
Chant of Welcome for Ka-mehameha
You, O heavenly chief, Ka-mehameha,
great warrior, hero who hooked the islands together,
you we greet in welcome: “Come in!”
Dawn has not begun to break, night has not departed,
torches still burn.
Beloved ruler, leave the rain of Ha’ao as it flies
above ’Au’au-lele,
enter the home of a people who love their chief.
Bathe in the sacred pool of Ponaha-ke-one.
Drink the ’awa planted by Kane in Hawai’i.
You are the emblem of life, a tribute to the Gods.
[4]
Shark Hula for Ka-lani-opu’u
Ka-lani-opu’u, the right to impose kapu on the land is
yours:
the right of a shark with arched dorsal fin to bare teeth
of a coral reef to house a great stingray
of a koa’e-bird to take wing for the upland
of an aku-fish to leap and plunge in the sea
of a certain mottled bird, a swift snatcher,
to pounce alike on the small billow and the huge
and the right to bar and baffle the pathway of Ke-pani-la,
streaked like a tattoo, sacred marked shark of Ka’ula Island.
Now answer us, Ka-lani-opu’u, fierce Island-Piercer!
This is your name chant:
You are a white-finned shark riding the crest of the
wave,
O Ka-lani-opu’u:
a tiger shark resting without fear
a rain quenching the sun’s eye-seared glare
a grim oven glowing underground:
towering Ka-welo lighted it
who caused Ka-lani-kua-lele, the Chosen, to blaze.
Their child was flaming Ka-pu-likoliko-o-ka-lani
she with the shark’s face and flashing eyes
she of the restless questing gaze.
O Ka-lani-opu’u, stingray as fish, man-of-war as bird
in stillness lurking or poised aloft in flight
O’Iwa, you do unite with hooked claw the royal kapu.
Your sovereign sway surveys this island and beyond
over the multitudinous children of Ke-aka-mahana
by whose name you do inherit and wear by right
the shining feather cloak.
[5]
Birth Chant for Kau-i-ke-ai-uli
I
The chiefess gave birth,
she bore in labor above,
she lay as in a faint, a weakness at the navel.
The afterbirth stirred at the roots, crept in darkness,
in waves of pain came the bitter bile of the child.
This was a month of travail,
of gasping labor,
a writhing to deliver the chief.
He is this chief, born of a chiefess.
Now a chief shall be here above.
Who shall be below?
Born was the earth, rooted the earth.
The root crept forth, rootlets of the earth.
Royal rootlets spread their way through the earth to hold firm.
Down too went the taproot, creaking
like the mainpost of a house, and the earth moved.
Cliffs rose upon the earth, the earth lay widespread:
a standing earth, a sitting earth lay widespread:
a swaying earth, a solid earth was the earth.
The earth lay below, from below the earth rose.
The earth was Kea’s, to Kea belonged the earth.
The earth was Papa’s, to Papa belonged the earth,
the earthly firstborn borne by Papa.
He is this earth, the earth that was born.
The earth shall be here below.
Who shall be above?
II
Born was the night above,
born was the night up here.
The heavens slid away into the night, swift came the afterbirth.
The nights came close together, stretching along
until came a separation, making distinct the night of Mahina-le’a.
The night turned, closeness became separated.
This is the royal offspring of night borne by Kea,
first child of the night, second child of the night,
third child of the night.
The night lay in travail
to give birth to the night.
He is this night, the night newly born.
Who shall be below?
Who shall be upon the island?
III
Born was the island, it grew, it sprouted,
it flourished, lengthened, rooted deeply, budded,
formed tender leaves.
That was the island over Hawai’i.
Hawai’i itself was an island.
The land was unstable, Hawai’i quivered,
moved freely about in space,
Wakea recognized the island, Hawai’i recognized remained.
Visible were island and earth,
held in heavenly space by the right hand of Wakea,
Hawai’i was held, Hawai’i was seen, an island.
Down here shall be an island.
Who shall be above — Who?
The cloud, that is who it shall be.
IV
The cloud was born, it rose and appeared.
The cloud thrived, it rose and appeared.
The cloud came at dawn, it rose and appeared.
The cloud flushed with a reddish tinge, it rose and appeared.
The cloud rose and appeared in clearest configuration,
turned yellow and menacing.
The horizon cloud hung yellow over a calm sea.
A swelling cloud, a dark cloud,
a cloud whose deepening darkness turned to black
in a sky already black with feathery clouds of dusk,
a sky heavy with blackness, rough, louring,
a sky speaking in threat:
a vast cloud foretelling the approach of rain.
The sky writhed in labor to give birth.
He is this old cloud: thus it was born.
A cloud shall be up here.
Who shall be below?
The mountain, that is who it shall be.
V
Born of Kea was the mountain,
the mountain of Kea budded forth.
Wakea was the husband, Papa Walinu’u was the wife.
Born was Ho’ohoku, a daughter,
born was Haloa, a chief,
born was the mountain, a mountain-son of Kea.
Jealous was Wakea, he revealed his fault,
told of his smiting Kane with a club
in battle, fought in Kahiki-ku.
Wakea was routed, fled in confusion with his family.
None spoke to Wakea save in whispers, but Kane shouted.
Wakea returned to the sky seeking a wife.
He mated, sleeping beside Papa as mate.
The sun was born to Wakea,
a sacred offshoot of Wakea,
the growth of Wakea was Wakea’s own.
He was this mountain’s growing, this chief:
so was the mountain born.
The mountain shall be down here.
Who shall be above?
The sun, that is who shall be above.
VI
The sun was born to be mine,
mine the sun of Kupanole.
At Kupanole the sun held back,
the sun held back for Hina’s sake.
Rays of the sun made secure
the boundaries of Hilinama, of Hilinehu,
joined the branch of a kamani tree
to the linked branches of the red kamani.
The wings of Halulu were broken, broken.
They were severed by the sun,
by the sky-voyaging sun of Kea.
Wakea was below, above was the sun,
the sun-child born to Kea.
He it was, the sun-child: the sun brought to birth.
The sun shall be above.
Who shall be below?
The ocean, that is who shall be below.
VII
The ocean was born of Kea,
the surf for Kea, the sea for Kea,
the wild sea, the gentle sea for Kea,
the coral beds, coral caverns that grow for Kea,
the fish who twist and turn in the surge.
Deep black were the headlands pointing seaward,
broad lay the ocean spread out below.
Who shall be above?
Ku, Lono, Kane, Kanaloa,
Ka’eka’e and Mauli,
composers of prayers, givers of prayers,
high priests who uttered solemn prayers in sacred places,
voiced them in places free: free of kapu was the place of the chief!
Born was Ku, let him remain above.
Who shall be below? Who indeed?
From Haloa men came forth, chiefs multiplied.
Chief Ka-mehameha was conceived above,
the first chief, the first up here.
The Chiefess Kau-i-ka-’alaneo was the second up here.
They joined, clung together. Was it not so?
Ka-lani-nui-liholiho was the first
to inherit the kapus, the first up here.
Chief Kau-i-ke-ao-uli was the second up here.
Brothers are they, close joined:
they hold firm to one another.
So it is.
Tuamotuan
[6]
Dirge for a Chief
Carry, carry to the grave of my beloved,
Bear to the marae, to Maruofa, to Marufauraga,
Let him reach the open sea.
Let him arrive there, alas, alas!
[7]
Sacred Hymns of the Exalted Presence
I
The Primal-Source thrusts outward — upward,
The First-Cause of Chaos and the Night — dwelling below in Havaiki —
Sends forth a first pulsation of motion.
Unseen — invisible — in the fathomless abyss of Night,
Sleeping — face downward — on the wide Highways-of-Repose-0f-Space,
Propped on an elbow in the sunless Deep, —
Up — on My knees!
Now — with bended back!
Heaving upward, I stand on Havaiki, —
Erect at last upon the sacred mount of My temple, Ahu-toru —
“Altar-of-ascending-fire,”
As I will the prodigious travail of the Spheres.
O Majesty! O Divinity!
Now dreams —
II
Now dreams the Almighty God, —
Now, the Almighty-God-of-the-Cosmic-Night —
Dwelling below in Havaiki — visions:
The creation of the Spirit-world — as an abiding place
For the Spirits-of-the-dead, —
The unfoldment of the wide realm of the earth —
As a sanctuary for the living, —
The under-propping of the Sky-world here above — as a homeland
As a homeland for the Gods, —
That these several multitudes reflect upon the supreme Creator
Dwelling below in far Havaiki,
That they lift on high their voices in acclaim of the Source-of-All.
In Him — alone — inheres the power to perform these mighty deeds.
O Majesty! O Divinity! These mighty deeds —
III
These mighty deeds destined to be performed
By the Creator-of-the-Gods alone — the God supreme!
Verily, he is the Source who shall take life away;
That the Elementals shall know, —
That the Dead shall remember, —
That the Living shall not forget, —
(While the lesser Gods acclaim Me)
That I — Myself — am the Author of these titanic deeds, —
That — knowing this full well — the Universe proclaim
Me — Myself — the Cause-of-All!
I recline upon My temple — “Sacred-Altar-of-Ascending-Fire” —
While the fire leaps upward in streaming flames!
[8]
Rogo Chant of the Sacred Girdle
Royal girdle of the close-set rippling weft!
The cherished possession.
A venerated crimson treasure — exquisitely soft, beloved flaming
plumes.
Beating with lifted wings, the bird flashes into flight.
O cherished possession!
It is the royal girdle —
It is the royal girdle of Rogo!
Twisted beneath,
Wound round the back,
Firmly fastened girdle!
[9]
The sacred bird has flown hither!
Oh, shout with joy!
The sacred bird has come to Havaiki,
It is here in Havaiki —
It is with the Legion-of-the-gods,
Borne hither on the wafting breeze!
The sacred bird has flown hither from Toga-nui,
From Toga-anuanu,
Caroling to its parent — to Kura-ariki,
Winging here on the gentle breeze!
Oh, shout with gladness!
The sacred bird has come to Havaiki!
It is here in Havaiki!
It is with the Legion-of-the-gods!
Borne hither on the wafting breeze!
[10]
Incantation to Exorcise the Evil Spirit Moko
Hide!
Bury Moko in the Pandanus thicket!
Throw Moko far away!
Moko! Moko! Moko!
Look!
Now thumps, now thumps the tail of Moko!
Hooo!
[11]
Rub, rub my fire! Hold it while it ignites,
Hold up the tinder, hold it while it bursts into flame.
My sacred fire!
Cover, cover up my fire!
Covered over with sand, well
Well protected from the mist-laden toga from the sea.
A shallow place where the earth is spilled over upon the oven,
The oven called Sanctified-blood-0ven,
The oven of Ruanuku.
Cover, cover up my fire!
Scrape out the oven here, scrape out!
Place the food on the food trays.
Placed here on the food trays.
I arise, I stand up,
I spring over to the right,
I’ve commenced to leap, to spring over!
Oho! My bird lifting up its legs, leaping lightly!
My bird which flies up lightly!
Lifting up its legs, lifting up its legs,
Turning, looking to the south,
Facing around to the north.
Oho! My bird which arises lightly,
My bird which flies up lightly! Lifting its legs!
[12]
A Chant to Coax Fish to Come and Be Caught
Come, come to the shore, come!
O Dolphin, come!
O Porpoise, come,
Arise to the surface of the wide sea,
Chant the spell that they arise to the surface of the wide sea;
That the porpoise rise visibly above the sea-level,
That it come to its deep-sea haunts:
That it swim here to the land,
To your house, to the place where your navel was cut.
Come! Come to the shore, come!
[13]
Huauri’s Lament
Prologue
(First Voice)
The son is a wanderer borne to isles of peril on dauntless wings.
(Second Voice)
I am old — I am an aged woman mumbling deliriously in my grief.
Refrain
(Chorus; Tahaki)
The son weeps for the mother, he weeps for you —
Grey with the passing years.
Huauri
My son is a wanderer.
I
Tahaki and Huauri
(First Voice)
Alas! The child is a wanderer —
(Second Voice)
— roaming remote lands.
(Chorus)
Mutually we voice our love.
Never will the son know the hour of Huauri’s death —
The child, venturing afar on even-beating wings.
Huauri
So bravely venturing on migratory wings!
I am old — I am an aged woman babbling childishly in my grief.
Refrain
(Tahaki)
The son grieves for the mother, he grieves for you —
Burdened with numbered years.
(Huauri)
Mine is the sacred land —
II
Tahaki
(First Voice)
Vaerota, the sacred land of Ru.
(Second Voice)
Weeping, I call out to you —
(Chorus)
— there, in the remote realm where the sun rises
Borne far away on tireless wings —
Huauri
Yes, borne upon tireless wings!
I am old — I am an aged woman muttering wildly in my grief.
Refrain
(Tahaki)
The soul laments the mother.
Epilogue
(Huauri)
He shall go to the night-realm of Kiho,
The last bourne of repose.
Polynesian
[14]
Pean to the Source of All
I
The goddess-wife lies with her divine husband.
They have embraced in the age-old union of the gods.
They are the Reproductive Principle and the Creative Urge
Emerging from the void of space.
And manifesting through the two first Givers of life.
The god, Lord-of-the-high-heavens, has taken to his heart
His cherished wife — Primeval-semblance-of-woman;
He has alighted upon the maternal form —
They have embraced;
He has wed his predestined mate.
The divine Cup-of-life has clasped him to her breast.
Here, in this heaven-realm above,
Now appears the immemorial Dweller-in-darkness.
Let the multitudes of the supreme Lord-of-the-red-clouds-of-sunset
Reflect upon the riddle of the universe —
The sacred union of the two first Progenitors!
Now the wife enfolds her husband;
The twain are joined in the primal act of creation.
The cherished wife belongs to him alone —
To the adored husband,
A lover ever ardent and strong in the strife of passion.
She is the beloved mate of the Life Bestowing Urge
Stirring in the First Father.
The adored wife folds him to her breast.
O Revered Goddess of Desire!
You are the reproductive power responding to the ardor
of the inspiring seed of life.
The Life Compelling Urge coupled with the Unknowable One —
His primeval wife!
They have embraced in the primal union of the gods!
The beloved wife swoons in the sacred rapture!
II
O Winds of the Goddess-timelessly-upholding!
O Winds of the God-eternally-creating!
The cherished wife of the Ever-Virile-One is thrilled with ecstasy!
O Winds of the vast Cavern-of-the-abyss!
O Winds of the Life-waters-infiltrating!
The beloved wife of the Ardent One trembles in the consummation!
O Winds of the revered Upholders!
O Winds of the primordial Creative-Urge —
Of the wife joined with the Life-giving One!
Together they are the Life-producing Power
Informed with the Life Essence.
The cherished wife is convulsed in the sacred union!
O Winds of the Goddess-ardent-in-the-fulfillment of desire!
O Winds of the Mighty Pillar-of-life possessing his beloved mistress!
The adored wife thrills in the communion of love!
O Winds of the tiny Birdling-cupped-within-its-nest!
O Winds of the Creative-urge-aroused-to-ardor!
The beloved wife swoons in the divine embrace!
O Winds of the Supporting-foundation of the universe!
O Winds of the God-husband joined in wedlock!
O Winds of the Waters-of-life impregnating!
O Winds of the Wide-spread surface of the earth —
Of the Dark Goddess lying supine!
The cherished wife trembles in the rapture of the gods!
[15]
Thanksgiving
The young people grow like newly-green shrubbery,
Springing up from the soil.
The breadfruit tree is heavy-laden with fruit.
Here, as in that joyous land of abundance
Beneath the blood-red clouds of the sunrise,
The food is everywhere plentiful.
The little child, aimlessly strolling about,
Eats of the largesse of the land;
So does the orphan, —
And so, the bereaved wife or husband.
[16]
Instilling Ardor in a Youthful Lover
Swaying —
Balancing,
— to and fro!
You thump in bold defiance upon the broad bulge of your chest —
Forefront of your straining body,
Roused by the flaming ardor of your youthful spear!
Dauntlessly you attack, in singleness of purpose,
Pressing the butt of your spear against your firm thigh!
Swiftly you advance, in short dashes,
Like the land crab, from one vantage to another,
Till you plunge into the retreat of the red dappled sand crab!
Now your weapon transfixes the soft shelled crayfish
Caught in the basket of the trap, —
You strive in the canoe-shaped hollow,
With all the manly strength of your rigid body!
Stand erect!
Stand powerfully erect —
before the rounded hut of mountain grass!
Ho!
What a conquering weapon
is yours!
[17]
Marriage
Your two smoothly voluptuous and comely bodies
Have been united in wedlock upon this day,
To be bedded together this first night,
Now tightly entwined, like a warrior’s topknot
Pierced by a thorn — the urgent thorn of the husband.
The rounded cheeks of your buttocks, O fortunate wife,
Have been tattooed red, red as the ripe mountain apple;
And your hair is deeply waved,
Life the fronds of the curly-leaved mountain fern;
Your teeth are white as the heron;
And you are both patterned with bands in black and white,
Like the striped fish of the lagoon,
And your whole body, O wife! is covered with dots,
Like the eel called Two-lords-gliding-through-the-ocean.
O you Sacred One!
O Protector of lovers!
How rapturous are the joys of marriage!
Honor to your mother!
Honor to your father!
Easter Islanders
[18]
Poem of a Girl Whose Young Sister Loves the Same Man as She Does
O Mea, for your body the little one and the big one are fighting.
It is winter, my friend, the flower gives off its perfume,
The flower is very fragrant.
It is summer; the flower, my friend,
Is withered on my breast. Aue, Aue!
The older girl, she feels afraid.
Here is the wreath to hang an ornament —
The ornament is your face,
O my brother Mea.
[19]
Song of a Lover to a Girl Who Leaves His Arms at Dawn
O Miru girl, you are dampened to the bones by morning dew,
By the dew of the Rano aroi.
You will not be dry when you go down to the shore to soak aute
To make tapa for the ribbon of your topknot.
Maori
[20]
Who will marry a husband, lazy in food production?
The sun on his skin will be his food.
Who will marry a wife, lazy in weaving garments?
Cold winds on her skin will be her food.
[21]
Lament
Although the petrels flying over
Have each one a mate,
I am like the solitary egg of the kiwi,
Left alone among the birch roots.
[22]
I am as a canoe shattered
To fragments on the shore.
I am old and past the age for love
And about to dig my grave.
[23]
Song Sung by a Woman Whose Husband Had Deserted Her
Twice this night has brought me a vision of To Hui-rori,
My spouse who has been taken away, fled to another woman.
He who warmed my breast is gone, and now indeed I am cold.
Sweep on, oh whirling clouds. Greetings to you as you pass.
You come from my chosen mate as indeed I sent you to him.
Do not attempt to snatch away my vital life essence
Lest I be bewitched and die.
The breeze blows in the morning from where you are.
One might think it would bring comfort,
But there is only the disturbing thought
That you were bewitched with ancient words
And so abandoned me.
[24]
A Quarrel
Give the child as a mat for making love.
Seize your paddle to end the talk.
The canoe skims out on the open sea
The sea through which the grayling darts,
The sea in which the white-bait swims.
While I slept I was the subject of slander
Which sped to a hundred places
As I dozed in sleep at night.
It was said, “You are a lecherous person.
Yes, my girl, you pursue
The man who ejaculates eight times
In that house.
Repay us, oh girl.”
[25]
Song of a Woman Who Has Been Spied Upon
I thought that my person
Was for the weapon of man to look at.
By law and spiteful plan you sought
To thrust aside my feelings
As though of mere filth,
And like a war party assail my inner being.
Exposed to view was the tide of Rongorongo.
What was the thing you saw?
A thing untouched,
A thing urged on,
A black thing,
Very dark.
[26]
Warrior Song
Oh Awa oh, the stem of the kauri shall grow,
The pukatea shall grow in the waters,
Softened in water shall be the bones of your loved ones,
The pigeon shall tremble violently
The dried kumara shall be crushed
The fern-root shall be beaten
And sweet shall be the kumara preserve.
[27]
Lament for To Hiakai by His Wife To Riutote
The rain falls in heavy drops.
So number the tears in my eyes.
You had better send your greetings.
You were the first to possess me.
I remain a slave
Because you sealed my affections.
Ah, had I but the slightest perfume of you
To take me there
That I might see
What lay beyond
But I searched in vain.
A wind-swept mountain
Screened the spot
Where the man I loved stayed,
Far off, even beyond the great distance.
Return from the void.
The fast canoes of To Hiakai
Are borne away,
A means to take me there.
Now I am humble and dejected
Caught in the powerful current
Of Karewa out beyond,
For you are gone forever.
[28]
The rays of the morning dart forth,
The morning star bites the moon,
A token of disaster,
Presaging the death of the tribe.
Lost is my tuatara,
The great lizard of the chief.
You all consented
That Kohi should prepare the canoe
To avenge your deaths.
It was Whare and To Hinu
That avenged the wrongs
Of the descendants of Kokako.
It was well for me to die
On the battlefield beyond Manukau,
Or within the waters of Kaipara,
Among the numerous tribes.
Koperu was not seen by me.
Straight was the course to within Tawatawhiti
Where Taiheke was eaten, paddling along
As slaves are consumed.
And Hikutu and Mahurehure tribes
Oh Hika, oh Hope, you were killed by To Rarawa.
When Hongi Hika brought the affliction
That obliterated Waikato in death.
[29]
Chant to Io
Io dwelt within the breathing-space of immensity,
The universe was in darkness, with water everywhere.
There was no glimmer of dawn, no clearness, no light.
And he began by saying these words,
That he might cease remaining inactive:
“Darkness, become a light-possessing darkness.”
And at once a light appeared.
He then repeated these self-same words in this manner,
That he might cease remaining inactive:
“Darkness, become a darkness-possessing light.”
And again an intense darkness supervened.
Then a third time he spoke, saying:
“Let there be one darkness above.
Let there be one darkness below,
Let there be a darkness unto Tupua,
Let there be a darkness unto Tawhito,
A dominion of light,
A bright light.”
And now a great light prevailed.
Io then looked to the waters which compassed him about,
And spake a fourth time, saying:
“Waters of Tai kama, be separate.
Heaven, be formed.”
Then the sky became suspended.
“Bring forth Te Tupua horo nuku.”
And at once the moving earth lay stretched abroad.
Kuman
[30]
Go and fetch water at the well, gather leaves and
bring food.
Collect wood and warm the stones.
Put out the mats to sit on and the mats to eat from.
Men and women are coming, the children are gathering.
Let us make room for them.
Go up on top of the mountain Chmau,
See the beautiful forests;
Climb up the Kundombo and gandia trees,
See their white and red flowers in bloom.
See the birds alighting on the branch.
Listen to the songs when Kagl, Waugl and Dilu sing in unison.
They have all gone now, across the river and over the mountains.
There is a hole in the tree.
Go and see how sweetly the rainbow’s child, the Oyie flower, hides
itself,
Behold the lightning’s and the thunder’s children,
See how beautiful they are:
They live high up on the Pindaude heights.
Let them come down, we want to see them,
We want to get to know them and to hold them.
Marquesas Islanders
[31]
Ardent is my love.
A fragrant wreath is Nikuhe, the lover Nikuhi.
Strong is the desire
Of the wreath of sweet smelling fern.
A fragrant wreath is Nikuhe, the lover Nikuhi.
A madness is in my heart.
To come to my flower, the child of countless mists.
A fragrant wreath is Nikuhe, the lover Nikuhi.
You are the prize of the flower of Ke’i Ani.
A fragrant wreath is Nikuhe, the lover Nikuhi.
[32]
Overturned is my coconut shell,
From Rangi Roa, the lovely,
Of the brilliant glowing sky.
Thence flies my song.
Oh my lovely maiden,
A kiss for my song!
Turned right over is Rangi Roa,
Rangi Roa, your land,
My land, my song,
My land, my song!
Mekeo
[33]
Living
I come. I come and sit.
I wait. I wait and sit.
I come. I come and live.
I wait. I wait and live.
— Allan Natachee
[34]
Son of Avia, I walk along the ridge,
I go for love making.
The good woman is swimming and calling
She walks away —
We go to the hiding place.
Her eyes thinking, sparkling,
She walks away
We go to the hiding place.
Her eyes knowing, sparkling
She walks away.
We go to the hiding place.
I descend into the river,
To seek the woman of the water!
I descend into the river,
To gaze on the woman of the water!
— Allan Natachee
Kiriwina
[35]
Love Song
Last night you came
to lie on my head rest.
With fluttering stomach
I awoke from my dream.
—Elija Emori
[36]
Song of a Girl Journeying to the Country of the Dead
Place changes, dawn breaks
Birds are waking.
My chest is marked*
handsome boys look away.
Spirit canoe with youngsters
but road leads me away.
Wind whispers, dark cloud meets me
current drags me along.
_______
*The girl is decorated for funeral rites.
Kuanua
[37]
Woman you starve me
woman you dream of me
woman you long for me
woman you sing my name
woman you want me
You undress — I am happy
you show your life — I am happy
you dress again — I starve
you go to the bush —I go to the bush
you stay home — I stay home
night comes — I am happy
night comes and we talk
night comes, you hold my penis
my friend stands you satisfy it
an excellent food — delicious!
— Joel Appleday
Rovana
[38]
The ocean is peaceful
the silence makes me sad.
The ocean is peaceful
the silence makes me sad.
You are hidden behind the
mist
go seek your own
happiness
My name is dirt to you
so let me follow the
waves.
When I step across the waters
I’ll play in the porpoise’s mouth.
I’ll play in the porpoise’s mouth.
When I step across the waters
I’ll play in the tortoise’s teeth.
I haven’t made love
charms yet,
in the back yard
My name is dirt to you
So let me seek my own
happiness
my name is dirt to you
so let me follow the
waves.
— G. Beti
Ifaluk
[39]
I live quietly at home, not dreaming
That any man would come.
The man I love is like a coconut tree
That towers above the rest,
A soaring man-of-war bird, a plunging fish,
A vein in my body.
He comes by night, fearless of the demons
That people the dark.
His perfume tells me when he is near.
We go to a quiet place
Where nobody will find us.
I cuddle on his tatooing.
Our hearts are as one.
We are like two trees that grow intertwined.
We are bound together as with a stout rope.
You threw me away like a withered flower.
You washed me off like yesterday’s ointment.
[40]
She Tried to Get Rid of Him
My husband and I go to the seaward side of the island
And sit down on the sand by ourselves.
I don’t want any other man. I love him.
I did go with one man, who loved me long ago,
And has never forgotten.
He came boldly into the house,
And I went out with him
To a place marked off with a taboo sign.
“All you see of me is what everybody sees,” I said.
“Under my skirt I am ugly.
In fact, my whole face and body are terrible.
I’m not nice at all!
I’m not a gold ring — just an iron one.
Everybody knows I’m no good.
Don’t take me into your heart.
Throw me away like a withered flower.
Wash me off like yesterday’s paint.
Let’s break apart like a fish line
That’s too weak to hold the hook.”
He said, “Take down your sail and come ashore to me.
Then you won’t be wrecked in any wind.”
“Oh, the canoe would capsize!” I told him.
“An old, leaky canoe is all I am.
I’m an ugly old woman. Who would want me?
No man comes to my bed.
The young are afraid; and if the old come,
They’re just drifting before the wind.
They come as the rain falls.
And I scare them off, like the demon
That lurks in the pass.
They’d better be afraid! I’m no young girl.
I’m a big mountain that nobody can climb.”
[41]
Rejected Lover
There is a place the wind blows through —
No man comes to my house now;
I sent my lover away.
I went with him to the seaward shore,
To a beautiful, secluded place.
We sat down in the shade
Where the wind rustled through the coconut leaves,
Sat down together to smoke.
We thought nobody would come,
But another man appeared,
Threw a stick near us, and we ran away.
(I threw the stick myself, and lied about the man.)
He was furious when he found out.
He seized me by the arms.
“If you won’t let me have you now,
I’ll cut the tree down!”
“You do whatever you please.”
I wouldn’t give in.
Oh, but he was furious!
[42]
I am worn out with weeping.
I have no heart for my work.
The thought of him is like a fire in my body.
I will make a taboo sign of braided leaves across the path,
So that others may not walk in his footsteps.
Others come where we used to walk together,
But he is no more to be seen.
[43]
I am your lover.
I left this district, went away for a while;
But here I am back again.
The canoe house stands off by itself;
I remember something I left there.
I put my arm around my sweetheart.
“What are you going to do?”
“Let’s go somewhere else;
Too many people come to the canoe house
To paint pictures on the beams.”
“What is it you want in there?
Do you want to sleep in that house,
You and I together?”
“Take off your skirt.
You are beautiful underneath;
Fair as a calm day
Over a still lagoon.”
“Sweetheart, give me what I see!
It fills me with delight.
Don’t put your skirt back on yet!”
Then we were fast together.
I am your lover —
Fast together.
[44]
It was the god who taught the dance,
Speaking through his oracle.
He came down from the sky
To bring the dance to earth.
The god entered into two men.
Those not favored said, “Tell us.”
A kindly god, though invisible to men.
Give lovely flowers to the god!
Flowers like those in the sky
To put on his head, rub on his cheeks.
The man possessed by the god cries out,
“They are dancing in the sky!”
Some people speak ill of the god.
He gives them flowers
To make them understand.
SOURCES
1-2 E.S. Craighill Handy, History and Culture in the Society Islands. Honolulu, 1930.
3-5. Mary Kawena Pukui & Alfons L. Korn (eds.), The Echo of Our Song: Chants and Poems of the Hawaiians. Honolulu, 1973.
6-13. Edwin G. Burrows, Native Music of the Tuamotus. Bishop Museum Bulletin #109, Honolulu (drawn from J.F. Stimson’s manuscript, The Tahaki Legend, in the Bishop Museum).
14-17. J. Frank Stimson, Songs and Tales of the Sea Kings: Interpretations of the Oral Literature of Polynesia. Salem, Mass., 1957.
18-19, 29. Antony Alpers, Legends of the South Seas: The World of the Polynesians Seen Through Their Myths and Legends, Poetry and Art. New York, 1970. Taken from Alfred Metraux, Ethnology of Easter Island, Bishop Museum Bulletin 160, 1940.
20-24. Bruce Biggs, Maori Marriage: An Essay in Reconstruction. The Polynesian Society Incorporated, Wellington, New Zealand, 1960.
25-28. Leslie G. Kelly, Tainui, The Story of Hoturoa and His Descendants. Polynesian Society, Wellington, New Zealand, 1949.
30. Jens Bjerre, The Last Cannibals (translated from the Danish by Estrid Bannister). William Morrow and Co., New York, 1957.
31-32. E.S. Craighill & Jane Lathrop Winne, Music in the Marquesas Islands. Honolulu, 1925.
33-38. Ulli Beier, ed., Words of Paradise: Poetry of Papua New Guinea. Unicorn Press, Santa Barbara, 1973.
39-44. Edwin Grant Burrows, Flower in My Ear: Arts and Ethos of Ifaluk Atoll. University of Washington Press, Seattle, 1963.
Part 5 of The Poetry of Pre-Literate Peoples.
The Poetry of Pre-Literate Peoples is the manuscript of an unpublished anthology gathered by Kenneth Rexroth (ca. 1975). The Introduction and other editorial material by Rexroth in it are copyright 2024 and reproduced here with permission of the Kenneth Rexroth Trust. However, neither the Rexroth Trust nor Rexroth’s Literary Executor assumes any legal responsibility for my posting of the various translated song lyrics that Rexroth tentatively selected for inclusion in his anthology; they are posted here exclusively on my own responsibility. The sources of each of the translations are specified at the bottom of the webpage where they appear. These translations were originally published between 1875 and 1973. Most of the books and scholarly journals in which they originally appeared are long out of print, and many of them are in the public domain. I have reproduced them here as a noncommercial public service. If any of them are still copyrighted and the copyright owner has any objections, please notify me and I will remove them from this site. —Ken Knabb