| 56 | Aia kēkē nā hulu o ka umauma hoʻi ke kōlea i Kahiki e hānau ai. | When the feathers on the breast darken [because of fatness] the plover goes back to Kahiki to breed. |
| | [A person comes here, grows prosperous, and goes away without a thought to the source of his prosperity.] |
| 67 | Aia nō i ka mea e mele ana. | Let the singer select the song. |
| | [Let him think for himself.] |
| 90 | ʻAkahi a komo ke anu iaʻu, ua nahā ka hale e malu ai. | Cold now penetrates me, for the house that shelters is broken. |
| | [Fear enters when protection is gone. Said by ʻAikanaka of Kauaʻi when two of his war leaders were destroyed by Kawelo.] |
| 100 | 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.] |
| 110 | Alia e ʻoki ka ʻāina o Kahewahewa, he ua. | Wait to cut the land of Kahewahewa, for it is raining. |
| | [Let us not rush. Said by Kaweloleimakua as he wrestled with an opponent at Waikīkī.] |
| 113 | Aloha mai nō, aloha aku; ʻo ka huhiā ka mea e ola ʻole ai. | When love is given, love should he returned; anger is the thing that gives no life. |
| 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.] |
| 126 | ʻAʻohe ʻalae nāna e keʻu ka ʻaha. | No mudhens cry to disturb the council meeting. |
| | [There is no one to create a disturbance. The cry of a mudhen at night is an omen of death in the neighborhood.] |
| 130 | ʻAʻohe e hōʻike ana ka mea hewa ua hewa ia. | The wrongdoer does not tell on himself. |
| 131 | ʻAʻohe e loaʻa, he uhu pakelo. | He will not be caught, for he is a parrotfish, slippery with slime. |
| | [Said of a person too wily and wise to be caught.] |
| 132 | ʻAʻohe e loaʻa Niu-a-Kāne iā ʻoe. | Youll never be able to reach Kāne’s coconuts. |
| | [Said of something unattainable. Niu-a-Kāne is a rock islet in the sea at Hāna, Maui.] |
| 133 | ʻAʻohe e nalo, he haupeʻepeʻe na kamaliʻi. | Not well hidden, for it is the hiding of little children. |
| 134 | ʻAʻohe e nalo, he noʻa na kamaliʻi. | It will not be hidden, for it is a noʻa hidden by children. |
| | [Said of a secret that cannot remain hidden. Noʻa is the hidden object in the game of pūhenehene.] |
| 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.] |
| 136 | ʻAʻohe e pulu, he waʻa nui. | One will not be wet on a large canoe. |
| | [One is safe in the protection of an important person.] |
| 145 | ʻAʻohe ia e loaʻa aku, he ulua kāpapa no ka moana. | He cannot be caught for he is an ulua fish of the deep ocean. |
| | [Said in admiration of a hero or warrior who will not give up without a struggle.] |
| 147 | ʻAʻohe ʻike o ka puaʻa nona ka imu e hōʻā ʻia nei. | The pig does not know that the imu is being lighted for it. |
| | [Said of a person who is unaware that he is being victimized.] |
| 155 | ʻAʻohe ipu ʻōpio e ʻole ka mimino i ka lā. | No immature gourd can withstand withering in the sun [without care]. |
| | [No child can get along without adult supervision.] |
| 165 | ʻAʻohe kolopā nānā e une. | No crowbar can pry him loose. |
| | [Said of a very obstinate person.] |
| 183 | ʻAʻohe manu noho i ka lipo e pakele i ke kāpiʻo. | No bird of the deep forest can escape his snare. |
| | [Said of a person who can win the love of anyone he chooses.] |
| 184 | ʻAʻohe mea e mānalo ai. | Nothing can sweeten it. |
| | [Nothing can change a bad situation into a good one.] |
| 189 | ʻAʻohe mea nāna e hoʻopuhili, he moho no ka lā makani. | There is no one to interfere, for he is a messenger of a windy day. |
| | [Said in admiration of a person who lets nothing stop him from carrying out the task entrusted to him.] |
| 190 | ʻAʻohe mea nāna e paʻi i ke poʻo. | No one to slap his head. |
| | [He has no equal in his accomplishments.] |
| 191 | ʻAʻohe na ia mau mea e uē iā ʻoe, na ke kanaka ʻoe e uē. | Things will not mourn you, but people will. |
| | [Said to one who thinks more of his possessions than of his kinfolk or friends.] |
| 193 | ʻAʻohe nānā i ko lalo ʻai i ke pāpaʻa; e nānā i ko luna o ahulu. | Never mind if the food underneath burns; see that the food at the top is not half-cooked. |
| | [Never mind the commoners; pay attention to the chiefs.] |
| 199 | ʻAʻohe ōpū malumalu e kanaho ai. | Not even a clump of weeds in which to be sheltered. |
| | [There is nothing to relieve this unpleasant situation.] |
| 209 | ʻAʻohe puʻu kiʻekiʻe ke hoʻāʻo ʻia e piʻi. | No cliff is so tall that it cannot be scaled. |
| | [No problem is too great when one tries hard to solve it.] |
| 212 | ʻAʻohe ʻuku lele nāna e ʻaki. | Not even flea to bite one. |
| | [Perfect comfort.] |
| 213 | ʻAʻohe ʻulu e loaʻa i ka pōkole o ka lou. | No breadfruit can be reached when the picking stick is too short. |
| | [There is no success without preparation.] |
| 219 | Aʻo i ke koa, e aʻo nō i ka holo. | When one learns to be a warrior, one must also learn to run. |
| | [It is no disgrace to run when there is danger of being destroyed; perhaps there may be another day when one can fight and win.] |
| 221 | ʻAʻole e ʻai ʻia he maunu ʻino. | It will not be taken by the fish; it is poor bait. |
| | [People will pay no attention to poor production. When it is good, it will attract attention.] |
| 222 | ʻAʻole e ʻike ʻia ke kākala o ka moa ma kāna ʻoʻō ʻana. | One cannot tell by his crowing what the cock’s spur can do. |
| | [One cannot judge by his bragging what a person can really do.] |
| 223 | ʻAʻole e kū ka ikaika i kēia pākela nui; ke pōʻai mai nei ka ʻohu ma uka, ma kai, ma ʻō a ma ʻaneʻi. | One cannot show his strength against such odds; the rain clouds are circling from the upland, the lowland, and from all sides. |
| | [Said by Maheleana, a warrior of Kualiʻi, when he saw his small company surrounded by the enemy.] |
| 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.] |
| 225 | ʻAʻole e ʻōlelo mai ana ke ahi ua ana ia. | Fire will never say that it has had enough. |
| | [The fire of anger or of love will burn as long as it has something to feed upon.] |
| 244 | A waho au o ka poe pele, pau kou palena e ka hoa. | After I’ve passed the bell buoy, your limit is reached, my dear. |
| | [A sailor’s saying used in an old hula song. When the ship passes the bell buoy on its way out to sea, the girl on the shore is forgotten.] |
| 248 | E aha ʻia ana o Hakipuʻu i ka palaoa lāwalu ʻono a Kaʻehu? | What is happening to Hakipuu, with dough cooked in ti leaves, of which Kaehu is so fond? |
| | [This is a line of a chant composed by Kaʻehu, a poet and hula instructor from Kauaʻi. It refers to a part-white woman with whom he flirted. Used in humor when referring to Hakipuʻu, a place on the windward side of Oʻahu.] |
| 249 | E aho ka make i ke kaua, he nui nā moepuʻu. | Better to die in battle where one will have companions in death. |
| | [Uttered by Kaʻeokulani, a chief of Maui.] |
| 250 | E ʻai ana ʻoe i ka poi paua o Keaiwa. | Now you are eating poi made from the paua taro of Keaiwa. |
| | [A boast from the district of Kaʻū: “Now you are seeing the very best that we have.” Also used to say, “Now you will find out how fine a girl (or boy) can be in making love.” The paua was the best taro in Kaʻū and the only variety that grew on the plains.] |
| 251 | E ʻai i ka mea i loaʻa. | What you have, eat. |
| | [Be satisfied with what you have.] |
| 252 | E ʻai i kekahi, e kāpī kekahi. | Eat some, salt some. |
| | [Said to young people: Eat some now and save some for another time.] |
| 253 | E akahele i ka mamo a ʻĪ, o kolo mai ka mole uaua. | Beware the descendant of ʻĪ, lest the tough roots crawl forth. |
| | [A warning uttered by Palena, a chief of Kohala, who saw Kuaʻana-a-ʻĪ cruelly treated by the chiefs of Kona. Kuaʻana later went to see the people of his mother, Hoʻoleialiʻi, in Hāna, and to help the chiefs of Hilo in fighting those of Kona.] |
| 254 | E akahele ka mea ʻakahi akahi. | Let the person who is inexperienced watch his step. |
| 255 | E ake ana e inu i ka wai hū o Koʻolihilihi. | Eager to drink of the gushing spring of Koʻolihilihi. |
| | [Eager to make love. Koʻolihilihi (Prop-eyelashes) is a spring in Puna. When royal visitors were expected, the people attached lehua blossoms to the makaloa sedge that grew around the spring so that when their guests stooped to drink, the lehua fringes touched their cheeks and eyelashes. The last person for whom the spring was bedecked was Keohokalole, mother of Liliʻuokalani.] |
| 256 | ʻEā! Ke kau mai nei ke ao panopano i uka. E ua mai ana paha. | Say! A black cloud appears in the upland. Perhaps it is going to rain. |
| | [A favorite joke uttered when a black-skinned person is seen.] |
| 257 | E ʻaki maka o ka lauhue. | Nip off the bud of the poison gourd. |
| | [Uttered by some chiefs of the court of Alapaʻi, ruler of Hawaiʻi, who wanted Kamehameha destroyed at birth.] |
| 258 | E ala! E alu! E kuilima! | Up! Together! Join hands! |
| | [A call to come together to tackle a given task.] |
| 259 | E ala, e hoa i ka malo. | Get up and gird your loincloth. |
| | [A call to rise and get to work.] |
| 260 | E ala e Kaʻū, kahiko o Mākaha; e ala e Puna, Puna Kumākaha; e ala e Hilo naʻau kele! | Arise, O Kaʻū of ancient descent; arise, O Puna of the Kumākaha group; arise, O Hilo of the water-soaked foundation! |
| | [A rallying call. These names are found in Kaʻū and Puna chants of the chiefs. The Mākaha and Ku-mākaha (Like-the-Mākaha) were originally one. Some moved to Puna and took the name Kumākaha.] |
| 261 | E ala kākou e ʻai o hiki mai kaumahalua. | Let us rise and eat before the doubly-weighted ones arrive. |
| | [Let’s get going and eat before company comes. The people of Honokaneiki, in Kohala, were not noted for their hospitality. Travelers to Honokaneiki were called “doubly-weighted” because they had to swim to get there from the cliff of Kakaʻauki. With bundles, and being soaked by the sea, the weight of a person was doubled. In order to finish their morning meal before others arrived, the people of Honokaneiki awoke early, ate, and went about their work.] |
| 262 | E aʻo i ka hana o pā i ka leo o ka makua hūnōai. | Learn to work lest you be struck by the voice of the parent-in-law. |
| | [Advice to a son or daughter before marriage.] |
| 263 | E ʻao lūʻau a kualima. | Offer young taro leaves to the gods five times. |
| | [Advice to one who has erred and wishes to rectify his mistake. Young taro leaves often were substituted for pigs when making an offering to the gods. To remove sickness of mind or body, one made five separate offerings of young taro leaves.] |
| 264 | E ao, o kā i ka waha. | Watch out lest it smite the mouth. |
| | [A warning not to be too free in using rude and insulting words toward others lest someday one must take them back. Also, things said of others may happen to the person who says them.] |
| 265 | E ao o miki aku o Ka-ʻili-pehu. | Watch out or Swell-skin will get at you. |
| | [Beware lest you get a pummeling that will cause a swelling.] |
| 266 | E ao o pau poʻo, pau hiʻu ia manō. | Be careful lest you go head and tail into the shark. |
| | [A warning to be on one’s guard. Nanaue, of Waipiʻo, Hawaiʻi, had two forms — that of a man and that of a shark. As people passed his farm to go to the beach, he would utter this warning. After they had passed, he would run to the river, change into a shark, and swim under the water to the sea where he would catch and eat those he had warned. No one knew that it was Nanaue who was eating the people until someone pulled off the shoulder covering he always wore and discovered a shark’s mouth between his shoulder blades. After he was put to death the people were safe again.] |
| 267 | E ʻau mālie i ke kai pāpaʻu, o pakī ka wai a pula ka maka. | Swim quietly in shallow water lest it splash into the eyes. |
| | [A cautioning to go carefully where one isn’t sure of conditions.] |
| 268 | E! E pololei ana ke kua o mea. | Say! The back [of a hunchhacked person] will surely he straightened. |
| | [Said to one who is always correcting others, as if to say, “Why correct my mistakes? Let’s see if you can straighten a crooked back!”] |
| 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.] |
| 271 | E hahai ana nō ke kolekole i kahi nui a ka wahie, a e hahai ana no ke ʻino i kahi nui o ka paʻakai. | Underdone meat follows along even where wood is plentiful, and decomposition follows along even where much salt is found. |
| | [Even where good is found, evil creeps in.] |
| 273 | E hakoko ana ʻo Heneli me Keoni Pulu; ua lilo ke eo iā Keoni Pulu. | Henry and John Bull wrestle; John Bull wins. |
| | [Hunger is routed by filling the stomach. Henry (Hunger) and John Bull (Fullness) wrestle until John Bull wins the match.] |
| 274 | E hamau o makani mai auaneʻi. | Hush, lest the wind arise. |
| | [Hold your silence or trouble will come to us. When the people went to gather pearl oysters at Puʻuloa, they did so in silence, for they believed that if they spoke, a gust of wind would ripple the water and the oysters would vanish.] |
| 275 | E hānai ʻawa a ikaika ka makani. | Feed with ʻawa that the spirit may gain strength. |
| | [One offers ʻawa and prayers to the dead so that their spirits may grow strong and be a source of help to the family.] |
| 276 | E hana mua a paʻa ke kahua ma mua o ke aʻo ana aku iā haʻi. | Build yourself a firm foundation before teaching others. |
| 277 | E hea i ke kanaka e komo ma loko e hānai ai a hewa ka waha. | Call to the person to enter; feed him until he can take no more. |
| | [Originally a reply to a password into a hula school. Used later in songs and in speech to extend hospitality.] |
| 278 | E hele aku ana i ka māla a Kamehameha, o Kuahewa. | The proportion is reaching the size of Kuahewa, Kamehameha’s food patch. |
| | [The project is becoming too big. Kamehameha’s food patch was so huge that one border could not be seen from the other.] |
| 279 | E hele ana i ka ʻauwaeʻāina o lākou nei. | Going with them to look over the best in their land. |
| | [Hawaiians didn’t like to be questioned as to where they were going and would sometimes give this answer. Paʻe was a moʻo woman who often assumed the form of a dog and went wherever she willed. One day, while disguised as a dog, she was caught by some men who didn’t know of her supernatural powers, and they roasted her. This roasted dog was to be a gift to their chief’s wife and was put in a calabash, covered with a carrying net, and carried up the pali. Just below the Nuʻuanu Pali, the men saw a pretty woman sitting at the edge of a pool. She called, “Oh Paʻe, where are you going?” From out of the calabash leaped the dog, well and whole, who answered, “I am going with them to look over the best in their land.” The men fled in terror, leaving Paʻe behind with the other woman, who was a moʻo relative.] |
| 280 | 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.] |
| 281 | E hinu auaneʻi nā nuku, he pōmaikaʻi ko laila. | Where the mouths are shiny [with fat food], prosperity is there. |
| | [The prosperous have the richest food to eat.] |
| 282 | E hiolo ana nā kapu kahiko; e hina ana nā heiau me nā lele; e hui ana nā moku; he iho mai ana ka lani a e piʻi ana ka honua. | The ancient kapu will be abolished; the heiau and altars willfall; the islands will be united; the heavens will descend and the earth ascend. |
| | [A prophecy uttered by Kapihe, a kahuna in Kamehameha’s time. The last part of the saying means that chiefs will come down to humble positions and commoners rise to positions of honor.] |
| 283 | E hoʻāʻo nō i pau kuhihewa. | Try it and rid yourself of illusions. |
| 284 | E hoʻi e peʻe i ke ōpū weuweu me he moho lā. E ao o haʻi ka pua o ka mauʻu iā ʻoe. | Go back and hide among the clumps of grass like the wingless rail. Be careful not to break even a blade of grass. |
| | [Retum to the country to live a humble life and leave no trace to be noticed and followed. So said the chief Keliʻiwahamana to his daughter when he was dying. Later used as advice to a young person not to be aggressive or show off.] |
| 285 | E hoʻi ka uʻi o Mānoa, ua ahiahi. | Let the youth of Mānoa go home, for it is evening. |
| | [Refers to the youth of Mānoa who used to ride the surf at Kalehuawehe in Waikīkī. The surfboards were shared among several people who would take turns using them. Those who finished first often suggested going home early, even though it might not be evening, to avoid carrying the boards to the hālau where they were stored. Later the expression was used for anyone who went off to avoid work.] |
| 286 | E hoʻi ka waʻa; mai hoʻopaʻa aku i ka ʻino. | Make the canoe go back; do not insist on heading into a storm. |
| | [A plea not to do something or associate with someone that will lead to serious trouble.] |
| 287 | E hōʻike mai ana ka lāʻau a ke kia manu. | The stick of the birdcatcher will tell. |
| | [We will know how successful one is by what he produces. One knew whether a birdcatcher was successful by counting the birds on his gummed stick.] |
| 288 | E hoʻi nā keiki oki uaua o nā pali. | Home go the very tough lads of the hills. |
| | [These lads of the hills were the cowboys of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa and Puʻuanahulu, who were well known for their endurance.] |
| 289 | E hoʻoipo ana me Niolopua. | Making love with Niolopua. |
| | [Asleep. Niolopua is the god of sleep.] |
| 290 | E hoʻokanaka. | Be a man. |
| 291 | E hoʻōki i ka hoʻina wale o hōʻino ʻia mai ke kumu. | One should never go home without [some knowledge] lest his teacher be criticized. |
| 292 | E hoʻomanaʻo i ka lua o ka ʻōhiki. | Remember the hole dug by the sand crab. |
| | [A vulgar expression. A woman may be petite but she can be sexually “deep.”] |
| 293 | E hoʻopiha i ka lua o ka inaina. | Fill the pit of wrath. |
| | [Fill the stomach.] |
| 294 | E hoʻopiha i ka mākālua i hakahaka. | Fill the hole from which the plant has been removed. |
| | [Find someone to replace one who has gone away or died.] |
| 298 | E huʻe mai ʻoe i ke koaiʻe o Makawao! | Try uprooting the koaiʻe tree of Makawao! |
| | [I defy you to tackle a lad of Makawao! A boast from a native of Makawao, Maui.] |
| 299 | E hume i ka malo, e hoʻokala i ka ihe. | Gird the loincloth, sharpen the spear. |
| | [A call to prepare for war or to prepare for the project at hand.] |
| 309 | E ʻike ana ʻoe i ke liʻi nui o Oʻahu, o Kakuhihewa. | You will meet with the great chief of Oʻahu, Kakuhihewa. |
| | [You shall find out how wrong you are. A play on kuhihewa (erroneous).] |
| 310 | E ʻike i ka hoa kanaka, o kipa hewa ke aloha i ka ʻīlio. | Recognize your fellow man lest your love be wasted on a dog. |
| | [Love man above animals.] |
| 311 | E ʻimi i ke ola ma waho. | Seek life outside. |
| | [Consult a kahuna to see what is causing the delay in healing. Said when a person lies sick, and recovery is slow.] |
| 312 | E ʻimi wale nō i ka lua o ka ʻuwaʻu ʻaʻole e loaʻa. | Seek as you will the burrow of the ʻuwaʻu, it cannot be found. |
| | [A boast of one’s skill in lua fighting, of the depth of one’s knowledge, or of a skill that isn’t easily acquired. A play on lua, a burrow, a pit, or an art of fighting. The burrow of the ʻuwaʻu bird is often deep. Birdcatchers inserted a piece of aerial root of the ʻieʻie, gummed at one end, to catch the fledglings.] |
| 313 | E kā i ka pōhuehue. | Smite with the pōhuehue. |
| | [Do harm to another in order to destroy him.] |
| 314 | E kalani e, kiʻi mai i ka iʻa, ua komo i ka mākāhā! | O heavenly one, come and get the fish for it has entered the sluice gate! |
| | [Used by one who has his hands full and needs help quickly. In a battle, Ahia caught Kameʻeiamoku and lifted him with the intention of dashing him to the ground. Kameʻeiamoku twisted himself about, grasped Ahia by the calf of the leg and held fast so that it was impossible for him to run. Seeing Kamehameha a short distance away, Kameʻeiamoku called to him to come and take the fish. Thus was Ahia killed.] |
| 315 | E kāmau iho i ka hoe a pae aku i ke kula. | Dip in the paddle till you reach the shore. |
| | [Keep dipping your finger into the poi until you’ve had your fill.] |
| 316 | E kanu i ka huli ʻoi hāʻule ka ua. | Plant the taro stalks while there is rain. |
| | [Do your work when opportunity affords.] |
| 317 | E kanu mea ʻai o nānā keiki i ka haʻi. | Plant edible food plants lest your children look with longing at someone else’s. |
| 318 | E Kaululāʻau, ʻakahi nō pō i pipili ai nā maka. | O Kaululāʻau, it is the first night that the eyelids have stuck so. |
| | [Used in derision of one who doesn’t use his eyes. Kaululāʻau was a Maui chief who, because of his mischief, was banished to the island of Lānaʻi by his father. There he destroyed the evil inhabitants of that island by applying gum to their eyelids after they had fallen asleep.] |
| 319 | E kaupē aku nō i ka hoe a kō mai. | Put forward the paddle and draw it back. |
| | [Go on with the task that is started and finish it.] |
| 320 | E keʻekeʻehi kūlana i paʻa. ʻO ʻoe hoʻokahi, ʻo wau hoʻokahi, kū mai i mua. | Take a firm stand. You, by yourself, and I, by myself, let us step forth. |
| | [A challenge to one to step out of a crowd and fight man to man.] |
| 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.] |
| 322 | E kolo ana nō ke ēwe i ke ēwe. | The rootlet will creep toward the rootlets. |
| | [Of the same origin, kinfolk will seek and love each other.] |
| 323 | E kuahui like i ka hana. | Let everybody pitch in and work together. |
| 324 | E kuhi aku ana i Kuhiau. | Pointing out Kuhiau. |
| | [You are making a mistake in your ideas. A play on kuhi (to point, to be mistaken). Kuhiau is a place on Kauaʻi.] |
| 325 | E kuhikuhi pono i nā au iki a me nā au nui o ka ʻike. | Instruct well in the little and the large currents of knowledge. |
| | [In teaching, do it well; the small details are as important as the large ones.] |
| 326 | E kuʻi ka māmā a loaʻa ʻo Kaʻohele. | Let your fastest runners run in relay to catch Kaʻohele. |
| | [Let us make every effort to attain our goal. Kaʻohele was a chief and warrior and in his day there was none swifter than he. It was only by running after him in relay that he was caught and killed.] |
| 327 | E lauhoe mai nā waʻa; i ke kā, i ka hoe; i ka hoe, i ke kā; pae aku i ka ʻāina. | Everybody paddle the canoes together; bail and paddle, paddle and bail, and the shore is reached. |
| | [Pitch in with a will, everybody, and the work is quickly done.] |
| 328 | E lawe i ke aʻo a mālama, a e ʻoi mau ka naʻauao. | He who takes his teachings and applies them increases his knowledge. |
| 329 | E lawe i ke ō, he hinana ka iʻa kuhi lima. | Take vegetable food; the hinana is a fish that can be caught in the hand. |
| | [A suggestion to take taro, poi, potato, or breadfruit along on the journey and not worry about meats, which can be found along the way. First uttered by Pele in a chant about the winds of Kauaʻi.] |
| 332 | E lei kau, e lei hoʻoilo i ke aloha. | Love is worn like a wreath through the summers and the winters. |
| | [Love is everlasting.] |
| 333 | E lei nō au i ko aloha. | I will wear your love as a wreath. |
| | [I will cherish your love as a beautiful adornment.] |
| 334 | E Lēkia e, ʻonia i paʻa. | O Lēkia, move that you may hold fast. |
| | [Make a move to give yourself a secure holel. Lēkia and Pōhaku-o-Hanalei are stones in Puna. When the demigod Kaleikini came to the district, he dug around Lēkia with the intention of toppling it off the hill. Before he could uproot it, he got hungry and departed. It was then that the other stone, Pōhaku-o-Hanalei, cried out, “E Lēkia e, ʻonia i paʻa.” Lēkia moved downward and held fast. Kaleikini tried in vain after that and was unable to remove Lēkia.] |
| 340 | E! Loaʻa akula ke kalo, ʻo ka ʻapowale. | Say! You’ll obtain a taro, the ʻapowale. |
| | [You are wasting your time. A play on ʻapo-wale (grasp-at-nothing), a variety of taro.] |
| 341 | E loaʻa ana iā ʻoe ka mea a Paʻahao. | Youll get what Paʻahao has. |
| | [Paʻahao, a native of Kaʻiā, was often teased by his neighbors because when annoyed he would snap, “Naio!” (“Pinworms!”) This amused his tormentors. When annoyed, one might say, “You’ll get what Paʻahao has.” Paʻahao lived in Waiōhinu, Kaʻū, during the late 1800s and early 1900s.] |
| 344 | E mālama i ka iki kanaka, i ka nuʻa kanaka. O kākou nō kēia hoʻākua. | Take care of the insignificant and the great man. That is the duty of us gods. |
| | [Said by Hiʻiaka to Pele in a chant before she departed for Kauaʻi to seek Lohiʻau.] |
| 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.] |
| 346 | E mālama i ka mākua, he mea laha ʻole; ʻo ke kāne he loaʻa i ka lā hoʻokahi. | Take care of parents for they are choice; a husband can he found in a day. |
| | [Parents should be cared for, for when they are gone, there are none to replace them. One can marry again and again.] |
| 347 | E mālama i ka mākua, o hoʻomakua auaneʻi i ka haʻi. | Take care of [your] parents lest [the day come when] you will be caring for someone else’s. |
| | [Mākua includes all relatives of the parents’ generation, including their siblings and cousins.] |
| 348 | E mālama i ka ʻōlelo, i kuleana e kipa mai ai. | Remember the invitation, for it gives you the privilege of coming here. |
| | [A person feels welcome when accepting an invitation and friendly promises.] |
| 349 | E mālama o loaʻa i ka niho. | Be careful or you’ll be caught by the teeth. |
| | [A warning to watch out lest one become a victim of sorcery. A person who practices sorcery is said to have teeth; that is, his sorcery “bites.”] |
| 350 | E mālama o pā i ka leo. | Be careful lest you he struck by the voice. |
| | [Be careful not to do something that will lead to a scolding.] |
| 351 | E mānalo ka hala o ke kanaka i ka imu o ka puaʻa. | The wrongs done by man are atoned for by a pig in the imu. |
| | [When a person has committed a wrong against others or against the gods, he makes an offering of a hog with prayers of forgiveness.] |
| 352 | E manaʻo aʻe ana e lei i ka lehua o Mokaulele. | A wish to wear the lehua of Mokaulele in a lei. |
| | [A wish to win the maiden. Lei symbolizes sweetheart, and lehua, a pretty girl.] |
| 353 | E moni i ke koko o ka inaina, ʻumi ka hanu o ka hoʻomanawanui. | Swallow the blood of wrath and hold the breath of patience. |
| 355 | E naʻi wale nō ʻoukou i koʻu pono, ʻaʻole e pau. | You can seek out all the benefits I have produced and find them without number. |
| | [Said by Kamehameha I when he was dying.] |
| 356 | E nānā ana i ka ʻopua o ka ʻāina. | Observing the horizon clouds of the land. |
| | [Seeking to discover future events by observing the cloud omens.] |
| 357 | 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.”] |
| 358 | E nānā wāhine aʻe nō, ʻaʻole ʻoe e loaʻa. | Women can be observed, [but] you cannot be matched. |
| | [One may look at other women but none can be compared to you.] |
| 359 | E niʻaupiʻo ka lani. | May the chief remain of highest rank. |
| | [A blessing on a high chief: may he and his descendants live on in purity of rank.] |
| 360 | E nihi ka helena i ka uka o Puna; mai pūlale i ka ʻike a ka maka. | Go quietly in the upland of Puna; do not let anything you see excite you. |
| | [Watch your step and don’t let the things you see lead you into trouble. There is an abundance of flowers and berries in the uplands of Puna and it is thought that picking any on the trip up to the volcano will result in being caught in heavy rains; the picking is left until the return trip. Also said to loved ones to imply, “Go carefully and be mindful.”] |
| 361 | E noho iho i ke ōpū weuweu, mai hoʻokiʻekiʻe. | Remain among the clumps of grasses and do not elevate yourself. |
| | [Do not put on airs, show off, or assume an attitude of superiority.] |
| 362 | E noho ma lalo o ka lāʻau maka, iho mai ka huihui, māʻona ka ʻōpū. | Sit under a green tree. When the cluster comes down, the stomach is filled. |
| | [Serve a worthy person. When your reward comes you will never be hungry.] |
| 363 | E nui ke aho, e kuʻu keiki, a moe i ke kai, no ke kai lā hoʻi ka ʻāina. | Take a deep breath, my son, and lay yourself in the sea, for then the land shall belong to the sea. |
| | [Uttered by the priest Kaʻopulupulu at Waiʻanae. Weary with the cruelty and injustice of Kahāhana, chief of Oʻahu, Kaʻopulupulu walked with his son to Waiʻanae, where he told his son to throw himself into the sea. The boy obeyed, and there died. Kaʻopulupulu was later slain and taken to Waikīkī where he was laid on the sacrificial altar at Helumoa.] |
| 364 | E ola au i ke akua. | May I live by God. |
| | [An oath. God is witness that one is not guilty of the misdeed of which he is accused.] |
| 365 | E ola koa. | Live like a koa tree. |
| | [Live a long time, like a koa tree in the forest.] |
| 366 | E, ʻolohaka! I ke ʻehu nō o ka lāʻau pālau, kulana; hākālia nō a pāpā lāʻau aku o ka make nō ia. | Say! The person is hollow. With just the passing breeze of a brandished club, he falls. As soon as a spear touches him, he dies. |
| | [Said by Pupukea, a chief of Kaʻū, of Makakuikalani, chief of Maui, in an exchange of insults. Later commonly used to refer to weaklings.] |
| 367 | E ʻoluʻolu i ka mea i loaʻa. | Be contented with what one has. |
| 369 | E ʻōpū aliʻi. | Have the heart of a chief. |
| | [Have the kindness, generosity, and even temper of a chief.] |
| 370 | E pale lauʻī i ko akua ke hiki aku i Kona. | Place a shield of ti leaves before your god when you arrive in Kona. |
| | [A message sent by Kaʻahumanu to Liholiho requesting him to free the kapu of his god Kūkāʻilimoku. Kaʻahumanu was at that time striving to abolish the kapu system.] |
| 371 | E paneʻe ka waʻa ʻoi moe ka ʻale. | Set the canoes moving while the billows are at rest. |
| | [Said by Holowae, a kahuna, to suggest that Kalaniʻōpuʻu retum to Hawaiʻi while there was peace. Later used to stir one to action.] |
| 372 | E piʻi ana kahi poʻe, e iho ana kahi poʻe. | Some folks go up, some go down. |
| | [While the fingers of some are in the poi bowl, the fingers of others are at the mouth.] |
| 373 | E pili mai auaneʻi ia pupuka iaʻu! | That homeliness will not attach itself to me! |
| | [Ugliness is not contagious. Said by a good-looking person in answer to, “I wonder why a handsome person like you should have such a homely mate.”] |
| 374 | E pule wale nō i ka lā o ka make, ʻaʻole e ola. | Prayers uttered on the day of death will not save one. |
| | [Said by Lohiʻau to Hiʻiaka.] |
| 375 | E pū paʻakai aku a paʻa ka houpo. | Take a bit of salt till the diaphragm is solid. |
| | [Said by one whose fare is humble, consisting mostly of poi with salt or kukui relish. “Eat till you are satisfied of this humble fare.”] |
| 376 | E pūpūkahi. | Be of one clump. |
| | [Be united in thought.] |
| 377 | E puʻu auaneʻi ka lae i ka ua o Kawaupuʻu, i ka hoʻopaʻa a ka hōʻakamai. | The forehead is likely to be lumped by the rain of Kawaupuu if one insists on being a smarty. |
| | [A warning not to get cocky or smart lest one be hurt. A play on puʻu (lump).] |
| 378 | E uhaʻi i ka maka o ka ihe. | Break off the point of the spear. |
| | [Cease warfare and resume friendly relations.] |
| 379 | E uhi ana ka wā i hala i nā mea i hala. | Passing time obscures the past. |
| 380 | E uhi wale nō ʻaʻole e nalo, he imu puhi. | No matter how much one covers a steaming imu, the smoke will rise. |
| | [The secret will get out.] |
| 382 | E uku ʻia ke kanaka kiʻi lāʻau, he luhi kona i ka hele ʻana. | The man who goes to fetch medicinal herbs is to be paid — the trip he makes is labor. |
| | [The person sent by the kahuna to gather herbs for a patient’s medicine was always paid by the patient’s family. If they faiied to pay, and the gatherer grumbled, the medicine would do no good. A person who was paid couldn’t grumble without hurting himself.] |
| 384 | E waikahi ka pono i mānalo. | It is well to be united in thought that all may have peace. |
| 388 | E wehe i ka umauma i ākea. | Open out the chest that it may be spacious. |
| | [Be generous and kind to all.] |
| 412 | Haʻikū umauma, haʻi kū e! | Follow together, follow shouting! |
| | [An expression used by chiefs meaning, “Let us launch our canoes and go to war whether the other side is willing or not.” This is part of a chant used while transporting newly made canoes from the upland to the sea. A group of men walking abreast carried their burden and shouted this chant.] |
| 507 | He ʻaʻaliʻi kū makani mai au; ʻaʻohe makani nāna e kulaʻi. | I am a wind-resisting ʻaʻaliʻi; no gale can push me over. |
| | [A boast meaning “I can hold my own even in the face of difficulties.” The ʻaʻaliʻi bush can stand the worst of gales, twisting and bending but seldom breaking off or falling over.] |
| 512 | He ahi ke kapa e mehana ai. | Fire is the garment for warmth. |
| | [Said of warmth received from a bonfire.] |
| 515 | He ʻai e kāhela ai ka uha. | An eating that spreads the intestines. |
| | [The enjoyment of a good meal when labor is finished and all is at peace.] |
| 525 | He ʻalaʻihi kalaloa e pau ai nā lima i ke ʻekeʻeke. | An ʻalaʻihi kalaloa fish that makes one draw back his hands. |
| | [A person that is not to be trifled with. The ʻalaihi have spiny fins that can pierce the hands.] |
| 536 | He aliʻi ke aloha, he kilohana e paʻa ai. | Love is like a chief: the best prize to hold fast to. |
| 543 | He ana ka manaʻo o ke kanaka, ʻaʻole ʻoe e ʻike iā loko. | The thoughts of man are like caves whose interiors one cannot see. |
| 545 | He ʻaʻo ka manu noho i ka lua, ʻaʻole e loaʻa i ka lima ke nao aku. | It is an ʻaʻo, a bird that lives in a burrow and cannot he caught even when the arm is thrust into the hole. |
| | [Said of a person who is too smart to be caught.] |
| 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.] |
| 624 | He iki hala au no Keaʻau, ʻaʻohe pōhaku ʻalā e nahā ai. | I am a small hala fruit of Keaʻau, but there is no rock hard enough to smash me. |
| | [The boast of a Puna man — I am small, perhaps, but mighty.] |
| 625 | He iki huna lepo mai kēia e pula ai ka maka. | This is a small speck of dust that causes a roughness in the eye. |
| | [One may be small but he can still cause distress. This was the retort of Kaʻehuiki, a shark-god of Puna, when he was taunted for his small size by Kaiʻanuilalawalu, shark-god of Kīpahulu, Maui.] |
| 685 | He keiki e nānā ana, he keiki e nānā ʻole ana. | One child may care, and another may not. |
| | [Said to one who raises a family — some may take care of the senior members of the family and some may not.] |
| 726 | He lawaiʻa no ke kai pāpaʻu, he poʻopaʻa ka iʻa e loaʻa. | A fisherman in the shallow sea can only catch poʻopaʻa. |
| | [An untrained, unskilled person is limited in what he can do.] |
| 730 | Hele akula a ahu, hoʻi mai nō e omo i ka waiū o ka makua. | He goes away and, gaining nothing by it, returns to nurse at his mother’s breast. |
| | [Said of a grown son or daughter who, after going away, returns home for support.] |
| 731 | Hele aku nei e ʻimi i ka ʻiliʻili hānau o Kōloa. | Went to seek the pebbles that give birth at Kōloa. |
| | [Said of one who goes and forgets to come home. These pebbles were found at a small beach called Kōloa, in Punaluʻu, Kaʻū.] |
| 769 | He loko kapu ia, he awa ka iʻa noho; eia kā ua komo ʻia e ke ʻā kōkokī. | It was a pond reserved only for awa fish, but now a bait-stealing ʻā fish has gotten into it. |
| | [A woman who is the wife of a fine man of chiefly rank is now having an affair with a worthless scamp.] |
| 774 | He luelue ka ʻupena e kuʻu ai. | The fine-meshed net is the one to let down into the sea. |
| | [A fine-meshed net misses nothing, big or small. In seeking wealth, the small things are just as important as the big ones.] |
| 779 | He maiʻa ke kanaka a ka lā e hua ai. | A man is like a banana tree on the day it bears its fruit. |
| | [When a man’s body was removed from a grave, a banana stalk was laid in to take its place.] |
| 811 | He maunu ʻekaʻeka; pāpaʻi ka iʻa e hoʻi ai. | With foul bait one can only catch crabs. |
| | [Poor output makes poor income.] |
| 820 | He moʻa no ka ʻai i ka pūlehu ʻia; he ahi nui aha ia e hoʻā ai? | Food can be cooked in the embers; why should a big fire be lighted? |
| | [A small love affair will do; why assume the responsibilities of a permanent mating? Said by those who prefer to love and leave.] |
| 832 | He naho manini mai kēia e loaʻa ai ka lima i kōkala. | This is a ledge under which the manini hides [and one should not be hasty lest] the hand be poked by the sharp points on the dorsal fin. |
| | [A boast. Also, a warning not to make trouble.] |
| 855 | He ʻō ʻia ka mea hāwāwā e ka heʻe nalu. | The unskilled surf rider falls back into the water. |
| 856 | He ʻoiʻo kuhihewa; he kākā ola i ʻike ʻia e ka makāula. | The thought of a ghost is an error; it is a living person identifed by a prophet. |
| | [Don’t blame ghosts and spirits for one’s troubles; a human being is responsible.] |
| 875 | He pāʻā kō kea no Kohala, e kole ai ka waha ke ʻai. | A resistant white sugar cane of Kohala that injures the mouth when eaten. |
| | [A person that one does not tamper with. This was the retort of Pupukea, a Hawaiʻi chief, when the Maui chief Makakuikalani made fun of liis small stature. Later used in praise of the warriors of Kohala, who were known for valor.] |
| 881 | He pali nui ka make e hoʻokaʻawale ana. | Death is a sheer cliff that separates. |
| | [Death divides the living from the dead.] |
| 965 | He waʻa auaneʻi ka ipu e pau ai nā pipi me nā ʻōpae. | A gourd container is not a canoe to take all of the oysters and shrimps. |
| | [The container is not too large and cannot deplete the supply. A reply to one who views with suspicion another’s food container, or who balks at sharing what he has.] |
| 978 | He waiwai nui ke aloha; o kaʻu nō ia e pulama nei. | Love is a great treasure which I cherish. |
| | [A common expression in chants and songs.] |
| 1048 | Hōkai ua lawaiʻa o ke kai pāpaʻu, he poʻopaʻa ka iʻa e hoʻi ai. | A fisherman who fools around in shallow water takes home poʻopaʻa fsh. |
| | [The poʻopaʻa (hard-headed) fish is easily caught with hook and line.] |
| 1052 | Holo iʻa ka papa, kau ʻia e ka manu. | When the shoals are full of fish, birds gather over them. |
| | [Where there is food, people gather.] |
| 1058 | Honuaʻula, e pāluku ʻia ana nā kihi poʻohiwi e nā ʻale o ka Moaʻe. | Honuaʻula whose shoulders are pummelled by the Moaʻe wind. |
| | [A poetical expression for a person being buffeted by the wind. Honuaʻula, Maui, is a windy place.] |
| 1066 | Hoʻokahi e pōʻino, pau pū i ka pōʻino. | One meets misfortune, all meet misfortune. |
| | [Said of those who are important to the community — when misfortune befalls one, it is a misfortune for all. The fall of an able war leader is a disaster to his followers just as the fall of a good warrior is a disaster to the leader. Every member of the group is important.] |
| 1109 | Hoʻopau maunu i ka iʻa liʻiliʻi; e kiʻi nō ma ka iʻa nunui. | A waste of bait to go for the small fish; go for the big ones. |
| 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.] |
| 1122 | Huʻea pau ʻia e ka wai. | All scooped up by rushing water. |
| | [Everything is told, no secrets are kept.] |
| 1124 | Hū hewa ʻia paha ke Kinaʻu, a ke Kalaukina e huli hele nei. | Perhaps the Kinaʻu is off her course, to have the Claudine go in search of her. |
| | [Said in fun of a person who goes in search of another. This is a line from a hula song.] |
| 1156 | I hea ʻoe i ka wā a ka ua e loku ana? | Where were you when the rain was pouring ? |
| | [A reply to one who asks his neighbor for some of his crop. If he answered that he had been away during the rains, he would be given some food; but if he said that he had been there, he would be refused. It was due to his own laziness that he did not have a crop as fine as his industrious neighbor’s.] |
| 1168 | I hoʻolulu, hoʻohulei ʻia e ka makani. | There was a lull, and then the wind began to blow about. |
| | [There was a promise of peace and quiet, and then the disturbance was renewed.] |
| 1207 | ʻIke ʻia e ka nui manu. | Known by the many birds. |
| | [Recognized by many people.] |
| 1210 | I ke kaua e ʻike ʻia ai nā hoaaloha a me nā kānaka koa. | It is in war that one learns who his friends are and who among them is brave. |
| | [One learns who one’s friends are when one faces trouble. Said by Kaʻeo to the chiefs of Oʻahu, who were fighting against Kalanikūpule.] |
| 1220 | I kū ka makemake e hele mai, hele nō me ka maloʻeloʻe. | If the wish to come arises, walk frmly. |
| | [If you wish to come do not be hesitant, for you are welcome.] |
| 1229 | I lohe i ka ʻōlelo a hoʻokō, e ola auaneʻi a laupaʻi. | One who hears good counsel and heeds [it] will live to see many descendants. |
| 1236 | I mōhala nō ka lehua i ke keʻekeʻehi ʻia e ka ua. | Lehua blossoms unfold because the rains tread upon them. |
| | [It is the rain that brings forth the lehua blossoms. So do gentle words bring forth much that is desired.] |
| 1237 | I mua e nā pōkiʻi a inu i ka wai ʻawaʻawa. | Forward, my younger hrothers, until you drink the bitter water [of battle]. |
| | [Uttered by Kamehameha as he rallied his forces in the battle of ʻĪao Valley.] |
| 1238 | ʻInā e lepo ke kumu wai, e hōʻea ana ka lepo i kai. | If the source of water is dirty, the muddy water will travel on. |
| | [Where there is evil at the source, the evil travels on.] |
| 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.] |
| 1244 | ʻIno ka palu ʻaʻohe e mīkokoi ʻia e ka iʻa. | When the bait is not good, fish will not gather to eat it. |
| | [One knows that goodness and graciousness always attract. Palu is bait of dried, mashed octopus liver.] |
| 1249 | I paʻa iā ia ʻaʻole ʻoe e puka. | If it had ended with him [or her] you would not be here. |
| | [Said to a younger sibling to encourage more respect for an elder.] |
| 1250 | I paʻa i ka hānau mua, ʻaʻole e puka nā pōkiʻi. | Had the mother died in bearing the oldest, all the others would not have been born. |
| | [Said in reminding brothers and sisters to respect the hiapo (eldest).] |
| 1251 | I paʻa i kona kupuna ʻaʻole kākou e puka. | Had our ancestress died in bearing our grandparent, we would not have come forth. |
| | [Said to remind a member of the family to respect the senior line, because they came first. Also expressed I paʻa i kona makua....] |
| 1254 | I pīʻena ka lio i ka pūnuku; e komo kaula waha ʻia ka maikaʻi. | The horse shies at the halter; better use the bridle. |
| | [Advice not to suppress the activities of a wild-behaving person all at once, but to tame him gradually.] |
| 1263 | I Waialua ka poʻina a ke kai, ʻo ka leo ka ʻEwa e hoʻolono nei. | The dashing of the waves is at Waialua but the sound is being heard at ʻEwa. |
| | [Sounds of fighting in one locality are quickly heard in another.] |
| 1266 | I wawā ʻia ka hale kanaka. Na wai e wawā ka hale kanaka ʻole? | Voices are heard around an inhabited house. Who hears voices about an uninhabited one ? |
| | [Where people are, life is. From a chant for Kaʻahumanu.] |
| 1277 | Ka ʻalaʻihi kualoa e kukū ʻai i nā lima. | The long-backed ʻalaʻihi fish that pierces the hands. |
| | [Said of one who is not to be trifled with.] |
| 1289 | Ka haka o ka moa kāne, ua kau ʻia e ka moa wahine. | The perch of the cock is now occupied by a hen. |
| | [Said by Puna, whom Kalaniʻōpuʻu placed as governor in Hāna, Maui. Mahihelelima wanted Puna out of the way and lied that Kalaniʻōpuʻu had sent word for Puna to meet him in Hawaiʻi at once. When Puna arrived in Hawaiʻi, he discovered that he had been duped and that Kaʻuiki hill in Hāna had been taken by the Maui chiefs in the meantime. The saying was later used to mean that a superior worker had been replaced by another who was not as good.] |
| 1344 | Ka iʻa ʻimi i ka moana, na ka manu e haʻi mai. | The fish sought for in the ocean, whose presence is revealed by birds. |
| | [A school of aku, whose presence is signaled by the gathering of noio at sea.] |
| 1363 | Ka iʻa lawe mai a ka makani, he lāʻau ka ʻupena e hei ai. | The fish brought by the wind, a stick is the net to catch them with. |
| | [Said of turtles that come to certain localities in the islands. They were driven ashore with sticks.] |
| 1395 | Kaʻi ka puaʻa i luna o Hāʻupu, e ua ana. | When the pigs move around the summit of Hāʻupu, it is going to rain. |
| | [When puffy “pig” clouds encircle the top of Hāʻupu, above Kīpū on Kauaʻi, it is a sign of rain.] |
| 1400 | Ka iki ʻulu kēia o Kanekina e kōkē ai nā pine. | This is the little bowling ball of Kanekina that knocks down the pins. |
| | [A boast: This fellow may be small but he is powerful.] |
| 1408 | Kaino paha he pali nui o Kīpū e ʻōlelo ia nei, eia kā he pali iki nō. | By the way it is talked about, one would think that Kīpū is a large cliff, but instead it is only a small one. |
| | [By the way people talked the task sounded difficult, but it was easy after all. Kīpū is on Kauaʻi.] |
| 1478 | Ka manu kāhea i ka waʻa e holo. | The bird that calls to the canoe - to sail. |
| | [Said of the kioea (stilt), whose early morning call was often a signal to canoemen to be ready to fish or travel.] |
| 1500 | Ka nīoi aku ia e welawela ai ko nuku. | That is the chili pepper that will burn your lips. |
| | [Said of one whose lovemaking is like the fiery taste of peppers. It’s long remembered.] |
| 1504 | Ka nui e ʻauamo ai i ke keiki i ke kua. | The size that enables one to carry a smaller child on the back. |
| | [Said of a child about ten years old who has grown big enough to carry a younger sibling on his back. In ancient days the age of a child was not reckoned by years but by physical ability to perform a certain task.] |
| 1505 | Ka nui e moʻa ai ka pūlehu. | The size when one is old enough to broil food. |
| | [Old enough to have a mate.] |
| 1506 | Ka nui e paʻa ai i ka hue wai. | The size that enables one to carry a water bottle. |
| | [Said of a child about two years old. In Kaʻū, where fresh water was scarce and had to be obtained from upland springs, every person who went helped to carry home water. When a child was about two, he was given a small gourd bottle for carrying water.] |
| 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.] |
| 1509 | Kanu ke kalo i Welo, ʻaʻole e ulu nui ʻia e ka ʻohā. | Plant taro in Welo and the offshoots will not be many. |
| | [The corm of taro planted in the month of Welo grows very large but the offishoots are few.] |
| 1523 | Kāpae ke kaua e ka hoahānau. | Let kinsmen cease fghting each other. |
| | [Said by Kawelo to his opponent and kinsman, Kauahoa.] |
| 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.] |
| 1751 | Ke koa ia e laumeki ai kahawai o Hilo. | That is the warrior who will dry the streams of Hilo. |
| | [A powerful warrior.] |
| 1765 | Ke lepo ke kumu wai, e huaʻi ana ka lepo i kai. | When the source of the water is dirty, muddy water will he seen in the lowland. |
| | [When the thoughts are dirty, dirty words are heard.] |
| 1786 | Kiʻekiʻe ka lele a ke ao i ka lani, i hāpai ʻia e ka makani i luna. | High flies the cloud in the sky, lifted by the wind. |
| | [Said of one whose position is elevated by a chief.] |
| 1802 | Kinikini kauhale liʻiliʻi o lalo lilo e. “He Ahu au no Kaʻū”; “He ʻIo au no Hilo.” | A multitude are the small houses way down helow. [The inhabitants claim,] “I am an Ahu of Kaʻu’ and “I am an ʻIo of Hilo.” |
| | [This saying is used in anger or to make fun of those who are low in rank yet claim relationship with the high chiefs. A play on ahu (a heap of nothing), ʻū (a grunt of contempt) in Kaʻū, and ʻio, the mighty hawk that sits on any branch it chooses.] |
| 1823 | Kokoke e ʻā ke ahi o ka ʻaulima. | Almost ready to make fire with a fire stick held in the hand. |
| | [Said of a boy who is almost old enough to mate.] |
| 1862 | Kuāua nui hoʻi kēlā e hele mai nei. | That is a big shower coming this way. |
| | [A company of people is seen approaching.] |
| 1864 | Kuha! Nāu nō ʻoe e hele aʻe. | Spit! You come to seek me of your own accord. |
| | [It was called Kuhakalani (Heaven’s expectoration). After the kahuna had prayed that the victim fall in love with the person who consulted him, the consultant was sent to stand with his back against the wind, holding a flower and facing a spot where the victim was likely to appear. Here he spat upon the flower with the words, “Kuha! Nāu nō ʻoe e hele aʻe,” and dropped the blossom. When the victim of the sorcery came near the flower, an intense love would possess him and he would go in search of the person who dropped it there.] |
| 1883 | Kuʻikuʻi, hana pele; holo i uka, holo i kai, holo i kahi e peʻe ai a nalo. | Pound, pound, pulverize; run mountainward, run seaward, run till you find a hiding place and hide. |
| | [The chant used in hide-and-go-seek. One child gently pounds the back of the “master” and repeats this chant while the other children run and hide.] |
| 1884 | Kuʻi pē ʻia e ka ʻĀpaʻapaʻa. | Pounded flat by the ʻĀpaʻapaʻa wind. |
| | [Said of a sudden and terrible disaster, or of one who has taken a beating. The ʻĀpaʻapaʻa is a wind of Kohala.] |
| 2052 | Mai hoʻomāuna i ka ʻai o huli mai auaneʻi o Hāloa e nānā. | Do not be wasteful of food lest Hāloa turn around and stare [at you]. |
| | [Do not be wasteful, especially of poi, because it would anger Hāloa, the taro god, who would someday let the waster go hungry.] |
| 2061 | Maikaʻi nō ka hoʻoipoipo i ka wā e lana ana ke koko; a pau ka lana ana, pau nō ka hie o ia mea. | Lovemaking is good when the blood is circulating freely [in youth]; but when the blood ceases to circulate freely [as in old age] the pleasure one derives from it ceases. |
| 2070 | Mai ke kai kuwā e nū ana i ka ulu hala o Keaʻau a ka ʻāina kāʻili lā o lalo o ka Waikūʻauhoe. | From the noisy sea that moans to the hala groves of Keaʻau, to the land that snatches away the sun, below Waikuauhoe. |
| | [From Puna, Hawaiʻi, where the sun was said to rise, to Lehua, beyond Waikūʻauhoe, where it vanishes out of sight.] |
| 2080 | Mai nānā i ka ʻulu o waho, ʻaʻohe ia nāu; e nānā nō i ka ʻulu i ke alo, nāu ia. | Never mind looking for the breadfruit away out, that is not for you; look at the breadfruit in front of you, that is yours. |
| | [Be satisfied with what you have.] |
| 2081 | Mai ʻōlelo i ke kuapuʻu e kū pololei, o hina auaneʻi. | Dont tell the hunchback to stand up straight lest he fall down. |
| | [Don’t go around correcting others.] |
| 2084 | Mai piʻi aʻe ʻoe i ka lālā kau halalī o ʻike ʻia kou wahi hilahila e ou mau hoa. | Do not climb to the topmost branches lest your private parts be seen by your companions. |
| | [Do not put on an air of superiority lest people remember only your faults.] |
| 2089 | Ma kahi maea ma laila ka nalo e wā ai. | Where the odor is bad, there the flies hum. |
| | [Scandal-mongers delight in “dirt.”] |
| 2091 | Ma kahi o ka makani e pā ai, ma laila ka uahi e hina ai. | Where the wind blows, there the smoke falls. |
| | [Where the chief commands, the subjects go.] |
| 2092 | Mākālei, lāʻau piʻi ona ʻia e ka iʻa. | Mākālei, the stick that attracts and draws thefish. |
| | [Said of a handsome person who attracts the interest of others. Mākālei was a supernatural tree who attracted fish.] |
| 2114 | Ma Koʻolau e ʻōlelo ai, he lohe ma Kona. | Words spoken on the windward side are heard on the leeward side. |
| | [Said of anything spoken that travels very quickly through the land.] |
| 2125 | Malia paha he iki unu, paʻa ka pōhaku nui ʻaʻole e kaʻa. | Perhaps it is the small stone that can keep the big rock from rolling down. |
| 2223 | Na kahi ka malo, na kahi e hume. | The loincloth of one, the other can wear. |
| | [A close relationship. As a general rule, Hawaiians would not wear the clothing of people other than blood relatives. In explaining genealogy to a young relative, this conveyed the idea that a relationship was near enough to warrant the wearing of each other’s clothing.] |
| 2228 | Na ka makua e komo i ka ʻāwelu o keiki, ʻaʻole na ke keiki e komo i ka ʻāwelu o ka makua. | Let the parent wear out his children s old clothes, but do not let the children wear their parent’s old clothes. |
| | [Some Hawaiians would wear the partly worn clothing of their children. However, wearing the old clothing of one’s parents was kapu.] |
| 2232 | Na ka puaʻa e ʻai; a na ka puaʻa ana paha e ʻai. | [It is] for the pigs to eat; and perhaps the pigs will taste [you]. |
| | [A reminder to be hospitable to strangers. From the following story: A missionary and two Hawaiian companions arrived hungry and tired in Keonepoko, Puna, after walking a long distance. Seeing some natives removing cooked breadfruit from an imu, they asked if they could have some. “No,” said the natives, “it is for the pigs to eat.” So the visitors moved on. Not long after, leprosy broke out among the people of Puna. The first to contract it were taken to Oʻahu and later sent on to Kalaupapa. Others died at home and were buried. When the last ones fmally died, there was no one to bury them, and the pigs feasted on their bodies. Thus, justice was served.] |
| 2234 | Na ke akua ʻoe e ʻike. | May the god see you. |
| | [An ʻānai (to rub hard) curse that someone meet with dire trouble sent him by the gods. To alleviate this, one replies quickly, if he remembers to, “Me ʻoe nō kāuʻ (“Let your words remain with you”) or “Hoʻi nō kāu ʻōlelo maluna ou” (“May your words go back on you”). This turning back of a curse is called hoʻihoʻi.] |
| 2247 | Nā lā e lana ana ke koko. | The days when the blood circulates freely. |
| | [Youth.] |
| 2250 | Nā lehua o Līhau i pehia e ka noe. | The lehua blossoms oj Līhau, weighted by the mist. |
| | [Līhau, a mountain of Maui, was noted for its beautiful lehua blossoms.] |
| 2275 | Nani ka ʻōiwi o ka lāʻau i ka luaiele ʻia e ka makani. | Beautiful is the body of the tree, even when swayed this way and that by the wind. |
| | [Even through adversities and dissipation some people remain handsome.] |
| 2301 | Na wai hoʻi ka ʻole o ke akamai, he alanui i maʻa i ka hele ʻia e oʻu mau mākua? | Why shouldnʻt I know, when it is a road often traveled by my parents ? |
| | [Reply of Liholiho when someone praised his wisdom.] |
| 2341 | Nona ka malo, naʻu e hume; noʻu ka malo, nāna e hume. | His loincloth I could wear; my loincloth he could wear. |
| | [Said of very close kin.] |
| 2381 | ʻOiai e nānā mai ana nō nā maka. | While the eyes still look around. |
| | [While a person is living, treat him kindly and learn what you can from him.] |
| 2388 | ʻOi kau ka lā, e hana i ola honua. | While the sun yet shines do all you can. |
| | [While there is earthly life (ola honua), do all you can.] |
| 2394 | ʻO ka ʻaʻama holo pali pōhaku, e paʻa ana ia i ka ʻahele pulu niu. | The crab that runs about on a rocky cliff will surely be caught with a snare of coconut fibers. |
| | [He who goes where he tempts trouble is bound to suffer.] |
| 2402 | ʻO ka hale e kū, ʻo ke kanaka e noho. | Where a house stands, there man dwells. |
| 2406 | ʻO ka huhiā ʻino ka mea e ola ʻole ai. | Rage is a thing that does not produce life. |
| 2407 | ʻO ka iʻa i kū kona waha i ka makau ʻaʻole ia e ʻapo hou ia mea. | The fish whose mouth has heen pierced by a hook will never again take another. |
| | [Said of one who avoids trouble after once being hurt.] |
| 2410 | ʻO ka ʻīlio i paoa ka waha i ka hua moa ʻaʻole e pau ia hana iā ia. | A dog whose mouth likes the taste of eggs will not stop taking them. |
| | [Said of one who cannot be cured of a bad habit.] |
| 2412 | ʻO ka lāʻau i hina, ʻaʻole ia e kū hou. | A fallen tree does not rise again. |
| | [Said of an old man who has lost his sexual potency.] |
| 2413 | ʻO ka lāʻau o ke kula e noho ana i ka ʻāina, ʻo ka lāʻau o ka ʻāina e nalowale aku ana. | The trees of the plains will dwell on the land; the trees of the native land will vanish. |
| | [A prophecy uttered by Kalaunuiohua. Trees from the plains of other lands will grow here and our native trees will become extinct.] |
| 2420 | ʻO ka liʻiliʻi pāʻā kōkea ia Kohala, e kole ai ko nuku. | It is the little white sugar stalk of Kohala that makes your mouth raw. |
| | [Said by Pupukea when Makakuikalani made fun of his small size. The fine, hair-like growth on stalks of sugar cane can cause irritation.] |
| 2421 | ʻO ka līlā maiʻa ia o ka ʻeʻa, ʻaʻole e pala i ke anahulu. | A tall banana in a mountain patch whose fruit does not open in ten days. |
| | [A boast of his own height by Makakuikalani, chief of Maui, when Pupukea of Hawaiʻi made fun of his being so tall and thin.] |
| 2424 | ʻO ka makua ke koʻo o ka hale e paʻa ai. | The parent is the support that holds the household together. |
| 2435 | ʻO ka poʻe e ʻai ana i ka loaʻa o ka ʻāina he lohe ʻōlelo wale aʻe nō i ka ua o Hawaiʻi. | Those who eat of the product of the land merely hear of the rains in Hawaiʻi. |
| | [Said of absentee royal landlords who reap the gain but know nothing of the difficulties in the land where the toilers work.] |
| 2445 | ʻO ka ʻulu iki mai kēia nāna e kaʻa i kahua loa. | This is the small maika stone that rolls over a long field. |
| | [I am a small person who can accomplish much. When Lonoikamakahiki visited Kamalalawalu, ruling chief of Maui, he took along his half-brother Pupukea to serve him. Makakuikalani, half-brother and personal attendant of Kamalalawalu, made fun of the small stature of Pupukea. This saying was Pupukea’s retort.] |
| 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.] |
| 2458 | ʻO kēia ʻuʻuku e nui ana. | This smallness will be big later. |
| | [Said of a small child who will grow into adulthood, a small place that may develop into a large one, and so forth.] |
| 2466 | ʻOki loa ka ihu kau ʻia e ka nalo. | It is worse to have a fly sit on the nose |
| | [A young woman from Kaʻū was teased about being carried ashore by a sailor who found it hard to resist kissing her. This was her laughing reply — there are worse things than being kissed.] |
| 2554 | Paʻa ʻia iho i ka hoe uli i ʻole e īkā i ke koʻa. | Hold the steering paddle steady to keep from striking the rock. |
| | [Hold on; donʻt let yourself get into trouble.] |
| 2602 | Papani ka uka o Kapela; puaʻi hānono wai ʻole o Kukaniloko; pakī hunahuna ʻole o Holoholokū; ʻaʻohe mea nāna e ʻaʻe paepae kapu o Līloa. | Close the upland of Kapela; no red water gushes from Kukaniloko; not a particle issues from Holoholokū; there is none to step over the sacred platform of Līloa. |
| | [The old chiefs and their sacredness are gone; the descendants are no longer laid to rest at Ka-pela-kapu-o-Kakaʻe at ʻīao; the descendants no longer point to Kukaniloko on Oʻahu and Holoholokū on Kauaʻi as the sacred birthplaces; there is no one to tread on the sacred places in Waipiʻo, Hawaiʻi, where Līloa once dwelt.] |
| 2610 | Pau kōkō a Makaliʻi i ka ʻai ʻia e ka ʻiole. | The net of Makaliʻi was all chewed up by the rat. |
| | [A total loss.] |
| 2661 | Pipili mau ʻia e ka pīʻoeʻoe. | Always clung to by barnacles. |
| | [Said of one who is a constant attraction to the opposite sex.] |
| 2709 | Pūanuanu ka hale noho ʻole ʻia e ke kanaka. | Cold is an uninhabited house. |
| | [Said of an empty house, which lacks the warmth of love, or of the body after life is gone.] |
| 2743 | Pumehana ka hale i ka noho ʻia e ka makua. | Warm is the home in which a parent lives. |
| 2768 | Ua ahu ka imu, e lāwalu ka iʻa. | The oven is ready, let the fish wrapped in ti leaves be cooked. |
| | [All preparations have been made; now let us proceed with the work.] |
| 2792 | Ua ʻia kāua e ka ua; hikikiʻi kāua i kānana! | We are rained upon by the rain; let it pour as it wills! |
| | [Two men were traveling in the mountains on Kaua’i when it began to rain. The first man found a small dry place under an overhanging rock. The second man’s place leaked, and so he cried out these words. Hearing this, the first man was lured away from his dry rock and ran toward his companion, who sneaked under the dry place and rested. The first man now stood shivering in the rain. This saying is used when someone is foolish enough to give up what he has.] |
| 2796 | Ua kaʻa ʻia e Hakaio. | Rolled over by Hakaio. |
| | [Said of a woman with a beautiful figure. Hakaio was the name of a supematural tapa beater that rolled itself over the legendary heroine Keamalu to beautify her figure after her bath.] |
| 2834 | Ua noa ke kai kapu, ua ʻaʻe ʻia e ke kuewa. | The forbidden sea has heen trespassed by a vagrant. |
| | [Said of a girl well raised by her parents who has now been won by a ne’er-do-well.] |
| 2851 | Ua poʻeleʻele, e nalowale ai ka ʻili o kānaka. | [It is] so dark that the skin of people vanishes. |
| 2856 | Ua wela ka nuku o Nuʻuanu i ka hole ʻia e ke āhole. | Heated is the Nuuanu gap, by the āhole fish that go to and fro. |
| | [A vulgar expression referring to sexual intercourse.] |
| 2924 | Wehe ka piko lā, e ka hoahānau. | Undone is the navel string, O kinsman. |
| | [A family relation is severed. Said by Keopuolani to Kekuaokalani when she attempted to quell a rebellion, meaning that the tie of kinship between the two cousins, Liholiho and Kekuaokalani, was being severed by the latter’s refusal to be reconciled.] |