Note 22 — Pule no Hina.

The introduction here of the mud-hen, alae, identifies the subject of this mele, Hina, as the mother of the demi-god Maui, who by a cunning trick obtained from this bird the sacred fire stolen from the gods, as witness the red frontal knob caused by Maui’s burning away of its feathers by the sacred fire, hence its name alae ula (Gallinula galeata sandwicensis). ↑