Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 30, Number 7, 1 July 2013 — ʻIKE I KA WAI KŪLIʻU [ARTICLE]

ʻIKE I KA WAI KŪLIʻU

LOOKING DEEPER INTO THE MEANING 0F COLORS

By Keoni Kelekolio Aloha e nā makamaka heluhelu o Ka Wai Ola ē. Ma ka hlmeni 'ana i ke mele waiho'olu'u nō paha i pa'a ai i kā kākou po'e keiki nā hua'ōlelo waiho'olu'u. Ua laha nō ia mele i waena o nā lumi papa 'ōlelo Hawai'i a me nā papahana ho'ona'auao mo'omeheu Hawai'i kekahi. Maika'ika 'apo 'anaonākamali'i i ia mau hua'ōlelo, eia nō na'e, maika'i ke pa'a pū he kuana'ike Hawai'i no nā waiho'olu'u, i mōakāka nā mana'o Hawai'i o nā waiho'olu'u, a 'a'ole e waiho 'ia na ke klwl a me ke kamepiula e a'o i kā kākou mau keiki. No ka po'e hoihoi i kēia kumu-

hana 'o nā waiho'olu'u, eia ma lalo he wahi māhele o ka mo 'olelo 'o He Mo'olelo Ka'ao No Kekūhaupi'o, na Stephen Desha. Aia ma loko o ua mo'olelo nei he ha'awina i pili i nā 'ili'ili ke'oke'o a 'ele'ele ma ka hana ho'oka'a kaua. Ma ke kaua 'o Moku'ōhai i lawe pio 'ia ai 'o Keawemauhili, he ali'i no Hilo. Mahuka 'o ia, a ho'i akula nō i kona 'āina. Kokoi mai ana nā ali'i iā Kamehameha e ki'i kaua iā Keawemauhili, penei kā Desha i kākau ai: "Ma muli o kēia koi mau o nā ali'i ma ka 'ao'ao o Kamehameha e ki'i kaua iā Keawemauhili, ua ho'omākaukau koke ihola 'o Kamehameha i kekahi mau pōhaku 'elua, 'o ia ho'i he pōhaku ke'oke'o, a he pōhaku 'ele'ele ho'i, a wahī a'ela i loko o ke kapa pa'ūpa'ū, a ho'ouna

akula i kēlā wahī pōhaku i mua o ke Ali'i 'Ai Kalana Keawemauhili. I ka hō'ea 'ana aku o ka 'elele i ho'ouna 'ia aku me kēlā mau wahī pōhaku, a loa'a kēlā ma ka lima o Keawemauhili, a i kona wehe 'ana a'e i kēlā mau wahī pōhaku, ua 'ike ihola 'o ia i ka ukana o loko a 'o ka manawa nō ia i halo'ilo'i a'e ai nā waimaka ma ka maka o Keawemauhili, a hiolo maila ia mau waimaka, 'oiai, ua 'ike ihola 'o ia i ka mana'o o kēlā mau wahī pōhaku, 'o ia nō ke ake kaua aku o ke Ali'i Kamehameha iā ia." Ma kēia māhele o ka mo'olelo ma luna, wehewehe 'ia ka hana a Kamehameha me ka hu'e 'ana i ka mana'o o Keawemauhili i ke kaua mai paha 'a'ole paha. 'O nā pōhaku 'elua kekahi mea hoihoi, 'oiai, he 'ele'ele kekahi a he ke'oke'o kekahi a'e. Wehewehe 'o Desha i ka mana'o o ka pōhaku ke'oke'o, 'o ia ka noho maluhia a kaua 'ole. 'O ka pōhaku 'ele'ele, wahi āna, "he hō'ailona ho'i o ka mana'o 'ele'ele ma waena o lāua," 'o ia ho'i ke kaua. Ho'omau 'o Desha penei: "He aha lā ka mana'o o kēia ho'ouna 'ana aku i kēia mau pōhaku 'elua i mua o ke alo o Keawemauhili, a he mea pono paha i ka mea kākau mo'olelo e wehewehe pono aku i ka mana'o o ia hana a Kamehameha i ho'ouna ai i ka 'elele me kēlā mau wahī pōhaku 'elua. " 'O ke 'ano nō ia o ke kūkala kaua ma waena o kekahi mau ali'i 'elua. E ho'ouna 'ia ana kēlā mau pōhaku a i ka 'ike 'ana ho'i o ke ali'i i ho'ouna 'ia aku ai ua mau pōhaku nei, a laila, nāna nō e koho iho i ke 'ano o ka hana e pāna'i mai ai i ka mea nāna i ho'ouna aku kēlā mau pōhaku. Inā ua 'ae 'o ia i ke kaua ma waena ona me ke ali'i nāna i ho'ouna aku kēlā mau wahī pōhaku, a laila, e lawe 'o ia i ka pōhaku 'ele'ele a wahī hou nō ho'i i ke kapa 'ele'ele, a ho'iho'i mai i ke ali'i nāna i ho'ouna aku, a e hō'ike mai ana ma ia 'ano hana 'ana, ua kūkala 'ia ke kaua ma waena o lāua,

a he hō'ailona ho'i o ka mana'o 'ele'ele ma waena o lāua. 'O ka ne'e nō ia o ka ho'omākaukau kaua i mua, a inā ho'i e ho'iho'i mai kēlā ali'i i ka pōhaku ke'oke'o, a laila, e hō'ike mai ana i ke ke'oke'o o kona mana'o maika'i no ke ali'i i ho'ouna aku i kēlā mau wahī pōhaku, a e koi mai ana ho'i e noho aloha nō lāua me ka ho'āla 'ole i kekahi kaua ma waena o lāua." He mea hoihoi nō ho'i kēia no ka like o ua mau pōhaku lā me nā 'ili'ili o ka pā'ani kōnane. He pā'ani ho'oma'ama'a ka'akālai kaua ke kōnane, e ho'ohana ana i nā 'ili'ili 'ele'ele me ke'oke'o. He kūpono ho'i ke koho 'ana i ka 'ili'ili no kēia hana ka'a kaua, 'oiai he hō'ailona ia no ka ho'okūkū me ka hoa paio. He mea nui no kākou ka ho'opa'a 'ana i nā ha'awina i waiho 'ia mai e nā kūpuna. 'O ka maliu 'ana i ke a'o a me ka ho'ohana 'ana i ia 'ike, he kōkua no kākou, he mea alaka'i i kā kākou mau hana a me kā kākou koho. He mea e kūli'u ai ka 'ike i ka 'ele'ele me ke ke'oke'o.

SUMMARY IN ENGLISH

Greetings to all Ka Wai Ola readers. How many of us have taught our children the Hawaiian color terms by using the color song? You've heard it, right? It's eommon in Hawaiian language immersion classrooms and in many of our culture-based educational programs as well. One version borrows and adapts the melody of the alphabet song and goes like this: " 'Ula'ula, melemele, poni, uliuli, 'ele'ele, 'ākala, 'alani, ke'oke'o, 'āhinahina, 'ōma'oma'o, a me māku'e!" We do a good job at teaching this kind of vocabulary, but we should also provide our children with some Hawaiian cultural perspective on the meanings of colors and not leave it up to pop culture and social media to provide it for them. For those who are interested in looking further into the topic of colors, you might want to eheek out Stephen Desha's He Mo'olelo Ka'ao No Kekūhaupi'o, where we leam an interesting use of hlaek and white 'ili'ili (stones). Desha writes that after the battle of Moku'ōhai, Keawemauhili escapes his captors and flees to

Hilo. Kamehameha is urged by his eouneil of chiefs to wage war with Keawemauhili. Ultimately, Kamehameha agrees and prepares two 'ili'ili, one hlaek and one white, and wraps them in kapa. These 'ili'ili are taken to Keawemauhili. When the package arrives in the hands of Keawemauhili, he weeps because he understands the message behind the stones. At this point in the story, Desha stops the narrative and asks the reader rhetorically, What is the purpose of sending these two stones to Keawemauhili? He explains that in this context, the stones are a diplomatic precursor to war. The ali'i receiving the stones would choose ke'oke'o (white) or 'ele'ele (hlaek) and send the stone back. If hlaek, then it was an expression of the mana'o 'ele'ele (hlaek thought), or hostility, between the two ali'i. It meant that both sides choose to go to war. Returning the white 'ili'ili would reveal ke ke 'oke 'o o kona mana'o (the white thought), or goodwill, between the ali'i. It was an appeal that they should continue living peacefully, without starting a war. In this account, Keawemauhili returns the white 'ili'ili and chooses not to engage Kamehameha and his forces in war. The use of the 'ili'ili ean be seen as symbolic in a number of ways. In this case, the hlaek 'ili'ili represents war and hostility and the white, goodwill andpeace. There is also a likely connection to kōnane, a board game somewhat similar to checkers, where the playing pieces are hlaek and white 'ili'ili. It is said that ali'i would play kōnane to sharpen their skill at critical and strategic thinking. If so, it is fitting that ali'i would choose 'ili'ili as they ean also represent the eompetitive relationship of opponents in sport or in warfare. Relearning, interpreting and applying the ha'awina (lessons) ourkūpuna have left for us is important for our foundation as Hawaiians. That kind of 'ike (knowledge) ean benefit us by adding deeper meaning to our choices and actions. It ean open our eyes to see deeper into the hlaek and white. ■

Keoni Kelekolio is an editor specializing in Hawaiian language puhlications.

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