KumulipoPolynesian MythologyLegend / Oral TraditionHawaiianShareKumulipo 4Queen Liliuokalani 1897 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableQueen Liliuokalani 1897LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Kumulipo 1Kumulipo 2Kumulipo 3Kumulipo 4Kumulipo 5Kumulipo 6Kumulipo 7Kumulipo 8Kumulipo 9Kumulipo 10Kumulipo 11Kumulipo 12Kumulipo 13Kumulipo 14Kumulipo 15Kumulipo 16Kumulipo 17›Kumulipo: The Fourth EraKumulipo 4ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1First Verse. Established in the dawn of Laa's light The Ape aumoa with faintest strife Envied the sea that washed the land, As it crept up and yet crept down And brought forth creeping families That crept on their backs and crept on their front, With pulses that beat in front and rounding backs, With faces in front and claws to feel Of darkness, of darkness, For Kaneaka Papanopano is born (dawn). So Popanopano the man And Polalowehi his wife, Man was born to increase-- To increase in the night by the thousands. At this age there is a lull-- At this age take your children to the beach. Children play at heaping sands. They are the children born of night. Night was born. 2Second Verse. Night was born of great delight, Night was rolled for the pleasure of gods, Night gave birth to the split-back turtle. Watch in the night for the land turtle. Night gave birth to the brown lobster, The night of commotion for the Alii (?) lobster, The birth night of the lazy monster Was a wet night for the rolling monster. Night gave birth to clinging beings, And Night loudly called for roughness. Night gave birth to wailing A night of drawback to oblivion, Night gave birth to high noses, Night dug deep for jelly fish, Night gave birth to slush, So the night must wait for motion. 3Third Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The earth was born and lived by the sea; Guarded by the Kuhonua that grew in land (a shrub). A night of flight by noises Through a channel; the la-i is food, and creeps. 4Fourth Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Wili was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Wiliwili that grew on land (tiger's claws tree). A night of flight by noises Through a channel; la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 5Fifth Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Aio was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Naio that grew in the forest (mock sandalwood). A night of flight by noises Through a channel; la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 6Sixth Verse. Man was created by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Okea was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Ahakea that grew in the forest. A night of flight by noises Through a channel; the la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 7Seventh Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Wawa was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Wanawana that lived in the forest. A night of flight by noises Through a channel, la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 8Eighth Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Nene was born and lived in the sea (geese); Guarded by the Manene that lived in the forest (weed). A night of flight by noises Through a channel; la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 9Ninth Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Liko was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Piko that grew in the forest. A night of flight by noises Through a channel; the la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 10Tenth Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Okeope was born and lived in the sea; Guarded by the Oheohe that grew in the forest (bamboo). A night of flight by noises Through a channel; la-i is food and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 11Eleventh Verse. Man by Waiololi, woman by Waiolola, The Nananana was born and lived in the sea (spider); Guarded by the Nonanona that lived in the forest (ants). A night of flight by noises Through a channel; la-i is food, and creeps; So the gods may enter, but not man. 12Twelfth Verse. The dancing motion till creeping crept With long and waving lengthy tail, And with humpy lumpy lashes sweeps And trails along in filthy places. These live on dirt and mire; Eat and rest, eat and throw up; They exist on filth, are low-born beings, Till to earth they become a burden Of mud that's made, Made unsafe, until one reels And is unsteady., Go thou to the land of creepers, Where families of creepers were born in one night. ’Tis night. ‹Previous chapterKumulipo 3Next chapterKumulipo 5›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public-domain 1897 English translation