Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [497]
ki’i – see tiki
kilau – a stiff, weedy fern
kipuka – an area of land spared when lava flows around it; an oasis
ko – sugarcane
ko’a – fishing shrine
koa – native hardwood tree often used in making native crafts and canoes
kohola – whale
koki’o ke’oke’o – native Hawaiian white hibiscus tree
kokua – help, cooperation
kona – leeward side; a leeward wind
konane – a strategy game similar to checkers
ko’olau – windward side
Ku – Polynesian god of many manifestations, including god of war, farming and fishing (husband of Hina)
kukui – candlenut tree and the official state tree; its oily nuts were once burned in lamps
Kumulipo – Native Hawaiian creation story or chant
kupuna – grandparent, elder
ku’ula – a stone idol placed at fishing sites, believed to attract fish
Laka – goddess of the hula
lama – native plant in the persimmon family
lanai – veranda; balcony
lau – leaf
lauhala – leaves of the hala plant, used in weaving
lei – garland, usually of flowers, but also of leaves or shells
limu – seaweed
lio – horse
loko i’a – fishpond
lolo – stupid, feeble-minded, crazy
lomi – to rub or soften
lomilomi – traditional Hawaiian massage; known as ‘loving touch’
Lono – Polynesian god of harvest, agriculture, fertility and peace
loulu – native fan palms
luakini – a type of heiau dedicated to the war god Ku and often used for human sacrifices
luau – traditional Hawaiian feast
mahalo – thank you
mahele – to divide; usually refers to the sugar industry – initiated land divisions of 1848
mahimahi – white-fleshed dolphinfish or dorado; not related to the mammal dolphin
mai ho’oka’awale – leprosy (Hansen’s disease); literally, ‘the separating sickness’
mai’a – banana
maile – native plant with twining habit and fragrant leaves; often used for lei
maka’ainana – commoners; literally, ‘people who tend the land’
makaha – a sluice gate, used to regulate the level of water in a fishpond
makahiki – traditional annual wet-season festival dedicated to the agricultural god Lono
makai – toward the sea; seaward
malihini – newcomer, visitor
malo – loincloth
mamane – a native tree with bright yellow flowers; used to make lei
mana – spiritual power
manini – convict tang (a reef fish); also refers to something small or insignificant
mauka – toward the mountains; inland
mele – song, chant
menehune – ‘little people’ who, according to legend, built many of Hawaii’s fishponds, heiau and other stonework
milo – a native shade tree with beautiful hardwood
mokihana – an endemic tree or shrub, with scented green berries; used to make lei
moi – threadfish; reserved for royalty in ancient times
mo’i – king
mo’o – water spirit, lizard, reptile or dragon
mu – a ‘body catcher’ who secured sacrificial victims for the heiau altar
muumuu – a long, loose-fitting dress introduced by the missionaries
naupaka – native Hawaiian shrub with a five-petaled white flower
Neighbor Islands – the term used to refer to the main Hawaiian Islands outside of O’ahu
nene – a native goose; Hawaii’s state bird
nisei – second-generation Japanese immigrants
niu – coconut
noni – Indian mulberry; a small tree with yellow, smelly fruit that is used medicinally
nuku pu’u – a native honeycreeper with a yellow-green underbelly
ogo – Japanese word for a crunchy, edible type of seaweed
’ohana – family, extended family; close-knit group
’ohi’a lehua – native Hawaiian tree with tufted, feathery, pom-pomlike flowers
’okole – buttocks
olo – a primitive longboard that weighed almost 100lb
ono – white-fleshed wahoo
’ono – delicious
pahoehoe – type of lava that is quick and smooth-flowing
pakalolo – marijuana; literally, ‘crazy smoke’
palaka – Hawaiian-style plaid shirt made from sturdy cotton
pali – cliff
palila– endangered honeycreeper found only on Mauna Kea, Hawai’i the Big Island
paniolo – Hawaiian cowboy
pau – finished, no more
pau hana – happy hour
Pele – goddess of fire, lightning, dance, volcanoes and violence; her home is in Kilauea Caldera
pidgin – distinct local language and dialect, influenced