ʻEwa is made cold by the fish that silences the voice. Hush!
[A warning to keep still. First uttered by Hiʻiaka to her friend Wahineʻomaʻo to warn her not to speak to Lohiʻau while they were in a canoe near ʻEwa.]
[Said of threatening disaster. Robbers once lived at a place in Wai’anae now known as Malolo-kai. Their spies watched for travelers to kill and rob. When there were only a few that could be easily overcome, the spies cried, “Low tide!” which meant disaster for the travelers. But if there were too many to attack, the cry was “High tide!”]
Ako ʻē ka hale a paʻa, a i ke komo ʻana mai o ka hoʻoilo, ʻaʻole e kulu i ka ua o Hilinehu.
Thatch the house beforehand so when winter comes it will not leak in the shower of Hilinehu.
[Do not procrastinate; make preparations for the future now.]
146
ʻAʻohe i hiki i Hakalauʻai, pae ʻē i Keolewa.
Hakalauʻai was never reached, for he landed at Keolewa instead.
[Before one could receive sufficient food for all his requirements, he found his efforts suspended. A play on Haka-lau-ʻai (Rack-for-much-food) and Ke-olewa (Suspend-in-space).]
397
Haʻalele i Puna nā hoaloha ʻē.
Left in Puna are the friends.
[Said of one who has deserted his friends. Originally said of Hiʻiaka when she left Puna.]
409
Haʻi ʻē nā pua i ke kula.
The flowers of the field look coy and coquettish.
[Said of a young person who wears a coquettish look when in the presence of one who rouses interest.]
564
He hale kipa nō lā hoʻi ko ke kōlea haʻihaʻi ʻē ʻia nā iwi.
The house of a plover might have been that of a friend if one hadn’t broken his bones.
[A stranger might have been a friend if he hadn’t been treated so shamefully.]
735
Hele ʻē ka pila, hele ʻē ka leo.
The music is in one pitch and the voice in another.
Love is peculiar; it pushes in opposite directions.
[Love goes two ways — to love and to be loved.]
908
He pō Kāne kēia, he māʻau nei nā ʻeʻepa o ka pō.
This is the night of Kāne, for supernatural beings are wandering about in the dark.
[Said of those who go wandering about at night. It is believed that on the night of Kāne, ghosts, demigods, and other beings wander about at will.]
1033
Hoʻi i Waolani i kahi o ka ʻeʻepa.
Go to Waolani where the supernatural beings dwell.
[Said to one who can’t be fathomed. It is the equivalent of, “Go and join your peculiar kind of people.” Waolani, in Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu, was once the home of gods, menehune, Nāwā (Noisy beings), Nāmū (Silent beings), and all manner of disgruntled, misshapen, and joyous characters who were grouped under the term ʻeʻepa.]
2206
Nā ʻeʻepa o Waolani.
The ʻeʻepa of Waolani.
[Waolani, Nuʻuanu, was the home of legendary beings like the Nāmū (Silent ones), the Nāwā (Loud ones), menehune, and akua. This saying applies to anyone whose ways are incomprehensible.]
You will he hurt by the pounding of the Ulumano breeze.
[One is hurt by the sharp words spoken. This is a line from an old chant.]
272
ʻEha i ka ʻeha lima ʻole a ke aloha.
He is smitten by love, with a pain administered without hands.
[He is deeply in love.]
636
He ʻiniki me ka wawalu ka ʻeha a kamaliʻi.
All the hurt that a child can infict is by pinching and scratching.
[An expression of ridicule said to or of one considered to be no stronger than a child.]
670
He kāne ʻeha ʻole o ka ʻili.
A husband who does not inflict pain on his wife.
[Said by a wife in appreciation for a husband who never beats her.]
1242
I noho ʻoukou a i pae mai he waʻa o Kahiki-makolena, hopu ʻoukou a paʻa; o ke kahuna ia ʻaʻohe e ʻeha ka ʻili ʻoiai no Kahiki aku ana ka ʻāina.
If sometime in the future a canoe from Kahiki-makolena arrives, grasp and hold fast to it. There is the kahuna for you, and your skins will never more he hurt [in war],for the land will someday he owned hy Kahiki.
[A prophecy uttered by Kaleikuahulu to Kaʻahumanu and her sisters as he was dying. Foreign priests (missionaries) will come. Accept their teachings.]
[This expression came about after the establishment of the leper colony there. It refers to the separation of loved ones, the ravages of the disease, and the sad life in the early days at Kalawao, when so much was lacking for the comfort of the patients.]
[Lāʻie is a gathering place for people. Twin girls were born at a place now bearing the name of Lāʻie, Oʻahu. The older twin, Lāʻiekawai, was reared by her grandmother, Waka, and was said to rest on the wings of birds. The younger, Lāʻielohelohe, was taken by a kahuna to rear.]
Ehu (2)
1843
Kona, kai malino a Ehu.
Kona, land of the calm sea of Ehu.
[Ehunuikaimalino was a chief of Kona, Hawaiʻi, under the ruler Liloa.]
2248
Nā laʻi a Ehu.
The calm regions of Ehu.
[The districts of Kona, Hawaiʻi, where Ehunuikaumanamana once ruled. Also, an epithet for Kalākaua, taken from a name chant.]
[Remark about an untidy person. A play on malele (strewn about) in Malelewaʻa, a place on Kauaʻi.]
302
Eia ʻiʻo nō, ke kolo mai nei ke aʻa o ka wauke.
Truly now, the root of the wauke creeps.
[It was not destroyed while it was small; now it’s too big to cope with. Said by Keaweamaʻuhili’s warriors of Kamehameha. They were at the court of Alapaʻi when the order was given to “Nip off the leaf bud of the wauke plant while it is tender” [E ʻōʻū i ka maka o ka wauke oi ʻōpiopio). This attempt to kill the baby didn’t succeed, and the child grew into a powerful warrior who quelled all of his foes.]
303
Eia ka iki nowelo a ka mikioi.
Here is the clever and dainty little one.
[A boast, meaning “I may be little, but....”]
304
Eia ka lua hūnā o nā aliʻi: ʻo ka waha.
Here is the secret cave of the chiefs: the mouth.
[We refuse to discuss our chiefs too freely.]
305
Eia ke kānaenae a ka mea hele: he leo, he leo wale nō.
Here is an offering from a traveler: a voice in greeting, simply a voice.
[Said in affection by a passerby who, seeing a friend, greets him but doesn’t stop to visit.]
[Said when offering a small space or seat to a friend when every other place is occupied. As Paʻao was leaving from Kahiki with a canoe filled to capacity, a priest, Makuakaumana, called out, asking to come along. He was offered the only available space — the sharp point at the stem of the canoe, the moamoa.]
[Said of a careless person. Once, Kohāikalani, a chief of Kaʻū, was living at Punaluʻu. Poi was brought for him from various parts of the district, and a tiny speck of taro peeling was found in the poi from Hīlea. The makers of the poi were put to death. To say that someone hails from Hīlea is to say that he is unclean.]
2149
Maunu ʻekaʻeka.
Dirty bait.
[Said of a person whose personality does not attract, as inferior bait fails to attract fish.]
E nānā mai a uhi kapa ʻeleʻele ia Maui, a kau ka puaʻa i ka nuku, kiʻi mai i ka ʻāina a lawe aku.
Watch until the black tapa cloth covers Maui and the sacrificial hog is offered, then come and take the land.
[Said by Kahekili, ruler of Maui, to a messenger sent by Kamehameha I with a question whether to have war or peace. Kahekili sent back this answer — “Wait until I am dead and all the rites performed, then invade and take the island of Maui.”]
1002
Hilo iki, pali ʻeleʻele.
Little Hilo of the dark cliffs.
[Hilo-pali-kū, or Hilo-of-the-standing-cliffs, is always green because of the rain and mists.]
1646
Ka wai ʻeleʻele a ka poʻe ʻike.
The black fluid of the learned.
[Ink.]
2370
ʻO Hinaiaʻeleʻele ka malama, ʻeleʻele ka umauma o ke kōlea.
Hinaiaʻeleʻele is the month in which the breast feathers of the plovers darken.
[Said of one who talks too much — all noise and no sense. The ʻelepī is a small black crab that makes a loud noise resembling a smacking sound made by the mouth.]
ʻEleile (1)
1649
Ka wai hoʻihoʻi lāʻī o ʻEleile.
The water of ʻEleile that carries back the ti-leaf stalk.
[The pool of ʻEleile on Maui is famed in songs and chants. Visitors throw ti stalks into the pool and watch the water carry them all around before washing them downstream.]
E hele ka ʻelemakule, ka luahine, a me nā kamaliʻi a moe i ke ala ʻaʻohe mea nāna e hoʻopilikia.
Let the old men, the old women, and the children go and sleep on the wayside; let them not be molested.
[Said by Kamehameha I.]
336
ʻElemakule ʻauwae lenalena.
Yellow-chinned old man.
[Said of an old man whose teeth are gone and whose chin wags toothlessly.]
337
ʻElemakule kamaʻole moe i ke ala.
An oldster who has never reared children sleeps by the roadside.
[Caring for and rearing children results in being cared for in old age.]
454
Hana ʻino i ka ke kino ʻelemakule a hoʻomakua aku i ka haʻi.
Mistreat your own oldsters and the day may come when youll be caringfor someone else’s.
[Said to a rude or ungrateful child. You should think of your own elder first, while he is alive, lest after his death you must take care of someone who had no part in rearing you.]
883
He palupalu nā hewa liʻiliʻi i ka wā kolo, lolelua i ka wā kamaliʻi, loli ʻole i ka wā oʻo, 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.]
[Said of one who talks about his wants and does nothing to obtain them. Sometimes the call of the ʻelepaio sounds like “ ʻOno ka iʻa! ʻOno ka iʻa!” (“Fish is tasty! Fish is tasty!”) A person hearing it may answer, “Why don’t you go and catch some yourself?” A similar expression is ʻElepaio puni iʻa (ʻElepaio, fond of fish).]
2776
Ua ʻelepaio ʻia ka hana.
The work has [been spoiled by an] ʻelepaio.
[Said of any task that has to stop before completion. The ʻelepaio is always the first of the birds to awaken and call, thus telling the supernatural workers of the night, such as the menehune, that day approaches. Any incomplete work is then deserted.]
2777
Ua ʻelepaio ʻia ka waʻa.
The ʻelepaio has [marked] the canoe [log].
[There is an indication of failure. Canoe makers of old watched the movements of the ʻelepaio bird whenever a koa tree was hewed down to be made into a canoe. Should the bird peck at the wood, it was useless to work on that log, for it would not prove seaworthy.]
[Refers to a person respected for the depth of his knowledge. A play on ʻeliʻeli (profound, deep) and ʻĀina-ʻike (Land of Knowledge). ʻĀinaʻike is a place on Kauaʻi.]
[A reference to children of the same father and different mothers. ʻElua ki, hoʻokāhi pahu (two keys, one trunk) implies that they have the same mother but diflferent fathers.]
1507
Ka nui e paʻa ai i nā niu ʻelua.
The size that enables one to carry two coconuts.
[Said of a child of about five.]
2326
Noho maialile ka ua o Hilo, ʻelua wale no māua.
Keep your silence, O rain of Hilo, there are only two of us.
[Uttered by Kanuha in retort when rebuked by the Reverend Titus Coan for Sabbath-breaking: “Hold your silence, for there are only two of us in authority” — meaning Kanuha and Governor Kuakini. Rev. Coan was not to give orders when either was present. Now it is used to mean, “Keep quiet. You’re not the boss around here.”]
ʻEono moku a Kamehameha ua noa iā ʻoukou, akā ʻo ka hiku o ka moku ua kapu ia naʻu.
Six of Kamehameha’s islands are free to you, but the seventh is kapu, and is for me alone.
[This was uttered by Kamehameha after Oʻahu was conquered. The islands from Hawaiʻi to Oʻahu, which included Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Kahoʻolawe, belonged to his people. But the seventh “island,” Kaʻahumanu, was his alone. Anyone who attempted to take her from him would be put to death.]
ʻEu kōlea i kona puapua; ʻeu ke kanaka i kona hanu.
A plover stirs its tail; a man stirs because of the breath within.
[Said by Kaʻiana, who led an army in battle under Kamehameha I. When the Puna fighters refused to battle against Keouakuahuʻula because of the close kinship between their own district and Kaʻū, Kaʻiana said this to urge them to think of themselves and their own lives. Encouraged, the warriors resumed fīghting and won the victory for Kamehameha.]
383
ʻEu nō ka ilo, make!
The maggot creeps, it dies!
1852
Kōpī wale nō i ka iʻa a ʻeu nō ka ilo.
Though the fish is well salted, the maggots crawl.
[Similar to the saying, “There’s a skeleton in every closet.”]
Perhaps [he] has some rights there, to wag his tail feathers [the way he does].
[He wouldn’t be acting with such confidence if he weren’t related to or a friend of the person higher up.]
ʻEwa (16)
123
Anu ʻo ʻEwa i ka iʻa hāmau leo e. E hāmau!
ʻEwa is made cold by the fish that silences the voice. Hush!
[A warning to keep still. First uttered by Hiʻiaka to her friend Wahineʻomaʻo to warn her not to speak to Lohiʻau while they were in a canoe near ʻEwa.]
269
E ʻEwa e — e kuʻi nā lima!
O ʻEwa — join hands!
[This cry was a call of the men of Kona, Oʻahu, when they went with their chief to destroy his brother, the ʻEwa chief.]
385
ʻEwa kai lumalumaʻi.
ʻEwa of the drowning sea.
[An epithet applied to ʻEwa, where kauā were drowned prior to offering their bodies in sacrifice.]
386
ʻEwa nui a Laʻakona.
Great ʻEwa of Laʻakona.
[Laʻakona was a chief of ʻEwa, which was prosperous in his day.]
493
Haunaele ʻEwa i ka Moaʻe.
ʻEwa is disturbed by the Moaʻe wind.
[Used about something disturbing, like a violent argument. When the people of ʻEwa went to gather the pipi (pearl oyster), they did so in silence, for if they spoke, a Moaʻe breeze would suddenly blow across the water, rippling it, and the oysters would disappear.]
661
He kai puhi nehu, puhi lala ke kai o ʻEwa.
A sea that blows up nehu fish, blows up a quantity of them, is the sea of ʻEwa.
He lōʻihi ʻo ʻEwa; he pali ʻo Nuʻuanu; he kula ʻo Kulaokahuʻa; he hiki mai koe.
ʻEwa is a long way off; Nuuanu is a cliff; Kulaokahu a is a dry plain; but all will be here before long.
[Said of an unkept promise of food, fish, etc. Oʻahu was once peopled by evil beings who invited canoe travelers ashore with promises of food and other things. When the travelers asked when these things were coming, this was the reply. When the visitors were fast asleep at night, the evil ones would creep in and kill them.]
[This saying began with Hiʻiaka, who asked two of her kinsmen on Oʻahu for a canoe to take her to Kauaʻi. They gave her a broken one, which she and her companion mended with no help from the men. In disgust, she called them Oʻahu maka ʻewaʻewa. After that, Oʻahu was said to have the least friendly people of all the islands.]