nvt. To uphold, support, favor, assist, prop up; to bind, as with a sash or belt; support, aid, recommendation, girdle. Cf. koʻo, support. Mea kakoʻo, sponsor. Ā ʻo ka ʻoiaʻiʻo hoʻi ke kākoʻo o kona kīkala (Isa. 11.5), truth then is the girdle of his reins. hoʻo.kā.koʻo Caus/sim. (PCP taatoko.)

I think this should be a word we should all live by. Kākoʻo. Support. A walking cane is a koʻokoʻo. A cane offers major support. Notice the same word – koʻo. A koʻo is a brace, prop, or support.

Successful and thriving companies look for prospective employees that have an ability to work cooperatively with others. To me, an inteegral part of working together is the value of kākoʻo, supporting one another, both professionally and personally.

It is a word that I use quite frequently in speaking, sometimes in an effort to express my support of people’s manaʻo, and at other times in an attempt to remind myself to kākoʻo, even though it might not be the most convenient of times. Sometimes one can kākoʻo with a supportive voice and other times with with present physically and lending a hand of support.

There are many instances (this never seems to wane) in which we can kākoʻo our efforts to aloha ʻāina (take care of our land) or mālama i ke kai (care for our ocean). All these efforts are done with a manaʻo pono (good thoughts). I kākoʻo these efforts. If we don’t take care of our land or our ocean, we become part of the problem of pollution, lack of resources, lack of connection to our earth.

E kākoʻo kākou kekahi i kekahi – Let us all support one another.

Copyright:

2015 – Liana Iaea Honda. All rights reserved. All versions of He Momi e Lei ai”, in its entirety, past and present, is the property of L. K. I. Honda. Reproduction and use of any kind other than the sharing of this website is prohibited. Alteration to the original content in any form is prohibited in every and any instance, and use in any other variant is prohibited without written consent of the author. Adress inquiries to: hemomi [at] gmail.com. Definitions and wise sayings are from: Hawaiian Dictionary by Pukui and Elbert, 1986. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau – Hawaiian Proberbs & Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Pukui, 1983.