'Enuhe

Caterpillar

One of my favorite children's books is The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or as it was translated in my Hawaiian immersion classroom, ʻO Ka ʻEnuhe Pōloli Loa, by Eric Carle. 

There is a native ʻenuhe, a carnivorous caterpillar, as a matter of fact (Eupithecia spp). This is quite unusual as nearly all caterpillars are leaf eaters but our local, native ʻenuhe is a predator.

There is a wahi pana, or place name, in Hawaiʻi with the word ʻenuhe in it:  Puʻuʻenuhe (caterpillar hill) is located in Kaʻū on Hawaiʻi Island.  Legend says that a legendary ʻenuhe, named Kumuhea, married a girl living in the area and would only visit her at night and in human form. Eventually, he was cut up into small pieces and each piece became little ʻenuhe.

ʻEnuhe eventually morph into pulelehua but that is a momi for another day.

He hamuiʻa ka ʻenuhe ʻōiwi - the native caterpillar is carnivorous.

ʻAʻole au makemake i ka ʻenuhe ma kaʻu sāleta - I do not like caterpillars in my salad.

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And leave your own ʻenuhe sentences by clicking on the comment link.

Papa Hoe

Paddle board

I love how languages grow and change and evolve. Hawaiian is no exception. When new words pop up in the English language, a Hawaiian word has to be developed. Hawaiians have been doing this since the arrival of Captain Cook!  And when the Hawaiian language immersion schools first started, WHOA, tons of words had to be developed. 

So today I have developed a word for paddle board. I have no idea if someone already came up with one. But why the heck not :-) It makes sense, I've done it before, and people will have no trouble figuring out what I (or you for that matter) are referring to when it is heard.

So try it out. Papa hoe - paddle board. 

He papa hoe kēia - This is a paddle board.

ʻO kēia ka hoe papa hoe - This is a paddle board paddle.

Pono e kū ma luna o ka papa hoe - You have to stand on the paddle board.

If you know of a different word being used for this new sport, let us all know!

pūʻao

womb

I have several friends who have a pēpē (baby) in their pūʻao. Sometimes we refer to our pēpē as being in our ʻōpū (stomach) but pūʻao is the "official" word for womb.

I just want to take this opportunity to wish all of them a safe and healthy labor and hānau!

E hoʻoulu lāhui! Increase the nation!

hua ʻai

fruit or seed

Oh I love hua ʻai. The first thing I like to do in the morning (after my cup of coffee) is to make a hua ʻai smoothie. And two of my favorite hua ʻai are in season right now: manakō (mango) and laikī (lychee) (neither of which I have ready access to so if you do, LET ME KNOW!).

The word hua actually refers to a bunch of things, like fruit, seed, ovum, grain, tuber. The ʻai following hua means edible. So hua ʻai literally means edible fruit or seed. I guess that is to distinguish hua ʻai from other tubers and fruits and seed that are not edible.

ʻOno au i ka hua ʻai - I am ʻono for fruit.
ʻO ka manakō kaʻu hua ʻai punahele - Mango is my favorite fruit.
He aha kāu hua ʻai punahele? - What is your favorite fruit?

Write your response below under "comments".

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MAHALO!

Poʻo

n. Head, summit, head or director of an organization, executive, principal; end, as of a rope, leaf, pole, cane, kōnane board; head of a penis or boil; headline, heading, title; father.

That is a lot! Mainly, poʻo refers to head as that which sits on your neck or head, as well as in that who "heads" your office/organization/business.

In the hālau hula (hula school), poʻo is used to refer to the poʻo puaʻa (literally the pig head), the number one person who assists the kumu, a position of high esteem. The poʻo is also the top of the ipu heke (the double gourd) and as such is considered sacred, much like the poʻo of a person. That is why it drives me CRAZY when I see kumu hula (say, at Merrie Monarch) hitting their ipu heke on the poʻo. Auē. Now I understand as much as the next person that ʻaʻole pau ka ʻike i ka hālau hoʻokahi, not all knowledge is found in one school, so some hālau do not have this same belief but still, it pains me to see it done. Same way it pains me when some hālau flash the piko of the ipu (the bottom part) out to the audience, very blatantly.

ʻO wai ke poʻo o kēia keʻena? - Who is the head of this office?

ʻEha kuʻu poʻo - My head is sore.
ʻO Kāhealani ke poʻo kumu o ke kula - Kāhealani is the principal (teacher head) of the school.

Mākaukau

nvs. Able, competent, capable, handy, efficient, proficient, versed, adept, skilled, expert, qualified; prepared, ready; competence, proficiency, efficiency, aptitude, preparation; to know how, to know well. 

This is a familiar word to many. Most often heard in days gone by during hula practices or performances, as I recall. The kumu would yell out, "Mākaukau". And the dancers would reply, "ʻAe". Sometimes one would hear, "Hoʻomākaukau". Remember the hoʻo-? Get ready! Literally "to cause readiness".

If someone is mākaukau in a sport or profession they are really good at it. What are you mākaukau at doing? I know there is something! Let me know in the comment section below. Here is mine:

Mākaukau au i ka huakaʻi hele - I am proficient at traveling.

ʻAʻole au mākaukau i ka ʻūlū paiki - I am not adept at packing suitcases.

Wela

nvt. Hot, burned; heat, temperature.

It has been a wela summer! HOTNESS! Whew! So learn this word, if it is new to you. You can look straight into the next Hawaiian's eyes and say "WELA" and hopefully they will get the gist of your word.

Wela also refers to another kind of heat and that is the heat of passion and lust. You know what I am talking about, right? Yeah. That's a wela of a different sort. That's a wela that is wela even in the dead of winter.

Wela ka hao - The iron is hot (as in strike while the iron is hot...DO IT NOW!)
Wela kēia lā - Today is hot