HONILIMA

E`ōpū ali`i

This is a little reminder that means it is important to remember to “Have the heart of a chief.” Be kind, generous, and even tempered like a chief.

Perhaps this is the ancient way of saying: Live Aloha.

He ali`ka `āina; he kauwā ke kanaka

The land is a chief; man is its servant.

This means that the land has little use for man, but man needs the land for sustenance and livelihood. This is an important reminder for modern man to remember just who is in charge–Nature.

Ho`okaāhi no laā o ka malihini 

in the spirit of cooperation and working together, this saying is to encourage a guest after a day to help out with the work with the rest.

Aloha kekahi i kekahi 

This is the Hawaiian way of saying “love one another”

Isn’t this an important message to carry in your heart every day to promote aloha?

Ho ̀okaāhi ka ̀`ilāu like ana  

is a Hawaiian saying that means: Wield the paddles together.

This is a proverb that encourages cooperation and working together in harmony as ancient paddlers have done for hundreds of years.

‘A`ohe hua o ka mai`a i ka lā ho’okaāhi  

means when a task is done together no task is too big…

this is another way of saying many hands make light work, an important lesson to remember.

Learning a few different Aloha greeting enhances your knowledge of the Hawaiian language and keeps the language alive each time it is used. Won’t you spend a few minutes today to try these greetings and share them with friend and family?

Aloha Kakahiaka Good morning
Aloha Awakea Good Day
Aloha Ahiaha Good Evening
Aloha a Hui Hou Goodbye Until we Meet Again

Learning Hawaiian words keeps the language alive, take a moment today to learn a new Hawaiian word or expression and share it with a child. This is a fun family activity and will keep the language in motion and alive.

Laulima means “many hands” and is an expression in Hawaiian that was known to mean to collaborate or work together cooperatively. Laulima made daily tasks more enjoyable and easier than to do them alone with a struggle. Children often helped with the family tasks and people worked together to fish, cultivate, and build. White people use the expression “Many hands make light work” but the Hawaiian word for this is laulima.

Kona Sunday Fisherman

It’s always fun to learn new Hawaiian words and it is important to keep the language alive and remembered:

Ke kanaka lawai’a this means “the person who fishes.” This was one of the major pastimes of early Hawaiians who depended on the oceans for their protein. Fishing was and is still an important part of Hawaiian culture.