Hawaiian Names for our Cruisers

The Hawaiian language came from the Malayo-Polynesian language and other Polynesian dialects and was strictly an oral language till the outsiders (New England missionaries) arrived in the 1820’s. The 5 vowels a,e,i,o and u as well as the 8 consonants h,k,l,m,n,p, w and ' (which is called a glottal stop) make up the entire Hawaiian alphabet. In the Hawaiian language a consonant is always followed by a vowel which also means all Hawaiian words end in a vowel. Please note that the glottal stop is not used in phonetic name translations, just literal Hawaiian words.

As Karen and Buzz shared in their Cruise Introduction, names and words are more easily pronounced when they are broken down into single syllable chunks. So check out the name of Hawaii ’s state fish, humuhumunukunukuapua’a, and now try pronouncing it hu-mu-hu-mu-nu-ku-nu-ku-a-pu-a-a.  Was that hard? Now sounding it out phonetically will be easy-peasy, try it... who-moo-who-moo-new-coo-new-coo-ah-poo-ah-ah. Sometimes the letter W is pronounced the same as V as in the traditional pronunciation of Hawai'i which is phonetically pronounced huh-vi-ee rather than huh-why-ee. Now you can sound like a “local” instead of a tourist.

Stressed vowels

a - ah, as in car: aloha

e - a, as in may: nene

i - ee, as in bee: honi

o - oh, as in so: mahalo

u - oo, as in spoon: kapu

Unstressed vowels

a - a, as in about: ali`i

e - eh, as in met: kane

Traditionally Hawaiian name were given by an elder of the family to a child with a specific meaning. The family elder might have received a specific meaning through a dream or a family characteristic that the family would like for the child to represent or a certain distinguished characteristic the child was inherited with. As an example a female name Lani means Heavenly.

There are only 13 letters in the Hawaiian language as you read above. Therefore many of the names may sound similar and have phonetic translation based on the sounds the name makes when said with the Hawaiian alphabet and word structure.

The Hawaiian translations we are providing here are phonetic and have no literal meanings. This was given simply for fun and entertainment. 

Enjoy looking for your name below as the following are all of our cruisers in our group and their Hawaiian name as translated:

ALEX /ALEXANDRA  - “Alika” / “Alekaneka”

ANDRE - “Anakele”

ANDREA - “Anakalia”

ANGIE - “Anie”

BOB - “Lopaka”

BUZZ / CLIFFORD - “Puko” / “Kalipona”
CONNIE - "Kani"

CAROLE - “Kalola” 

DIANA “Kiana”

DEE DEE  “Ki Ki”

DUANE - “Kuane”

ELLIOTT - “Elioka”

FUMI/FUMIKO - “Pumi” /  “Pumiko”

GARY - “Kali”

HOLLY/HORACE - “Hali” /  “Koleka”

IRENE - “Ailina”

JAN - “Lana”  /  Kanike    

JIM - “Kimo”

JO MARY - “Lomalia”

KAREN - “Kalena”

LEE - “Li”

LIEN - “Lieni”

LINDA - “Linaka” 

MICHAEL / MIKE - “Mikale” / “Mikala”

NORM / NORMAN - Nolumu” / “ Nolemana”

PAT/PATRICIA - “Paka” / “Palika”

PEGGY - “Paki” 

REAGAN - “Lekana”

ROCKY - “Loluki”

ROGER - “Lokela”

ROSS - “Loke” / Keoni 

RUSSELL / RUSS - “Lukela” / “Luke”

SARA - “Kala”

SEAN - “Kana” 

STELLA - “Kela”

TED/ THEODORE  - “Keka” / “Keokola” 

WENDY / MARY - “Weniki” / “Malia”

Photo provided by maunalani.com 
Article information and Hawaiian Names adapted and provided by:

www.alohafriendsshop.com

"A Friend in the Islands", company owners: Mike and Kim Crinella  

Hawaii By Cruise Ship, 2nd edition by Anne Vipond

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS

Back in 1986, I had an opportunity to go to Hawaii to participate in a professional learning exchange program which was co-sponsored by my California Parks and Recreation Society and the Hawaii Recreation and Park Association. During this time, I was very fortunate to have met a number of professional colleagues who have now become lifetime friends. SInce this encounter, we all made a practice to meet up at our annual professional conference and whenever the conference was held in Southern California our group would take an additional 2-3 personal days and head to Ensenada as a tradition.

During these years of friendship, whenever my Hawaii friends would come into town I would coordinate our carpool to Ensenada (back in the days, rental cars were not allowed across the border) or we would meet up as they individually came into town. On the same note, when we headed to Hawaii we would also meet up with our Hawaii Friends and they would very generously host us with their warm Aloha Spirit...and though most of us are retired now. Our special friendship has still endured to this very day.

Some of you on this cruise have met my very special Hawaii Friends and had the opportunity to receive their gracious hospitality and aloha. One of those Hawaii Friends I speak of here is, Joan Yamanaka and she had shared this with me and I thought I would share it with you. In my experience this truly spotlights the beauty, grace and generosity of who the Hawaiian people are... during our visit to the islands, I hope you have an opportunity to experience the Aloha Spirit that has touched my heart through all these years. Enjoy! 

Aloha Nui Loa, Diana

There are friends..and then there are “Hawaiian Friends”

FRIENDS: Never ask for food

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Always bring food.

FRIENDS: Will say “Hello”.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss.

FRIENDS:Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Call your parents Uncle & Auntie

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Cry with you.

FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Will spend hours talking,laughing and just being together. Help clean-up when all pau (finished)!

FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS:Could write a book with direct quotes.

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that’s what the crowd is doing.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS:Will kick the whole crowd’s okoles (butts) that left you.

FRIENDS: Get mad when you don’t stay in contact.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Years could go by and you pick up like it was yesterday.

FRIENDS: Come and go.

HAWAIIAN FRIENDS: Are family

"Kika Kila" ...By JIM BERKSON

Ever since my youth, I enjoyed listening to music.  The rock and roll era had hit--Elvis, the Big Bopper, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Stones, the Beatles, and all those great motown groups.  And there was folk, big band, and jazz, of course.  But despite the popularity of mainstream music, I somehow bucked convention and gravitated toward that narrow little niche called country-western music. 

HEY JIM, WHERE ARE YOU GOING WITH THIS?  YOUR ASSIGNEMENT WAS TO WRITE A BLOG ABOUT OUR HAWAIIAN CRUISE YOU DUFUS!!  DO YOU HAVE A-D-D OR SOMETHING?  

OK, just hang with me a bit and it will come clear, I promise.  

As I matured (stop laughing, Jan!), I started listening more carefully to some of these country songs—you know, the ones about tractors and mama and cheatin’ and drinkin’ and jail.  And no matter how corny the lyrics or nasally the timbre of the singer’s voice, there was just something about these songs that grabbed me…a sound that was missing from all the other popular music of the day.

JIM, I’M WARNING YOU, YOU BETTER START FOCUSING ON HAWAII!!!

OK, OK.  It wasn’t until my first trip to Hawaii at the end of ’69 that I got my first real taste of Hawaiian music.  Wow, there was that sound again…the sound that I always enjoyed about country music was alive and well here in the islands!  Who knew?

Well, guess what I discovered?  That magic sound I kept hearing in country-western music had it’s roots in….drumroll please….Hawaii!!  Yep, way back in 1889 (or thereabouts) some Hawaiian yokel named Joseph Kekuku (that’s abbreviated, his full name would take an entire paragraph) dragged a piece of metal across the strings of his Spanish guitar.  Intrigued, he made further refinements at his school’s machine shop, turning out a steel bar to slide over the strings.  He also changed the strings from gut to steel and raised them so they wouldn’t hit the frets.  From that day forward, Hawaiian music would never be the same.  The Kika Kila, or steel guitar, had been born.  The sound of this instrument would change Hawaiian music forever, and would soon have a huge impact on American music as well. 

Hawaiian steel guitar started as an instrument laid across the player’s lap, hence the term “lap steel.”   The player slides the steel bar to a point directly above the fret markers while plucking the strings with picks attached to the fingers of his right hand. 

Over time the lap steel evolved to incorporate more strings and necks to support more tunings.  Then legs were added so that the heavier instrument could stand on its own.

In the 1930’s electrical amplification was incorporated.  That’s when “the sound” really came to life.  Hawaiian music went mainstream, becoming very popular on the mainland in the 1920’s and 30’s.  In fact, the sound of the steel guitar was prominent in the most popular program in radio history, “Hawaii Calls,” which broadcast from 1935 to 1975. 

In the US, hillbilly bands quickly embraced the new sound and developed a new music style called Western Swing.  In the early 1940’s and 50’s a few good ol’ country boys did some tinkering of their own, adding multiple foot pedals and knee levers to raise and lower the pitch of specific strings.  And this, friends, is how the “Pedal Steel Guitar” came about.  Whereas lap steel predominates in Hawaiian music, pedal steel is what gives country music that special “twang.” 

Today, both lap and pedal steel guitars come in a wide range of shapes and configurations.  Despite their differences, there is a commonality to them all—that unmistakable sound that uniquely flavors both Hawaiian and country-western music.

So there you have it.  The complete, albeit abbreviated, history of the Kika Kila--steel guitar--the Hawaiian invention that literally changed the sound of music.  I hope this brief intro will enrich your enjoyment of Hawaiian music as we cruise the islands in October. 

For examples of some artistic and creative steel guitar music, click on the following youtube links:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRyStdaFvYE  The Moment  (acoustic lap steel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdTa9MzgF6s  Sleepwalk  (amplified lap steel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnHL4R6bmOQ  Song of the Islands (quad neck "lap" steel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqmIKfL_VS4  Farewell Party (pedal steel)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awr4-uia1mI  What a Friend (pedal steel)