| 135 | ʻAʻohe e nalo ka iwi o ke aliʻi ʻino, o ko ke aliʻi maikaʻi ke nalo. | The bones of an evil chief will not be concealed, but the bones of a good chief will. |
| | [When an evil chief died, the people did not take the trouble to conceal his bones.] |
| 160 | ʻAʻohe kanaka kū ākiʻi i ke alo o nā aliʻi. | No idleness or standing about with hands on hips in the presence of chiefs. |
| 198 | ʻAʻohe ola o ka ʻāina i ke aliʻi haipule ʻole. | The land cannot live under an irreligious chief. |
| 224 | ʻAʻole e make ko ke kahuna kanaka, ʻo ko ke aliʻi kanaka ke make. | The servant of the kahuna will not be put to death, but the chief’s servant will. |
| | [A warning not to antagonize the friend of an influential man. A kahuna will do his best to protect his own servant.] |
| 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.] |
| 321 | E kipi ana lākou nei. ʻAʻole naʻe ʻo lākou ponoʻī akā ʻo kā lākou mau keiki me nā moʻopuna. ʻO ke aliʻi e ola ana i ia wā e kū ʻōlohelohe ana ia, a ʻo ke aupuni e kūkulu ʻia aku ana, ʻo ia ke aupuni paʻa o Hawaiʻi nei. | These people [the missionaries] are going to rebel; not they themselves, but their children and grandchildren. The ruler at that time will be stripped of power, and the government established then will be the permanent government of Hawaiʻi. |
| | [Prophesied by David Malo.] |
| 345 | E mālama i ka leo o ke aliʻi, o hāʻule wale i ka weuweu. | Take care of the chief’s voice, lest it drop among the grass. |
| | [Heed the chief’s voice; do not ignore his commands.] |
| 369 | E ʻōpū aliʻi. | Have the heart of a chief. |
| | [Have the kindness, generosity, and even temper of a chief.] |
| 467 | Hānau ke aliʻi i loko o Holoholokū, he aliʻi nui; hānau ke kanaka i loko o Holoholokū, he aliʻi nō; hānau ke aliʻi ma waho aʻe o Holoholokū, ʻaʻohe aliʻi, he kanaka ia. | The child of a chief born in Holoholokū is a high chief; the child of a commoner born in Holoholokū is a chief; the child of a chief born outside of the borders of Holoholokū is a commoner. |
| | [Holoholokū, sacred birthplace of the chiefs, is in Wailua, Kauaʻi.] |
| 466 | Hānau ka ʻāina, hānau ke aliʻi, hānau ke kanaka. | Born was the land, born were the chiefs, born were the common people. |
| | [The land, the chiefs, and the commoners belong together.] |
| 528 | He ʻalā makahinu i ke alo o ke aliʻi. | A shiny stone in the presence of a chief. |
| | [A person who assumes a bright or vivacious look in hypocrisy. A play on maka (eye) and hinu (bright).] |
| 531 | He aliʻi ka ʻāina; he kauā ke kanaka. | The land is a chief; man is its servant. |
| | [Land has no need for man, but man needs the land and works it for a livelihood.] |
| 532 | He aliʻi ka laʻi, he haku na ke aloha. | Peace is a chief the lord of love. |
| | [Where peace is, there love abides also.] |
| 533 | He aliʻi ka maʻi, he aliʻi ke kahuna. | The patient is a chief; the kahuna is a chief. |
| | [The medical kahuna usually had a servant to do the work of fetching and preparing the herbs he prescribed for his patient. Thus the servant served both kahuna and patient. Often the person who gathered the herbs was an apprentice learning the art from the kahuna.] |
| 534 | He aliʻi ka manu. | A bird is a chief. |
| | [A bird flies and perches higher than any human.] |
| 535 | He aliʻi ka moa. | The rooster is a chief. |
| | [His feathers are used in kāhili, which are the symbols of chiefs.] |
| 536 | He aliʻi ke aloha, he kilohana e paʻa ai. | Love is like a chief: the best prize to hold fast to. |
| 537 | He aliʻi ke aloha, he ʻohu no ke kino. | Love is chiefy, an adornment for the person. |
| | [Uttered by Hiʻiaka in a chant to the sister of Lohiʻau.] |
| 538 | He aliʻi kia manu. | A chief that catches birds with a gummed pole. |
| | [Said of one who draws people to him. From a song for Kalākaua, who was known to attract people.] |
| 539 | He aliʻi no ka malu kukui. | A chief of the kukui shade. |
| | [A chief who has something shady in his genealogy that he doesn’t care to discuss.] |
| 540 | He aliʻi nō mai ka paʻa a ke aliʻi; he kanaka nō mai ka paʻa a ke kanaka. | A chief from the foundation of chiefs; a commoner from the foundation of commoners. |
| | [A chief is a chief because his ancestors were; a commoner is a commoner because his ancestors were. Often said to a young person of chiefly lineage to warn that if he wishes to preserve the rank of his descendants, he should see that his mate is of chiefly rank and not a commoner.] |
| 546 | He ʻaʻo kani kohā ke aliʻi. | The chief is like a loud-voiced ʻaʻo. |
| 554 | He ʻauwai ka manaʻo o nā aliʻi, ʻaʻohe maopopo kahi e kahe ai. | The minds of chiefs are like a ditch — no one knows whither they flow. |
| | [No one knows whom or what the chiefs will favor.] |
| 566 | He hānai aliʻi, he ʻai ahupuaʻa. | The rearing of a chief is the ruling of an ahupuaʻa. |
| | [A person in whose care a young chief was placed was often rewarded with a large tract of land.] |
| 578 | He hilu na ke aliʻi. | A hilu belonging to a chief. |
| | [When a pregnant woman longed for hilu fish, the child born to her would be a very quiet, well-behaved person. Because chiefs liked reserved, well-mannered people, such persons were often found in the royal courts, and were referred to as the chief’s hilu fish.] |
| 599 | He hulu aliʻi. | Royal feathers. |
| | [Said of the adornment of a chief, or of an elderly chief himself who is one of a few survivors of his generation and therefore precious.] |
| 631 | He ʻimi aliʻi, he aliʻi nō ke loaʻa; he ʻimi kanaka, he kanaka no ke loaʻa. | When a chief is sought, a chief is begotten; when a commoner is sought, a commoner is begotten. |
| | [A reminder to a chief seeking a mate to consider the rank of his offspring.] |
| 674 | He kapu nā pōhaku hānau aliʻi. | A [sign of[ kapu are the stones at the birth of a chief. |
| | [The peal of thunder heralds the birth of a high chief. Thunder (pōhaku) was likened to the sound of stones rolling.] |
| 693 | He kiʻi ke kanaka noho wale o kahi aliʻi. | Only an image sits [and does no work] in the household of a chief. |
| | [In the house of a chief, everybody but the chief himself works.] |
| 700 | He koholua ʻoi ke aliʻi. | A sharp-pointed piercing implement is the chief. |
| | [A warning that one who tampers with a chief will be hurt.] |
| 756 | Hele nō ke aliʻi; hele nō ke kanaka. | Where the chief goes, his attendant goes. |
| 764 | He liko aliʻi. | A royal leaf bud. |
| | [An offspring of a chief.] |
| 785 | He maʻi piʻi aliʻi ke aloha. | Love is a disease that does not even spare the chiefs. |
| 799 | He manō holo ʻāina ke aliʻi. | The chief is a shark that travels on land. |
| | [The chief, like a shark, is not to be tampered with.] |
| 808 | He mau iwi māmā ko ke kanaka o ke aliʻi. | The servant of a chief has bones that are light of weight. |
| | [He who serves the chief must be active and alert.] |
| 843 | He nohona ʻihiʻihi ko ke alo aliʻi. | Life in the presence of a chief is very rigid in strictness. |
| 851 | He ʻōheke wale ko ke kanaka kuaʻāina a he ʻōheke ʻole ko ke kanaka o kahi aliʻi. | A country man is very shy, but a man of the royal court is not. |
| 877 | He pahu nā aliʻi, a pā ʻia kani. | A chief is like a drum; there is no sound unless played upon. |
| | [Chiefs seldom stir to action unless incited by others.] |
| 880 | He pali mania nā aliʻi. | The chiefs are like sheer cliffs. |
| | [The chiefs are not easily approached.] |
| 910 | He pōloli kali ko kahi o nā aliʻi. | At the place of a chief one must wait for hunger to be appeased. |
| | [One must abide by the will and favor of the chief. No one is independent in his presence.] |
| 911 | He pō moe ko nā makaʻāinana, he pō ala ko nā aliʻi. | Commoners sleep at night, chiefs remain awake. |
| | [Commoners rest at night to be ready for the day’s labor. Chiefs can well afford to spend the night in pleasure, for they can sleep during the day.] |
| 918 | He puaʻa ʻimi aliʻi. | A chief-seeking pig. |
| | [When a kahuna wished to find a chief with whom he was not well acquainted, he took a pig, prayed to his gods for guidance, and went on his quest. Upon arrival at his destination, the pig was released. It would go to the chief that was sought and lie down before him. In this way the chief was identified.] |
| 983 | He weo ke kanaka; He pano ke aliʻi. | A commoner is dark; a chief is darker still. |
| | [A commoner is reddened in the sunlight and is as approachable as day; but a chief surrounded by kapu is as unapproachable as the black of night.] |
| 1045 | Hoʻi pūʻolo nō o kahi aliʻi. | One returns with a bundle from the place of the chief. |
| | [When one visits the home of a generous chief, one always receives a gift.] |
| 1070 | Hoʻokahi mea manaʻo nui a ka ʻōhua o ka hale: ʻo kahi mea mai ka lima mai o ke aliʻi. | There is one thing all members of the household look to: whatever they are given by the hands of the chief. |
| | [All members of the chief’s household are dependent on him.] |
| 1079 | Hoʻokahi no leo o ke alo aliʻi. | A command is given only once in the presence of a chief. |
| | [A chief’s command is to be obeyed the first time.] |
| 1111 | Hoʻopio ʻia e ka noho aliʻi a ka ua. | Made prisoner by the reign of the rain. |
| | [When the rainy season comes, one is kept indoors.] |
| 1149 | I ʻāina nō ka ʻāina i ke aliʻi, a i waiwai nō ka ʻāina i ke kānaka. | The land remains the land because of the chiefs, and prosperity comes to the land because of the common people. |
| | [Chiefs are needed to hold the land, and commoners are needed to work the land.] |
| 1150 | I aliʻi nō ke aliʻi i ke kanaka. | A chief is a chief because of the people who serve him. |
| | [This was often used as a reminder to a chief to consider his people.] |
| 1172 | I ʻike ʻia nō ke aliʻi, i ka nui o nā makaʻāinana. | A chief is known by his many followers. |
| 1213 | ʻIke nō ke aliʻi i kona kanaka, a ua ʻike nō ke kanaka i kona aliʻi. | The chief knows his servant; the servant knows his chief. |
| | [Outsiders do not understand our relationships to our chiefs, and we do not care to discuss it with them.] |
| 1294 | Ka hale weliweli o nā aliʻi. | The dreaded house of chiefs. |
| | [The chiefs had many taboos, rules, and regulations in their households and to break any of these meant severe punishment, even death.] |
| 1449 | Ka lua kupapaʻu o na aliʻi. | The burial place of chiefs. |
| | [Kaʻū, Hawaiʻi, where the bones of many noted ones are hidden in secret caves.] |
| 1482 | Kamilo pae aliʻi; Kamilo pae kanaka. | Kamilo where chiefs land; Kamilo where commoners land. |
| | [Refers to the beach in Kaʻū called Kamilo. It is partly rocky and partly sandy. When a person died at sea between Halaaniani, Puna, and Kamilo, the current would wash up the body at this beach. If the drowned person was a chief, his body would wash up on the rough side, but if he was a commoner he would float to the smooth side where anyone could come and remove him.] |
| 1529 | Ka pali kāohi kumu aliʻi o ʻĪao. | The cliff of ʻĪao that embraces the chiefly sources. |
| | [ʻĪao, Maui, was the burial place of many chiefs of high rank who are the ancestors of living chiefs.] |
| 1614 | Kau ka ʻōnohi aliʻi i luna. | The royal eyes rest above. |
| | [A rainbow — a sign that the gods are watching the chiefs — is now visible.] |
| 1677 | Ke aliʻi nāna e kālua i ke poʻo i ka imu a poʻalo aʻe i nā maka. | The chief who can roast the head in the imu and scoop out the eyes. |
| | [Said of a chief who had the power and authority to have the head of one who offended him cut off and roasted in an imu, or to order his eyes dug out. The heads were roasted and then discarded, a warning to lesser chiefs and commoners to respect their superiors.] |
| 1739 | Ke kaulana paʻa ʻāina o nā aliʻi. | The famed landholders of the chiefs. |
| | [The best warriors were awarded the best lands by the chiefs.] |
| 1772 | Ke one ʻai aliʻi o Kakuhihewa. | The chief-destroying sands of Kakuhihewa. |
| | [The island of Oʻahu. When the priest Kaʻopulupulu was put to death by the chief Kahāhana for warning him against cruelty to his subjects, he uttered a prophecy. He predicted that where his own corpse would lie in a heiau at Waikīkī, there would lie the chief’s corpse as well. Furthermore, he said, the land would someday go to the sea — that is, to a people from across the sea. This was felt to be a curse. When Kamehameha III was persuaded by a missionary friend to move the capital from Lahaina to Oʻahu, a kahuna, remembering the curse, warned him not to, lest the monarchy perish. The warning was ignored, and before the century had passed, the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi was no more.] |
| 1791 | Kiʻi kū wale i ke alo o nā aliʻi. | Images that stand about in the presence of chiefs. |
| | [Idle people who stand about like images.] |
| 1921 | Kūneki nā kūʻauhau liʻiliʻi, noho mai i lalo; hoʻokahi nō, ʻo ko ke aliʻi ke piʻi i ka ʻiʻo. | Set aside the lesser genealogies and remain humble; let only one be elevated, that of the chief. |
| | [Boast not of your own lineage but elevate that of your chief. Said to members of the junior line of chiefs.] |
| 2139 | Mānoa aliʻi, Mānoa kānaka. | Mānoa of the chiefs, Mānoa of the commoners. |
| | [In ancient days an invisible line was drawn from the center of the low, green hill, Puʻu Luahine, at the head of Mānoa Valley, to the center of Rocky Hill back of Punahou School. Looking up into the valley, Mānoa of the commoners was on the right side. Here lived the commoners and here too, the excreta of the chiefs was secretly buried by the kahu moka (protector and keeper of the excreta). This was an important position, for if any of the excreta fell into the hands of an enemy, the chief might die through sorcery. On the left side of the valley lived the chiefs and their retainers.] |
| 2158 | Minamina ka leo o ke aliʻi i ka hāʻule i ka pūweuweu. | A pity to allow the words of the chief to fall among the clumps of grass. |
| | [A reminder to heed the commands and wishes of one’s chief.] |
| 2189 | Moku ka pepeiao, na ke aliʻi ia puaʻa. | When the ear is cut, it is a sign that the pig belongs to the chief. |
| | [The ears of certain pigs were cut to show that they were the property of the chief.] |
| 2203 | Nā aliʻi mai ka pō mai. | Chiefs from the night. |
| | [Chiefs whose ancestors were chiefs in remote antiquity and were recognized by the gods.] |
| 2204 | Nā aliʻi o ke kuamoʻo o Hāloa. | Chiefs of the lineage of Hāloa. |
| | [Said of high chiefs whose lineage goes back to ancient times — to Hāloa, son of Wākea. Wākea mated with Hoʻohokukalani and had two sons, both named Hāloa. The older Hāloa was born a taro, the younger one a man. It was this younger brother that the high chiefs name with pride as their ancestor.] |
| 2279 | Nā niu kulakulaʻi a nā aliʻi ʻai moku. | The coconut trees pushed over by the ruling chiefs. |
| 2438 | ʻO ka pono o kahi aliʻi o ka mikimiki me ka ʻeleu. | The thing to do at the court of the chief is to do work and do it effciently. |
| | [Those who serve their chiefs must do their work quickly and well.] |
| 2450 | ʻO ke aliʻi ka mea ikaika, ʻaʻole ʻo ke kanaka. | It is the chief who is strong, not the commoner. |
| | [A commoner’s own work of planting and fishing is limited by his physical ability. A chief can command a multitude to carry out his projects.] |
| 2451 | ʻO ke aliʻi lilo i ka leʻaleʻa a mālama ʻole i ke kanaka me ke kapu akua, ʻaʻole ia he aliʻi e kū ai i ka moku. | The chief who is taken with pleasure-seeking and cares not for the welfare of the people or the observation of the kapu of the gods, is not the chief who will become a ruler. |
| | [Said by Kekūhaupiʻo to Kamehameha. Advice to young people that success comes not by seeking idle pleasure but by living up to one’s beliefs and caring for the welfare of others.] |
| 2452 | ʻO ke aliʻi wale nō kaʻu makemake. | My desire is only for the chief. |
| | [An expression of loyalty and affection for one’s chief, used in chants of praise.] |
| 2504 | ʻO luna, ʻo lalo; ʻo kai,ʻo uka — ʻo ka hao pae ko ke aliʻi ia. | Above, below; seaward, inland — the iron that washes ashore belongs to the chief. |
| | [Said by Kamehameha. All iron that was found belonged to him.] |
| 2505 | ʻO luna, ʻo lalo; ʻo uka, ʻo kai; ʻo ka palaoa pae, no ke aliʻi ia. | Above, helow; the upland, the lowland; the whale that washes ashore — all belong to the chief. |
| | [The chief owned everything in the land he ruled. Ivory obtained from the teeth of whales that washed ashore was very valuable.] |
| 2535 | ʻO Poʻo ke koʻa, ka ipu kai aloha a nā aliʻi. | Poo is the fishing ground, beloved meat dish of chiefis. |
| | [Said of Poʻo, a favorite fishing place of the chiefs of Oʻahu, located near Mokumanu. Nuʻuanu Pali is the landmark by which it was located.] |
| 2545 | ʻO wai ka ʻoukou aliʻi i hānai ai? | What chief did you rear? |
| | [Those who had a part in the rearing of a young chief were proud of their position. Only kinsmen were given such places, but convention forbade discussing the relationship. When this is said in scorn it is the equivalent of “Who are you?”] |