1. vt. To change, alter, influence, turn, turn over. Loli wale, to change for apparently no reason or whimsically; variable. Loli ʻana, change, conversion, variation, evolution. Loli aʻe, to vary, change. hoʻo.loli To change, convert, exchange, alter, transform, take a new form, amend; amendment, change. Hoʻololi i ka lole, change clothes. Hoʻololi ʻōlelo, amend, decline, conjugate. Hoʻololi i ka manaʻo, to change the mind. Hoʻololi mai i ka noi, to amend a motion. Hoʻololi kālā, currency exchange.

2. n. Sea slug, sea cucumber, beche-de-mer, trepang (Holothuria spp.); for some people an ʻaumakua. See kūkaeloli and saying, ʻīloli. (PPN loli.)

3. vs. Spotted, speckled, daubed; to color in spots, as tapa. Cf. īloli 2.

Loli

In small kid time loli was sea cucumber. That’s what we called it. But today, for me, loli takes on a whole new meaning (no sea cucumbers in the foothills of Pa’auilo). Loli means to change. Ho’ololi means to cause change. My new mantra this year is: “You must be the change you wish to see in the world,” a quote credited to Mahatma Ghandi.

I want to cause change in the world. Transformation. Loli. And in order to do that I have to loli aspects of myself. As I heard on the Augie T Live Comedy DVD, “Change comes from within”.

In order for me to be the change I want to see in the world, I have to change. Einstein said that no problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.

We as a people can continue to wallow in our sorrows, relive the trauma, focus on the negativity that surrounds us (and we hear about it everyday…the poor health statitistics, incarceration, uneducated,…) or we can change our level of consciousness, we can be the change. Take care of our health, make better choices, get educated (whatever that may mean to you…and it might mean MORE than just going back to school…it could mean spending time at a lo’i kalo or a loko i’a or going hiking, growing your own food or picking up the rubbish you continuously complain about).

Loli.

He iʻa laka ka loli kaʻe, he loaʻa wale i kāheka – The loli kaʻe is easy enough to gather, for it is found in sea pools (Said of a cross, dissatisfied person who becomes grumpy. A play on kaʻe (grumpy) in loli kaʻe.

He loli ka iʻa, ʻīloli ke aloha – Loli is the sea creature, passionate is the love (an expression used in hana aloha sorcery when loli was secured as an offering).

He palupalu nā hewa liʻiliʻi i ka wā kolo, lolelua i ka wā kamaliʻi, loli ʻole i ka wā ʻoʻo, ʻoni paʻa i ka wā ʻelemakule – Small sins are weak in the creeping stage, changeable in childhood, unchanging when an adult, and firmly fixed in age (Bad habits can be changed in the early stages but eventually become firmly implanted).

Hopu hewa i ka loli, i ka iʻa maka ʻole – Grasped the eyeless fish by m mistake (Met with disappointment. The loli is known as the fish without eyes).

ʻO wahie ka ʻai, ʻo loli ka iʻa, ʻo muku ka imu – Wood is the vegetable food, sea cucumber is the meat, and a small imbue is the only imbue (Said of scarcity from oppression).

Kaupō ʻai loli – Kaupō, land of loli eaters (Kauakahiakua, a chief of Kaupō, Maui, is said to have been fond of loli and to have once build a large imbue for roasting them. Since that time the people of Kaupō have had a reputation for being especially fond of this sea creature).

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 Proverbs & Poetical Sayings by Mary Kawena Pukui, 1983.