www.whyville.net Mar 27, 2004 Weekly Issue



kalei
Guest Writer

Hawaiian Sayings

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Hi everyone, this is kalei. Since I live in Hawaii, I wanted to share some of our sayings with you. They might not be used too much anymore, but they can still help.

Hawaiian sayings are called 'olelo no'eau (I'm sorry I cant put in all the proper punctuation). I will list the saying in Hawaiian then its translation and meaning.

He la koa, he la he'e
A day to be brave, a day to flee
In life there is triumph and defeat

Hemahema no ka 'iole, mikimiki ka 'owau
When the rat is careless the cat comes around
Be on guard

He maunu 'eka'eka; papa'i ka i'ae ho'i ai
With foul bait one can only catch crabs
Poor output makes poor income

He ola na ka 'oiwi, lawe a'e no a 'ai ha'aheo
When one has earned his own livelihood he can take his food and eat it with pride

He 'olina leo ka ke aloha
Joyousness is in the voice of love
Love speaks in a gentle and joyous voice, not in harshness or gruffness

He palupalu na hewa li'ili'i I ka wa kolo , lolelua I ka wa kamali'i, loli 'ole I ka wa 'o'o 'oni pa'a I ka wa 'elemakule
Small sins are weak in the creeping stage, changeable in childhood, unchanging in adulthood, and firmly fixed in age.
Bad habits can be changed in the early stages, but eventually they become firmly implanted.

I got these sayings from a book called 'Olelo No'eau by Mary Kawena Pukui.

 

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