Author Archives: Liana

n. Getting, acquiring, taking, carrying, acquisition; movement, as of dancing hands. Pehea ka lawena a ka ipo? (song), how to get a sweetheart? Ka lawena a ka maka, flirtatious summons of the eye. (Pukui – Hawaiian English Dictionary) kik Behavior, as the way people … Continue reading →

Traditional knowledge There is much talk today about what being Hawaiian means, whether it means you have the koko (blood) or you can ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, or you know the history and the culture of Hawaiʻi or you take part in … Continue reading →

1. vs. Cracked, broken, as a dish; smashed to bits, as masonry; to act as a purgative; to split; loss of virginity. See ex., koʻokā. Lāʻau nahā (FS 129), purgative. ʻAila nahā, ʻaila hoʻonahā, castor oil. Umauma nahā (FS 195), hunger. hoʻo.nahā To smash, shatter, crack, split; … Continue reading →

1. vi. To grumble, complain; displeased, dissatisfied. 2. Redup. of kunu 1, 2. (PCP tunutunu, to broil, to cough). Someone in my hale (house) has a horrible kunukunu. This someone did a little too much traveling for work. It happens … Continue reading →

1. vs. Cleared, as rain; alleviated, assuaged, as grief; to clear up, as rain; to pass, as sadness. Ua mao aʻela ke kaumaha, the sadness has ceased. (PPN mao.) 2. vi. To fade, as cloth. 3. n. Type of fish. … Continue reading →

Autumn. No Hawaiian word; terms sometimes used: hāʻule lau, laʻa make, laʻa ʻula, ke kau o hāʻule lau. Today is the official last day of fall break for those with kids in school. Or my teacher friends out there. Thus … Continue reading →

1. vs. Slippery, slimy, as with mud. E ua ana ka ua a kika malama, ʻōlali kika ana kikika i ka ua (chant), the rain rains so that the month is slippery, bright, slippery, slippery in the rain. 2. Also tita n. Sister. Eng. 3. … Continue reading →

1. vs. Fragrant, sweet-smelling, perfumed; fragrance, perfume (preceded by ke). Fig., esteemed chiefly. Mea ʻala, ointment, perfume. Ke ʻala kūpaoa, a strong heady fragrance. Ke ʻala punia, a fragrance so strong that it causes dizziness. Cf. ʻaʻala. hō.ʻala To perfume. (PNP kala.) Fragrant, sweet-smelling. Mmmmm.  Sweet pīkake lei. … Continue reading →

1. nvs. Tree, plant, wood, timber, forest, stick, pole, rod, splinter, thicket, club; blow or stroke of a club; strength, rigidness, hardness; male erection; to have formed mature wood, as of a seedling; wooden, woody; stiff, as wood. 2. nvs. … Continue reading →

1. nvt. Stargazer, reader of omens, seer, astrologer, necromancer; kind of looking glass (rare); to watch closely, spy, examine, look around, observe, forecast. Cf. hākilo and below. Kilo aupuni, political expert. Kilo ʻuala, to examine sweet potatoes as in a new mound in … Continue reading →