| 37 | Aia i Hilo ʻo Alanaio; aia i Puna ʻo Kapoho; aia i Laupāhoehoe ʻo Ulekiʻi. | In Hilo is Alanaio; in Puna is Kapoho; in Laupāhoehoe is Ulekii. |
| | [A vulgar play on place names, calling attention to private parts, which are omens of disappointment when seen in dreams. An expression of contempt for one who brings bad luck. Alanaio (Way-of-the-pinworm), the anus, is in Hilo; Kapoho (The Container), the vagina, is in Puna; and Ulekiʻi (Rigid Penis) is in Laupāhoehoe.] |
| 91 | ʻAkahi au a ʻike i ka ʻino o Hilo. | It is the first time I have seen a Hilo storm. |
| | [For the first time I have met with evil people who wish to harm me.] |
| 210 | ʻAʻohe sananā, he mauʻu Hilo. | Nothing to shout about, it is only Hilo grass. |
| | [Said of a trifling matter that is not worth fussing over.] |
| 242 | ʻAu umauma o Hilo i ka wai. | Hilo has breasted the water. |
| | [To weather the storm. The district of Hilo had many gulches and streams and was difficult to cross.] |
| 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.] |
| 330 | ʻEleʻele Hilo, panopano i ka ua. | Dark is Hilo, clouded with the rain. |
| | [Hilo is always rainy.] |
| 424 | Hala ka Puʻulena aia i Hilo ua ʻimi akula iā Papalauahi. | The Puʻulena breeze is gone to Hilo in search of Papalauahi. |
| | [Said of one who has gone away or of one who finds himself too late to do anything.] |
| 436 | Halulu me he kapuaʻi kanaka lā ka ua o Hilo. | The rain of Hilo makes a rumbling sound like the treading of feet. |
| 448 | Hana Hilo i ka poʻi a ka ua. | Hilo works on the lid of the rain. |
| | [Refers to the constant showers typical of Hilo district on Hawaiʻi. This is the first line of a chant.] |
| 462 | Hana mao ʻole ka ua o Hilo. | Endlessly pours the rain of Hilo. |
| | [Said of anything that goes on and on, as the pouring rain, or of havoc such as that produced by a torrent. Names of other places are sometimes substituted for Hilo.] |
| 463 | Hananeʻe ke kīkala o ko Hilo kini; hoʻi luʻuluʻu i ke one o Hanakahi. | The hips of Hilo’s multitude were sagging as they returned, laden, to Hanakahi. |
| | [Used to express the weight of grief, or to mean that a person has a heavy load to carry. Lines from a chant entitled, “Hoe Puna i ka Waʻa.”] |
| 997 | Hilo ʻai lūʻau. | Hilo, eater of taro greens. |
| | [The people of Hilo were said to be fond of cooked taro greens. When storms came to Hilo it was impossible to obtain fish from the streams or the sea. The people had to be content with taro greens.] |
| 998 | Hilo ʻāina ua lokuloku. | Hilo of the pouring rain. |
| 999 | Hilo Hanakahi. | Hilo, land of Hanakahi. |
| | [Hanakahi was the name of a chief of Hilo in ancient times.] |
| 1000 | Hilo i ka ua Kanilehua. | Hilo of the Kanilehua rain. |
| | [The Kanilehua rain, or the rain that patters in the lehua forest, is frequently referred to in the chants and songs of Hilo.] |
| 1001 | Hilo i ka ua kinakinai, ka ua mao ʻole. | Hilo of the constant rain, where it never clears up. |
| 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.] |
| 1003 | Hilo mahi haʻaheo. | Hilo of the proud farmers. |
| | [The climate makes the soil of Hilo very easy to till, so the farmers used to make a game of planting. They used long digging sticks to make the holes and wore lei to work. Working in unison, they made a handsome picture.] |
| 1004 | Hilo, mai Mawae a ka pali o Maulua. | Hilo, from Mawae to the cliff of Maulua. |
| | [The extent of the Hilo district is from Mawae on the Puna side to Maulua on the Hāmākua side.] |
| 1005 | Hilo, nahele paoa i ke ʻala. | Hilo, where the forest is imbued with fragrance. |
| | [Hilo’s forest is fragrant with hala and lehua blossoms.] |
| 1006 | Hilo pāʻele kū. | Hilo is dark all over. |
| | [The rain, mist, and mud make Hilo dark.] |
| 1105 | Hoʻonuʻa Hilo i ka lehua. | Hilo produces the lehua in abundance. |
| 1245 | Inu wai kōliʻuliʻu o Hilo. | Drink the waters of the distant sky in Hilo. |
| | [The rain of Hilo is a chief source of drinking water.] |
| 1471 | Kamaliʻi ʻike ʻole i ka helu pō: Muku nei, Muku ka malama; Hilo nei, kau ka Hoaka. | Children who do not know the moon phases: Muku is here, Muku the moon; Hilo comes next, then Hoaka. |
| | [The first part of a child’s chant for learning the names of the moon phases. Also said of one who does not know the answer to a question or is ignorant. He is compared to a small child who has not learned the moon phases.] |
| 1551 | Ka ua heʻe nehu o Hilo. | The nehu-producing rain of Hilo. |
| | [The people knew the season when the schools of nehu fish followed the rain.] |
| 1562 | Ka ua Kanilehua o Hilo. | The Kanilehua rain of Hilo. |
| | [Hilo, where the rain moistens the lehua blossoms.] |
| 1607 | Kau i ka lani ka holowaʻa ua o Hilo. | Placed high in heaven is the rain trough of Hilo. |
| | [An expression of admiration for a person of regal bearing.] |
| 1751 | Ke koa ia e laumeki ai kahawai o Hilo. | That is the warrior who will dry the streams of Hilo. |
| | [A powerful warrior.] |
| 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.] |
| 1926 | Kū pāpiā Hilo i ka ua. | Hilo stands directly in the path of the rain. |
| 2132 | “Māmā Hilo?” “ʻAe, māmā Hilo i ka wai ʻole.” | “Is Hilo light?” “ Yes, Hilo is light for lack of water.” |
| | [A question asked of a runner, and his reply. It means that the way is clear, with no robbers or unpleasant experiences, and no rains to swell the streams and make traveling difficult.] |
| 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.”] |
| 2414 | ʻŌkala ka hulu o Hilo i ka wai. | The fur of Hilo bristles in the water. |
| | [Sexual passion is rising.] |
| 2596 | Pā mai, pā mai ka makani o Hilo; waiho aku i ka ipu iki, hō mai i ka ipu nui. | Blow, blow, O winds of Hilo, put away the small containers and give us the large one. |
| | [Laʻamaomao, the god of wind, was said to have a wind container called Ipu-a-Laʻamaomao. When one desires more wind to make the surf roll high, or a kite sail aloft, he makes this appeal.] |
| 2609 | Pau ke aho i ke kahawai lau o Hilo. | Oneʻs strength is exhausted in crossing the many streams of Hilo. |
| | [Said of or by one who is weary with effort. First uttered by Hiʻiaka in a chant when she found herself weary after a battle with the lizard god Panaʻewa.] |
| 2612 | Pāuli hiwa ka lani o Hilo. | Black with rain clouds is the sky of Hilo. |
| | [Sometimes said in humor when a dark-skinned person is seen.] |
| 2679 | Pō Hilo i ka ua Kanilehua. | Hilo is darkened by the Kanilehua rain. |
| | [Said of one who is weighted by sorrow and grief.] |