| 143 | ʻAʻohe hua o ka maiʻa i ka lā hoʻokahi. | Bananas do not fruit in a single day. |
| | [A retort to an impatient person.] |
| 723 | He lau maiʻa pala ka wahine, hou aku nō ʻoe, pōhae. | A woman is like a yellowed banana leaf that tears when one pokes at it. |
| | [A woman does not have the strength of a man.] |
| 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.] |
| 780 | He maiʻa līlā, ʻaʻohe ʻiʻo. | A thin banana without substance. |
| | [Not worth troubling about. Maiʻa can refer to either the fruit or the plant.] |
| 781 | He maiʻa ua paʻa i ke koʻo. | A banana tree well supported by props. |
| | [A man well supported by his followers.] |
| 1063 | Hoʻohui ʻāina pala ka maiʻa. | Annexation [is] ripe bananas. |
| | [A saying that cropped up when talk of the annexation of Hawaiʻi began. It was a sign of bad luck to encounter someone with a bunch of bananas while on a business trip. Hence this warning that annexation will bring bad luck to Hawaiʻi.] |
| 1239 | ʻInā he moe maiʻa makehewa ka hele i ka lawaiʻa. | If one dreams of bananas it is useless to go fishing. |
| 2003 | Līlā ka maiʻa o ka ʻeʻa, wili ka ʻōkaʻi. | Though the banana of the mountain patch is spindly, thc blossom container twists. |
| | [Even a spindly plant or person can bear fruit.] |
| 2349 | Nui pū maiʻa ʻolohaka o loko. | Large banana stalk, all pith inside. |
| | [Said of a person with a large physique but with no strength to match it.] |
| 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.] |
| 2426 | ʻO ka maoli maiʻa ʻono ia o ka ʻeʻa. | The tastiest banana of the patch. |
| | [The finest, most attractive lad of the community.] |
| 2546 | O Waiōhinu aku ia kahi o ka maiʻa pala. | That is Waiōhinu, where ripe bananas are. |
| | [A Kaʻū saying meaning that one is in for bad luck. To see bananas while on a fishing or business trip was an omen of failure. From the story of twin brothers who were climbing a hill. The stronger brother climbed on while the weaker one sat and cried. The older looked down and said “Cry, baby, cry! Go to Waiōhinu to eat ripe bananas.”] |
| 2591 | Pala ka maiʻa. | The banana is ripe. |
| | [Nothing is gained. To dream of bananas is a sign that the following day will bring no luck. To talk of bananas while on a fishing trip is also bad luck.] |
| 2830 | Ua moʻa ka maiʻa, he keiki māmā ka Hina. | The bananas are cooked, [and remember that] Hina has a swift son. |
| | [Let’s finish this before we are caught. This saying comes from the legend of Māui and the mudhens. For a long time he tried to catch them in order to learn the secret of making fire. One day he overheard one of them saying these words. He caught them before they could hide and forced them to yield the secret of fire.] |