Compare Mariner, II, 90; Moerenhout, I, 409; Williams and Calvert, I,
111.]
III. THE ART OF COMPOSITION
1. ARISTOCRATIC NATURE OF POLYNESIAN ART
The arts of song and oratory, though practiced by all classes,[1] were
considered worthy to be perfected among the chiefs themselves and those
who sought their patronage. Of a chief the Polynesian says, "He speaks
well."[2] Hawaiian stories tell of heroes famous in the _hoopapa_, or
art of debating; in the _hula_, or art of dance and song; of chiefs who
learned the lore of the heavens and the earth from some supernatural
master in order to employ their skill competitively. The _oihana
haku-mele_, or "business of song making," was hence an aristocratic art.
The able composer, man or woman, even if of low rank, was sure of
patronage as the _haku mele_, "sorter of songs," for some chief; and his
name was attached to the song he composed. A single poet working alone
might produce the panegyric; but for the longer and more important songs
of occasion a group got together, the theme was proposed and either
submitted to a single composer or required line by line from each member
of the group.
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