manō
1. num. many, numerous, four thousand; thick. [traditional 4-based counting: kāuna 4; kaʻau 40; lau 400; mano 4,000; kini 40,000; lehu 400,000] 2. s. The number 4,000; hookahi lau ai, hookahi mano ia, one 400 bunches of food, one 4,000 of fish. Gram. § 116:5. He umi lau ua like ia me ka mano, 4,000. 3. adj. Thick; multitudinous; many; numerous. seemanomano and manuu. 4. vt. to throw, as stone; to aim at and hit. 5. v. To throw; to cast, as a stone; to throw at a thing; e pehi; to pelt. 6. name of a chief of Kauaʻi... husband of Nae...
7. s. A shark; he inoa no ka ia ai kanaka. NOTE.— There are many species of shark, besides some other kinds of fish which Hawaiians call by the general name of mano, as the niuhi and the ahi; they were all kapu to women to eat under penalty of death. 8. n. shark (general name). Many kinds are listed below. Reef sharks may attain a length of 1.5 m. fig., a passionate lover. Sharks were ʻaumākua to some; they were said to have never harmed and frequently to protect those who fed and petted them. 9. placename. ridge in upper Kamana Nui Valley, Moanalua, Oʻahu. A shark man lived in a cave here; both the man and the cave were called Keanaokamanō (the cave of the shark). The man followed bathing parties to the sea and killed them, but he was finally killed. He cultivated kava and yams (uhi). lit.: shark.
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64
ʻAi a manō, ʻaʻohe nānā i kumu pali.
When the shark eats, he never troubles to look toward the foot of the cliff.
[Said of a person who eats voraciously with no thought of those who provided the food, shows no appreciation for what has been done for him, nor has a care for the morrow.]
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.]
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.]
800
He manō ka iʻa hoʻomano ke aloha.
Shark is the fish; may love be persistent.
[An expression used in hana aloha sorcery. A play on manō and hoʻomano (persistent).]
1318
Kahu i ka lae o ka manō, he ʻale ka wahie.
Kindle a fire on the forehead of a shark with waves for fuel.
[Said when food in the imu is not cooked because of a lack of firewood. A criticism of the hosts’ half-cooked food.]
1782
Ke pau ka moa, kākā i ka nuku; ke pau ka ʻiole, ahu kūkae; ke pau ka manō, lanaō i ke kai.
When a chicken finishes [eating] he cleans his beak; when a rat finishes, he leaves a heap of excreta; when a shark finishes, he rises to the surface of the sea.
[A description of the table manners of people. Some are clean like the chicken; others are unclean and careless, like the rat; and still others, like the shark, loll around without offering to help.]
2617
Pau Pele, pau manō.
[May I be] devoured by Pele, [May I be] devoured by a shark.
[An oath, meaning “If I fail.. ..” It was believed that if such an oath were not kept, the one who uttered it would indeed die by fire or be eaten by a shark.]
2701
Pua ka wiliwili nanahu ka manō; pua ka wahine uʻi nanahu ke kānāwai.
When the wiliwili tree blooms, the sharks bite; when a pretty woman blossoms, the law bites.
[A beautiful woman attracts young men — sharks — who become fierce rivals over her. The law prevents the rivalry from getting out of hand — it can “bite.” It is said that when the wiliwili trees are in bloom the sharks bite, because it is their mating season.]
2865
Uliuli kai holo ka manō.
Where the sea is dark, sharks swim.
[Sharks are found in the deep sea. Also applied to men out seeking the society of the opposite sex.]