Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 10, 1 December 1984 — Hawaiian Proverbs 'Ride' wiih Buses [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian Proverbs 'Ride' wiih Buses

Honolulu bus riders are being exposed to the beauty, wit and wisdom of the Hawaiian language thanks to a cooperative effort by the Bishop Museum, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the city's Department of Transportation Services. Eaeh of thecity's450 buses now display an illustrated poster of an Hawaiian proverb. The six poster designs produced by the project were unveiled last month during a news conference held aboard a city bus at the Alapai Street Bus Yard by Museum Director Dr. W. Donald Duckworth, Transportation Services Director Bill Bonnet, and OHA Trustees Piilani Desha, Thomas Kaulukukui and Moses Keale. The proverbs and accompanying illustrations by popular Big lsland artist Dietrich Varez are from "'Olelo No'eau; Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings" by Mary Kawena Pukui. The book was published last fall by the Bishop Museum Press with assistance from OHA. "The proverbs." said museum director Duckworth, "are extraordinary reflections of the beauty, wit and wisdom of the Hawaiian people, and the city buses offer us a perfect means of exposing a wide range of people. residents and visitors alike, to the Hawaiian language." Bonnet said the city is pro\iding the advertising space as a puhlie ser\ice. Six different posters have been printed. he said, and the Department of Transportation Services will change the designs quarterly. The proverbs deal with work, love, and even what Trustee Keale calls "a use"ful Hawaiian insult." It is hoped that the sayings will help provide a more enjoyable en\ironment for bus riders while giving them an insight into the Hawaiian language and culture.