1. n. Sugar cane

2. nvi. Dragged, towed, wind-borne; long, as a vowel sound; to drag, push, prolong, tow, drawl; to hold a note for several beats in singing or chanting; pull, tug, massage.

3. vi. To fulfill, come to pass, succeed, do, complete, foreclose; to win in dispute; to become pregnant; fulfilled.

4. vt. To break up lumps in poi by pressing against the side of a container.

5. n. Second note in musical scale, re.

6. n. and interj. A call to pigs, fowl. Also kolo, kolo, kolo.

There are numerous meanings for today’s He Momi, kō. In fact, if you would like an elaboration on each meaning all you need to do is go to the Hawaiian English Dictionary (Pukui/Elbert).

A lot of people know sugarcane as kō, in fact, the Hawaiian word for sugar is kōpaʻa (kō=sugarcane; paʻa=solid…solid sugarcane). A well known ʻōlelo noʻeau with kō is:

Pua ke kō, kū mai ka heʻe

When the sugarcane tassels, heʻe season has arrived

(this usually happens in late October, early November)

I would like to focus on the 3^rd translation, that is, the use of kō to mean fulfill, complete. If you did something and completed it to fruition, ua kō – it’s done, completed. Ua kō ka hana – The task is completed. Ua kō ka ʻiʻiini – the desire has been fulfilled. If you NEED to do a task or you want someone to complete a task the word is hoʻokō – to fulfill, to complete. In other words, putting the hoʻo– in front of kō means you need to put some action into the word – e hoʻokō i ka hana – complete the task.

Ua kō ka hana no ka pono o kākou – the work has been fulfilled for the “pono” of the people.

E hoʻokō i kou kuleana – Fulfill your responsibility.

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.