Kaila Hawai'i

Today’s Hawaiian word of the day is one, or sand.

One kind of black sand, specifically that created from ʻaʻā lava (the rocky, slow-moving variety), is called one ʻā. The phrase can also refer to volcanic cinder as well as gunpowder.  Recounting the fiery power of Pele, the famous traditional hula “Puʻu Onioni” speaks of one ʻā in its third verse:

Lauahi Pele i kai o Puna

One ʻā kai o Malama

(Pele destroys by fire towards the sea of Puna /The black cinder seaward of Malama)

Here Kumu Hula Kawaikapuokalani Hewett performs “Puʻu Onioni” standing, maile lei in hand:

One is the base of an especially beautiful Hawaiian expression, one hānau. Literally mean “birth sands”, one hānau means birthplace or homeland, especially referring to Hawaiʻi. When I was living far away from home, the expression would always come to my mind. Hawaiʻi has been and always be my one hānau.

One hānau makes a noteworthy appearance in Rev. Lorenzo Lyons’ famous song “Hawaiʻi Aloha”, which is often sung at the end of many different gatherings and community events. However,  I find very often that, when people sing the song, the mood is usually very somber. But the lyrics are joyful, inspiring us with the love for our one hānau, our lāhui, Hawaiʻi. It’s the one song that usually gets me every time I hear it, much more so than “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī”. Hereʻs the first verse and chorus

E Hawaiʻi, e kuʻu one hānau ē

Kuʻu home kulāiwi nei

ʻOli au i nā pono lani ou

E Hawaiʻi aloha ē

Hui

E hauʻoli nā ʻōpio o Hawaiʻi nei

ʻOli ē! ʻOli ē!

Mai nā aheahe makani e pā mai nei

Mau ke aloha, no Hawaiʻi…

(Hawaiʻi sands of my birth/ My homeland / I rejoice in the blessings from the heavens / Beloved Hawaiʻi..

CHORUS: Be happy youth of Hawaiʻi / Rejoice, rejoice! / From the breezes that are blowing / Forever is my love for Hawaiʻi)

This clip from the late Israel Kamakawiwoʻole is sure to give you the gist of it.

The above photos are used through the Creative Commons license. Credit below:

First photo information here. Second photo at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacylouwho/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

Tags: Big Island, Hawaiian language, Hawaiian word of the day, Hawaiʻi Aloha, Hawaiʻi Island, hula, Kawaikapuokalani Hewett, one, one hānau, one ʻā, Puna, Puʻu Onioni, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi

Today’s Hawaiian word of the day is waiūpa‘a, or cheese.

Admittedly, waiūpa‘a is not one of the first culinary words to pop in my head when I’m thinking in Hawaiian. The usual words are poke, ‘uala, or ‘awa. But waiūpa‘a became part of my vocabulary by a happy surprise when visiting Whole Foods Kāhala a few months ago. Though Hawaiian is an official language of Hawai‘i, public visual displays remain few, place and street signs asides.

So when I actually was headed into cheese section, my eye was drawn to the signage displayed beneath selections of brie, tallegio, and manchego signs, all of them annoucning “Waiūpa‘a”, complete with obligatory macron and glottal stops. It was the first time I could remember any supermarket signage being in Hawaiian. This may seems small to some, but I took it as an immediately good hō‘ailona, or sign, that our language is well on its way into the 21^st century. Just as any look at the Hawaiian newspaper archives will demonstrate, ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i was successfully used to discuss a whole, worldly array of people, places and things.

Tags: Hawaiian language, Hawaiian word ofthe day, Whole Foods, ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi