Literary notes about pule (AI summary)
The term “pule” is employed in literature with a striking versatility that reflects both its sacred and mundane dimensions. In many texts it denotes a prayer or incantation, notably in Hawaiian contexts where phrases like “Pule Kuahu” or “pule hoo-noa” evoke ritualistic appeals and divine intercessions ([1], [2], [3]). In other instances, “pule” is used to convey expressions of sorrow or complaint—acting as a synonym for whining or lamenting ([4], [5], [6])—while at times it even names people or places imbued with cultural significance ([7], [8], [9]). This dual usage emphasizes the word’s rich semantic range and its capacity to bridge the realms of the spiritual and the everyday.
- This was accomplished by the utterance of a pule hoo-noa , a tabu-lifting prayer.
— from Unwritten Literature of HawaiiThe Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson - Here also is another pule hoo-noa, a prayer-song addressed to Laka, an intercession for the lifting of the tabu.
— from Unwritten Literature of HawaiiThe Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson - Pule (pú-le)--a prayer; an incantation; to pray.
— from Unwritten Literature of HawaiiThe Sacred Songs of the Hula by Nathaniel Bright Emerson - Also to whine, to pule, to yell or cry out pitifully.
— from Queen Anna's New World of Words; or, Dictionarie of the Italian and English Tongues by John Florio - Miag o láre, to whine, to pule, to waile.
— from Queen Anna's New World of Words; or, Dictionarie of the Italian and English Tongues by John Florio - whine , n. whimper, puling, complaint .-- v. whimper, pule, complain .
— from Putnam's Word Book A Practical Aid in Expressing Ideas Through the Use of an Exact and Varied Vocabulary by Louis A. (Louis Andrew) Flemming - But we are in bad case; for see, on the one side comes Pule-o-Vaitafe, and on the other Tamavili.
— from A Memory of the Southern Seas 1904 by Louis Becke - As for Pule-o-Vaitafe, I care not a blade of grass, and for Tamavili even less.
— from A Memory of the Southern Seas 1904 by Louis Becke - I dined at Mr. Pepys's, where I heard the rare voice of Mr. Pule, who was lately come from Italy, reputed the most excellent singer we had ever had.
— from The Diary of John Evelyn (Volume 2 of 2) by John Evelyn
