He Momi e Lei ai (a pearl to wear as a lei)

Like the one from whom he received what he learned.

(Said of a child who behaves like those who reared him. Māna is food masticated by an elder and conveyed to the mouth of a small child. The haumana receives knowledge from the mouth of his teacher.)

I take my job in education very seriously. I realize that the work I do on behalf of students, whether children or adults, has a big impact on every individual. It is in this way that I relate this ʻōlelo noʻeau but I also see it another way. We, as parents, are our children’s first teacher. Just as we chew up food for them to eat when they are infants and toddlers to nourish them physically, we must take special care to nourish their spirit and their mind. We work hard to teach each child those values and concepts that we think will benefit them and serve them well in life. And, hopefully, make this place called earth a better place.

The greatest gift of all is time.

Take time to read daily to your children or grandchildren. Don’t have any children in your home? Then find someone to read to. Volunteer at a school in the mornings. One college professor in the community in which I work, comes to our school twice weekly, on the days that she is free, to work with a group of middle schoolers. Their last meeting together, she took them to her college for a visit. What an impact! Unforgettable for the students.

Kū i ka māna – the children in your life, those that you touch, are influenced greatly by YOU, whether you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, teacher, or volunteer. Teach our children well. The child you touch will be a reflection of you. Make it a good reflection.

nvs. Learned, enlightened, intelligent, wise; learning, knowledge, wisdom, science. 

We go to kula to be enlightened. We search for knowledge. We strive to gain knowledge and be wise. This is naʻauao. Naʻauao encompasses everything that is good and wise.

It is an interesting word. Naʻauao is comprised of two words: naʻau, meaning intestines, and ao, meaning daylight or light. Put together it literally means “daylight intestines.” In other words, your insides are enlightened. LIT UP! YOU SEE THE LIGHT! Isn’t it a beautiful way of painting a picture of one that is educated? That person is all lit up, a fire burning inside.

The opposite of naʻauao is naʻaupō. Guess what pō means.  You got it! Dark or night. Dark intestines. Ignorant. No light on. No one’s home. Go get some light put inside. OPEN YOUR MIND!

Naʻauao ʻike mua – foresight

Hoʻomana Naʻauao – Christian Science

Hoʻonaʻauao – To educate, instruct; educational, instructive, civilized.

Ua hoʻonaʻauao ʻia ʻoia –  He was educated.

Kuʻu home hoʻonaʻauao – My home of learning.

Copyright: 2016 – 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.

n. University, college; formerly high school

Yesterday we learned haumana. Student. Today we honor the many students who are graduating from the “BIG SCHOOLS”. Kula = school. Nui = big. Big School. University or college. As two words that is exactly what it would mean. Big school. But when you see it written together it refers to a university or college. And certainly most colleges are a great deal bigger than what most of us are accustomed to when we are in high school.

Although in “old” Hawaiʻi there was no such thing as a formal kula with walls and a roof, much less a kulanui, that doesn’t mean the the level of intelligence or achievement was not equal or exceeded that which we can achieve today in undergraduate and post graduate studies. Certain haumana did, indeed, focus on a specialty field for many years, oftentimes since early childhood. These would include those focusing on spiritual and religious studies as well as those specializing in different medical fields (healing broken bones, obstetrics, healing using medicinal herbs, etc.). Canoe carving, navigation, are a couple more examples.

Kulanui kaiāulu – community college

Hele kaʻu keiki i ke kulanui o Hawaiʻi ma Hilo – My child goes to UH-Hilo.

Naʻu e hana nei ma ke kulanui – I am the one working at the university.

Copyright: 2016 – 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.

n. Student, pupil, apprentice, recruit, disciple (Mat. 10.1).

Haumana. Student (a.k.a. learner). Despite the high incidence of “failure” for Hawaiian haumana in our public school system I want everyone to know that it is not because Hawaiians are not capable of “succeeding in a regular” school setting (get ready because I am jumping on my soap box). I mean, after all, Hawaiʻi does boast the first school west of the Rockies (Lahainaluna School in Maui).  In fact, Lahainaluna was one of the first high schools in the nation! And there were many Hawaiian scholars that were schooled at Lahainaluna. And we still utilize many of their papers today. And don’t even get me started on the incredibly high number of newspapers that appeared on all islands. All in Hawaiian, full of facts, stories, obituaries, ads. All in Hawaiian! Primary sources! Hawaiians did well in school. They were quite literate, in fact, far more literate than many caucasians living throughout the United States. Hawaiʻi was one of the most literate places, per capita, in the world during the early to mid 1800s.

In 1896 a law was passed that forbade the use of Hawaiian language in public schools. Yes. As if learning in a language other than your own is impossible. Let me rip your language, the root of your identity, from your life and see what kind of impact that has on your life and the life of your ʻohana and subsequent generations. Ah yes. Perhaps we shall delve further into this in a future momi post.

What was the word again? Oh yes. Haumana. Student. Hawaiians love learning. Hawaiians are not afraid to succeed. We are great haumana. Put us in a school that values our culture and history and LANGUAGE and we will thrive. Think Hawaiian immersion schools and Hawaiian focused charter schools. Yes. Those are working much better for us. We are great students. We love to learn. Just make it more about our own lives and not someone else some from some far away place (think squirrels, snow and four seasons).

Haumana aʻo ʻoihana – technological student, trainee, apprentice

Haumana komo hou – new student, freshman

Hoʻo.hau.māna – To act as a pupil, become a pupil

Copyright: 2016 – 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.

Similar to mailani, to praise, but often pejorative; to spoil.

Mailani (see above) means to extol, praise, treat as a chief or great favorite, indulge, spoil, favor. The word pai means to pamper, spoil, as a favorite child; to make a pet of. And when you add -lani to it (meaning heaven), well, that refers to pampering a child as if they are royalty, since the chiefs and chiefesses (aliʻi) were descendants of the gods.

So pailani, as you can well imagine, would refer to THAT child who is spoiled above and beyond the usual. Some might refer to a pailani as a “spoiled brat”. And I will leave it at that.

He keiki pailani ʻo ia – She is a spoiled child.

Copyright: 2016 – 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.

Literal translation: It is the space inside that gives the drum its sound.

Figurative translation: It is the empty-headed one who does the most talking.

Read. Ponder. Visualize. Snicker. This ʻōlelo noʻeau makes total sense to me, kumu hula that I am. A drum is a good comparison to one who is empty headed (though I place very high value upon my pahu hula-hula drum) while not so much to the empty headed person.

I love a good ʻōlelo noʻeau that has thoughtful (and funny) figurative language. Lately on the tv there are a few pahu sounding out (think campaigns). Who are the people you deal with on a daily basis that you can liken to a pahu? They talk talk talk but not much coming out.  It doesn’t take long for us to figure out who is ʻolohaka, or empty. They may have good kani, sound, but just like the pahu, they are hollow inside.

nvs. A favorite or pet; to treat as a favorite (children were often treated as favorites; they might be carried on the grandparent’s shoulders, and songs were composed for them); favoritism. (This word may have the loaʻa-type of construction; see Gram. 4.4.) No kēia punahele o ʻAu-kele i kō lākou makuakāne, because their father made a favorite of ʻAu-kele. hoʻo.puna.hele. To treat as a favorite, make a favorite, indulge. Hōʻike ka makua i kona hoʻopunahele i kāna wahine (Kep. 165), the parent showed how he treated his wife as a great favorite. (PCP (f,s)ele.)

He punahele nō ʻoe – You are a favorite. Remember that beautiful song? I can hear Robert Uluwehi Cazimero singing it in my ear.

In our Hawaiian culture the punahele, or favorite child, was the eldest, reared by the grandparents (depending on whether the child was a boy, he would be raised by the paternal grandparents, a girl by the maternal grandparents). Whereas the other children in the ʻohana (this would include cousins and siblings) were all given chores to do, the punahele was not allowed to do any “hard labor”. Everything was done for the punahele child. In fact, the infant’s body was molded to foster attractive features, such as nice round eyes (by massaging the outer corners), a well-shaped nose (by massaging the nose), and a nice round ʻelemu (backside) for boys, rather than a flat one. This child was frequently carried around by the grandparents and chants were composed in his/her honor. It was as if this child was the aliʻi of the ʻohana. Though this may seem like a hunky dory position to be in as a child, being the punahele held with its title much kuleana, responsibility, in terms of maintaining the family history and genealogy. The punahele child, in adulthood, was usually the patriarch of the family.

I cannot say whether this tradition is still in practice today. The eldest frequently does have more kuleana than the younger pōkiʻi, or siblings, but whether they are treated as a punahele back in the day, I am not sure. Many times I find that it is perhaps the youngest that gets punahele treatment.

What do you think?

ʻO wai kāu punahele? – who is your favorite?

Copyright: 2016 – 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.

1. nvs. Land, earth, world; background, as of quilt designs; basic, at the foundation, fundamental. 

2. part. Suddenly, abruptly and without reason. Cf. kūhonua. 

3. n. Middle section of a canoe; central section of a canoe fleet, as fishing iheihe fish; main section, as of an army.

Lā Honua. Earth Day. That’s today! Honua is the Hawaiian word we use for land or earth. Mālama Honua. Take care of the earth. This is the theme of the Hōkuleʻa’s around the world voyage. Starting from Hilo, Hawaiʻi, two years ago, and now traveling the east coast of North America, spreading the word of our earth’s needs,the Hōkūleʻa’s goal is to help people navigate us to a healthy future. Healthy earth. Healthy people.

Pele was known as the wahine ʻai honua – the woman who consumes/eats the earth. Makes sense, right? She is also the woman who CREATES earth as lava erupts and makes its way towards the ocean.

Honua also means abruptly. Makaʻu honua ihola nō ia – sudden fear. Huhū honua ihola nō, suddenly angry and for no reason.

Not surprisingly, honua also refers to the middle section of a canoe fleet or main section as of an army.

E mālama kākou a pau i ka honua – Let us all take care of our earth.

1. nvt. Tax, assessment, levy, charge, tariff, toll, tribute, price; to levy a tax, pay tribute, tax. ʻAuhau kino, ʻauhau poʻo, poll tax. Kū i ka ʻauhau, taxable. ʻAuhau helu waiwai, excise tax. Hale ʻauhau, building where taxes are collected. Kou ʻauhau, your tax (that you pay). Kāu ʻauhau, your tax (that you impose). Luna ʻauhau. tax collector. Nā poʻe hoʻokaʻa ʻauhau, taxpayers. He aha kāu ʻauhau no ka pāpale loulu? What is your price for the loulu hat?

2. n. Femur and humerus bones of the human skeleton.

3. n. Stems of plants whose bark can be stripped, such as wauke and olonā, but not maile. Inā e kua ʻia ka wauke, ā hohole ʻia ka ʻauhau, … if the wauke is cut and the stems stripped,…

There were a lot of people stressing yesterday, trying to finish filing their tax returns. ʻAuhau is the Hawaiian word for tax. Paying taxes is not something that is “new” to Hawaiians. Hawaiians paid taxes back when no one owned land. Aliʻi (rules) were the caretakers of the land, the makaʻainana (commoners) worked the land. Makaʻainana would pay their ʻauhau, in essence, by sharing the bounty of the ʻāina and kai with their aliʻi. Aliʻi, in turn, would use these taxes to feed and care for his ʻohana and retinue, to care of people within his jurisdiction in times of famine. Know that this explanation is a very simplified explanation of a very complex system. During the makahiki season, ʻauhau were left at the kuahu (altars) of each ahupuaʻa, or land division.

ʻAuhau also refers to the femur and humerus. I love that Hawaiians have words for parts of the skeleton. I am confident they were incredible physicians, ahead of the game for their time, using medicinal herbs, performing surgeries, manipulating bones, and using hoʻoponopono as a way to heal. Some akamai, my people.

ʻAuhau are also the stems of plants whose bark can be stripped. This would include olonā (whose fibers were used to make one of the strongest cords in all the land) and wauke (a plant most commonly used to make kapa).

He ʻauhau kōʻele na ka Hawaiʻi – A taxing of small fields by the Hawaiʻi chiefs (after Kamehameha united the islands, even the smallest food patch was taxed).

Ua hala ka lā palena pau no ka ʻauhau pekelala – The deadline for federal taxes has passed.

Copyright: 2016 – 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.

1. nvs. Wind, breeze; gas in the stomach, flatulent wind; windy; to blow. Fig., anger, gossip; to show anger. Cf. ani. Makani nui, strong wind, gale. Makani ʻoluʻolu, fair wind. Mai walaʻau aʻe hoʻi o makani auaneʻi (saying), don’t talk too much or the wind will blow [gossip]. Hāmau o makani auaneʻi, be still or there will be anger. Kali i ka makani ʻōahi, wait for the firebrand wind. (PPN matangi.)

2. n. Ghost, spirit. See kahuna makani.

3. interj. Call of sentinel, similar to “all’s well”.

It is brrrr right now at my hale (house). I can hear it blowing through the trees in the pasture, howling.  Makani is the general term for wind. When I say general, I mean general because depending on where you are in the islands, each district pretty much has a name unique to that particular area. Below are just three examples but the list goes on and on. You will find specific wind names in a story/book called “The Wind Gourd of Laʻamaomao”, in the dictionary, and in numerous mele/songs, and many other sources.

Kaiāulu – a wind in Waiʻanae

Kūehulepo – a wind in Kaʻū (to stir up dirt)

Wehelauniu – a wind in Laupāhoehoe (opening the leaves of the coconut tree)

Whenever you come across a language that has specific names for winds, rains, currents, and the like, you know that you have come across a people who are in tune with the land and sea, who rely on a keen sense of place and nature’s forces interacting with the land. In Kaʻū, if you are there long enough, you will feel how the wind stirs up the lepo, different from the gentle trade winds you may experience in Waiʻanae, cooling you on those hot days.

In addition to translating as wind or windy, makani can also refer to gas of the flatulence variety. We don’t want to be around that kind of makani. Figuratively, makani can also refer to anger or gossip. Can you picture it?

A kahuna makani  refers to a priest who induced spirits to possess a patient so that he might then drive the spirits out, thus curing the patient.

Ka makani kāʻili aloha – The wind that snatches love

Ikaika ka makani i kēia lā – The wind is strong today.

Copyright: 2016 – 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.