American Aloha

Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings

1. 'A'ohe pau ka 'ike i ka halau ho'okahi.
   All knowledge is not taught in the same school.
   (One can learn from many sources.)
2. Kuhi no ka lima, hele no ka maka.
   Where the hands move, there let the eyes follow.
   (A rule in hula.)
3. I le'a ka hula i ka ho'opa'a.
   The hula is pleasing because of the drummer.
   (The lesser details that one pays little attention to are just as important as the major ones. Although the attention is given to the dancer, the drummer and chanter play an important role in the dance.
4. 'A'a i ka hula, waiho ka hilahila i ka hale.
   When one wants to dance the hula, bashfulness should be left at home.
5. Pa'a ka waha, nana ka maka; hana ka lima.
   Shut the mouth; observe with the eyes; work with the hands.
   (One learns by listening, observing and doing.)
6. Mai pa'a i ka leo, he 'ole ka hea mai.
   Do not withhold the voice and not call out [a welcome].
   (From a password chant -- mele kahea -- used in hula schools. It was often used by one who would like a friendly invitation to come into another's home.)
7. 'Eli'eli kau mai e Pele e!
   A profound reverence, o Pele!
   (A refrain from hula chant "Holo Mai Pele," a mele inoa name chant for Hi'iaka)
8. 8. E ho'oulu mai ana 'o Laka i kona mau kahu, 'o makou no a.
   Laka inspires her devotees -- us.
   (Line from a prayer chant to Laka, goddess of hula)
9. 9. 'I ulu no ka lala i ke kumu.
   The branches grow because of the trunk.
   (Without our ancestors we would not be here.)

Hula proverbs drawn from Mary Kawena Pukui, 'Olelo No'eau: Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings (Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press, 1983).