Hawaiian Word of the Day: Nalu
By Kaila Hawai`iFiled in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i / Hawaiian Language |
Tags: Hawaiian language, Hawaiian word of the day, meditate, nalu, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi
Today’s Hawaiian word of the day is nalu.
Nalu most commonly refers to the waves or surf of the moana, the ocean. It’s also a verb, showing the state of waves… Ke nalu nei ka moana, The ocean is full of waves.
Nalu carries more poetic, less obvious meanings, however.
In keeping with the concept of water and liquid, nalu is the amniotic fluid that surrounds and protects an unborn child.
To nalu is to mediate, ponder, contemplate. For some reason, the water imagery personally works well with this word, such as the tranquility created by the repetitive flow of waves. Or it’s the antithesis of the idea of waves itself, water free of waves, so calm and still that we can contemplate what is below… or a mind free of the waves of thought and mental disturbance.
All photography here used under Creative Commons license. Credits listed below:
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/quinnanya/ / CC BY-SA 2.0
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/solsken/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/ameotoko/ / CC BY-NC 2.0
Monday, September 13th 2010 at 5:54 am |
where can I get some of your music that is featured on your online player? I like Hou-remix. actually a lot of it.
Friday, October 8th 2010 at 7:01 pm |
Hau is a remix of a track by late Maori artist Hirini Melbourne. The album used to be on iTunes US but is now gone. Others are from Lost in Translation and Bobby Holcomb.