Kamakawi Word of the Day

pela

• (n.) sibling

Ipe ioku pela oi’i!
“That is not my sibling!”

Notes: Today’s word means “sibling” in the technical sense. It’s just a basic word, but it feels much more formal, nowadays. As a result it’s generally only used when one sibling is mad at the other (e.g. “He may be my sibling, but he is not my brother!”). The iku is built off of pe, and it has the little la spearhead coming off of the little stick down at the top.

powi

• (n.) music

Oku hala’i ei io powi tou oku.
“I can’t live without music.”

Notes: The Kamakawi word for “music” is an homage to the greatest musician of the 20th century: David Bowie. (That’s right: I’m saying it! If anyone comments, “But what about Elvis?”, so help me…)

The iku for “music” gives a clue as to the real derivation of the word—that is, it’s onomatopoeic. The concept derives from drumming, as the beat is the backbone of all music. I kind of think of it as the spine, and the rest of the instrumentation branches off from the spine (and from those bones the muscles, the tissue, etc.).

Oh, and by the way, today is David Bowie’s birthday. He’s now 65, which means that 66 is the new old: if you’re 65 or younger, you’re now young. And so it shall go from here on out!

lope

• (n.) hibiscus arnottianus

A male owa ei i lope i malalele
“I will plant hibiscus in my garden.”

Notes: This particular flower refers to what in Hawaiian is called koki‘o ke‘oke‘o. It’s a white flower which, in typical hibiscus fashion, has a little spout coming out the middle. It’s a gorgeous flower, and it brightens up any garden. For some reason, hibiscuses (hibisci…?) always relax me. They remind me of being in Hawai‘i. As does this particular brand of sunscreen. I should stock up on that…

lume

• (v.) to eat leftovers, to eat scraps
• (v.) to be cheap with respect to food
• (n.) one who eats leftovers habitually

I elea i Kilume!
“Welcome to Leftovers Day!”

Notes: Ahhh…yes. Today is the day. Today I stop eating food I prepare, and start eating food I reheat that others prepared yesterday. HOOOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAY!

The nice thing about Christmas is that I get prime rib at one Christmas gathering, and ham at another. The great thing about this year’s Christmas? I got prime rib at both gatherings. That is a major win.

I’ve had this word for quite some time, and really like it. I think it deserves its own lexeme in every language. And you know what? I’m proud to be a lume. I’ll takes whatever I can gets!

mono

• (n.) canoe
• (v.) to go by canoe

A male mono ei poiu a…
“And now I’m going to canoe away…”

Notes: Something like, “And now I’m taking my ball and going home.” It’s the first week of the fantasy football playoffs, and I’m not in them. I finished with a 7-7 record, behind even the terrible division winner who finished with an 8-6 record. Total bummer. On the other hand, in my friend’s league, which I’ve been helping out in, we finished with a 12-1-1 record and got a bye in the first round in a three tier playoff system. We’ve been relying on the Jets’ defense, but picked up the Broncos’ D at the last minute, so I think we should be good.

Today’s iku is another that’s based off mo, which is one of my favorites. All the iku based off mo turned out to be pretty good, in my opinion (that one and nu). And to me, it kind of looks like a canoe (or somehow the triangle reminds me of rowing a canoe). If I ever have a canoe, I’ll probably paint this on there. Or on an oar. Maybe both…

i’avava

• (n.) feast
• (v.) to have a feast

I’avava uia eyana!
“Have a good feast!”

Notes: Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone who’s having Thanksgiving! I’m enjoying a great one today. If you’re not celebrating Thanksgiving, then have a splendid non-holiday! Hopefully you eat something nice today.

taketuli

• (n.) girlfriend

Iko i taketuli oi’i.
“This is my girlfriend.”

Notes: The counterpart to yesterday’s word is today’s word for “girlfriend”. I like this word. It’s kind of funky, kind of bouncy. I think it’s just right.

takevotu

• (n.) boyfriend

Ai takevotu oi’ia i emi ai?
“And who’s your boyfriend?”

Notes: The past couple words have been fotu and tuli: words for “husband” and “wife”, respectively, that don’t enjoy much regular use. Today’s word does, though.

This is the basic word for “boyfriend” and it means, literally, something like “pretend husband” or “practice husband” or maybe even “trial husband”. And that’s how the Kamakawi see it. The “dating” or “courtship” phase is trying people out: Seeing how they might fit as a spouse, and, at the same time, learning how to be a spouse, in a non-permanent, non-binding way.

Incidentally, in Kamakawi it’s bad luck to marry your first ever boyfriend or girlfriend. It happens, certainly (what society is uniform?), but it’s regarded with suspicion (perhaps something like a Hollywood marriage, where everyone wonders when it will end). The idea is that your first sees you before you’re ready—before you become who you’re going to become—and general consensus is that such marriages can never last.

fotu

• (n.) husband (formal term)

Ea, ipe i fotu oi’i.
“Yes, that’s my husband.”

Notes: Pretty sure I’ve heard my wife say that once or twice.

Today’s word is a counterpart to yesterday’s word tuli, which means “wife”. The common word for “husband” is hopoko, the word for “man”. This one only shows up in formal situations (or when one is mad with the other).

The iku for fotu is based on the iku for hopoko, but it has a line above it like the iku for ei, which means “I”. That line used to have more of a function in the olden days; now it shows up in just a few iku. This is one of them.

tuli

• (n.) wife (formal term)

Eli ei i ia, he tuli oi’i!
“I love you, O wife of mine!”

Notes: In Kamakawi, the common word for “wife” is simply eine, the word for “woman”. There is, however, an older, traditional term that’s used in formal situations (or, perhaps, defensively), and that’s tuli. It’s counterpart is fotu, which we’ll see tomorrow.