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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
 Posted - 02/21/2008 : 11:12:29 AM
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First of all, this is merely a question looking for clairity and nothing more. I hope no one here is offended or feels single out because of the question.
I was born and raisd in Hawaii, have a hapa Hawaiian sister living in Hawaii on homestead land. My sisters middle name was given to her by her Hawaiian Tutu (grandmother).
My question is, are Hawaiian names voluntarily given as an honor by Hawaiian mother/grandmother (tutu) or is it even more simple than that.
Is it only proper to accept a name that was given unsolicited by tutu? Is it proper for a haole to have one at all?
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Bob |
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Hula Rider
Lokahi
USA
215 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 12:40:48 PM
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Aloha kakou,
First, this is only my own opinion, and based on my own family's practice. Other families each have their own traditions.
For our family, Hawaiian names are generally given by the head of the `ohana. Usually this would be a grandparent. In my own case, since I was born on the Mainland, and my father would have had to go to the telegraph office and wait for a reply from his parents to name me, he named me himself. My grandparents later approved the name. In some families there is one person who has a gift for giving names, so the duty falls to that person.
Names can grow and evolve with the person. Many people acquire names because of a physical characteristic or a talent. I know one "Pohaku" who got the name because of his skill at building rock walls. I know another "Pohaku" who got the name because he is SO hard-headed!
As one kupuna told me, "Just picking a name out of the air" is not usually appropriate. It should be something meaningful and related to the person.
A lot of Hawaiians have American, English, and other kinds of names. I don't see a problem with a haole having a Hawaiian name. :-)
Some names, however, are considered proprietary to certain families. If choosing a name that already belongs to someone else, one should be sure to have permission. Some names are pretty common, especially floral names, and Hawaiianizations of American names, so unless one is specifically naming after an individual there should be no problem.
"Haole Boy" is, to me, a cute name. I have known both haole and Hawaiians who went by that.
Malama pono,
Leilehua |
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Mark
Ha`aha`a
USA
1628 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 2:29:37 PM
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Some years back Auntie Nona Beamer gave me the name "Kailana," and, at the suggestion of her hanai son Kaliko, named my wife Annie "Lanamalie." We were certainly touched, particularly by the way the two names resonate together.
I was shy about using my new name, as I did not want to appear to be something I am not. That changed when a Hawaiian friend told me that using the name would be honoring the giver. That's why I use it on all my recordings and books now, and when I sign things for the Aloha Camp.
I'm still shy about introducing myself as "Kailana," though. If someone wants to address me that way, I'm good with it.
Auntie Nona has given many names at the Aloha Camps to special people who have in some way touched her heart. It is a nice way to share the aloha, isn't it?
I don't really have a say in whether or not it is appropriate for someone to give him/her self a Hawaiian name. I'd be surprised if anyone finds it offensive-- but then, I suppose it would depend on who took the name, and how they are representing it.
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Edited by - Mark on 02/23/2008 2:36:59 PM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 5:21:28 PM
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I think I had read somewhere that back in the olden days the name was not given until after the child's first birthday. I had also read that a sign would be given to the person in charge of naming the baby, either a sign from the family aumakua, in a dream or divine revelation. Waiting that one year permitted the child to develop a personality and pretty much ensured health for the child if it could survive a year. Is that why baby lu`au are so important? I read that a person in the family who was in charge of giving names ensured great mana for the child, as the naming imparted strength, wisdom and spiritual power. Then, there were nicknames, such as Menpachi for someone with big, wide eyes. Kinda like Shorty or Red, I guess.
I am very interested in surnames, since they were not normally used in Hawaiian culture until a law was passed in the latter part of the 1800's requiring an English first name and a surname established by the father's line of the family. How were surnames decided on -- named after places or physical traits or lineal heritage similar to Johnson or Williamson, etc.? |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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ypochris
Lokahi
USA
398 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2008 : 5:44:11 PM
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My understanding is that the practice of naming children after their first birthday came about after Cook introduced diseases that wiped out over half the population in a year. Survival rates for children over the next several generations was so low that it was unwise to become attached- thus no name for a year and a big celebration if they survived that long; survival rates for children over a year old were still terrible but much greater than for an infant.
It wasn't until Kalakaua's clever idea of bringing in compatable races to "strengthen" Hawaiian blood came to fruition (he preferred the Japanese, and sugar interests were willing collaborators in his efforts) that infant mortality was brought to a more reasonable level and the survival of the race was assured. By that time the number of Hawaiians had dropped from perhaps 1.2 million to 35,000. The practice of not naming children for a year was dropped, but the celebration of surviving the first year has continued to this day.
Chris
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hapakid
Luna Ho`omalu
USA
1533 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 08:27:24 AM
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My grandmother named me and my siblings Kalani, Kainui and Auli'i. But she wasn't very versed in Hawaiian language and was also part Chinese, so the three of us also have other middle names like Chin Yin and Wing Yin. The names she gave us are simple and not really indicative of anything meaningful, except for Auli'i, a greatgrandmother's name. When my two boys came along, my mother suggested Kaimanu, as a play on my name, Kainui. I went for it even though it's intended meaning, Seabird, is probably grammatically correct as "manu kai". The second one came along and she suggested Kaimana, diamond, for its resemblence to Kaimanu, but I didn't really want a transliteration of an English word so I overruled her and chose a grandfather's name, Kahale, which is a very common Hawaiian name.
I would guess that outside the intact Hawaiian family structure that the giving of names is a hodgepodge like ours was.
Jesse Tinsley |
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KäneKïHö`alu
Akahai
64 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2008 : 8:59:50 PM
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In my family, Hawaiian names are given by the head, like Leilehua said. But that doesn't mean that makua can't give their keiki a Hawaiian name, too. I know people with two Hawaiian middle names. I also agree with Leilehua about the haole/Hawaiian name thing. A lot of Hawaiians have foreign names, I'm one  , so I don't see a problem with a haole having a Hawaiian name. After all, it is the most beautiful language on earth 
Wikipedia was an article about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_name I don't know how accurate it is, but it references Mary Kawena Pukui. |
E mālama pono a e hoʻomaha ma ka maluhia o ke Akua,
Matt |
Edited by - KäneKïHö`alu on 02/25/2008 07:21:27 AM |
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Puna
Lokahi
USA
227 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 08:59:18 AM
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In some cases, a kumu 'gifts' a Hawaiian name to a student. It is my understanding that Kaliko was named this way. In my case, my Hawaiian name was given as part of the 'uniki after three years of study in the lomi halau.
Like Mark, I am 'shy' when using my Hawaiian name - I try to quickly decide if it feels appropriate, depending on how the person I am with may react to the name. And, my name (Puna) is a shortened version of the whole name - almost a nickname.
My kumu stressed at great length that there is a huge kuleana to accepting a name - Hawaiian or otherwise. By accepting a new name, you are honoring the giver and also those who shaped the giver - their kumus. You also have a kuleana to others in your halau, or others that have been named by the person who gave you your name.
To me, this kuleana makes sense. If you were named by your parents, the kuleana (both ways) is obvious. A kumu hula or other halau usually give names after several years of study by the haumana.
And in Auntie Nona's case, Kaliko summed it up when Mark and Annie were named: "Auntie has the mana." |
Puna |
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ArtSap
Lokahi
USA
267 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 12:19:34 PM
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| I too was given my Hawaiian name, Hoku Kauopae, by a kumu hula in a halau naming ceremony in which she presents individuals with names she feels best described their personality. But this only occurred after she felt that you had accomplished something within the halau to warrant a Hawaiian name. Surprisingly, she also gave my daughter, who was only 4 months old at the time, a Hawaiian name as well, Hokukomohana. My name loosely translated is "evening star" and my daughter's is "morning star"... |
Art
SF Bay Area, CA / Mililani, HI
"The real music comes from within you - not from the instrument" |
Edited by - ArtSap on 02/25/2008 12:27:56 PM |
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hawaiianmusiclover06
`Olu`olu
USA
562 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2008 : 1:19:03 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by ArtSap
I too was given my Hawaiian name, Hoku Kauopae, by a kumu hula in a halau naming ceremony in which she presents individuals with names she feels best described their personality. But this only occurred after she felt that you had accomplished something within the halau to warrant a Hawaiian name. Surprisingly, she also gave my daughter, who was only 4 months old at the time, a Hawaiian name as well, Hokukomohana. My name loosely translated is "evening star" and my daughter's is "morning star"...
Aloha Art! I like your given Hawaiian name Hoku Kauopae. Shall I start calling you Hoku Kauopae? lol. My english name is also my Hawaiian name which I use. Alana and the meaning of it means "To rise up or to awaken." It matches me.
Alana :) |
Aloha Kakou, maluhia a me aloha mau loa (Hello everyone, peace and love forever) |
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ArtSap
Lokahi
USA
267 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2008 : 09:23:15 AM
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| 'Eh, howzit Alana! Long time no talk to. Like some of the others, I'm not quite accustomed to being called Hoku except by that particular kumu and her halau. But you can call me anything you like, just don't call me late for kau kau... |
Art
SF Bay Area, CA / Mililani, HI
"The real music comes from within you - not from the instrument" |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2008 : 09:30:43 AM
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quote:
But you can call me anything you like,
ALRIGHT! YOU ASKED FOR IT!!!
then I will call you...
..."the best Hawaiian-Style bass player in the Bay Area"
HA! TAKE THAT!
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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ArtSap
Lokahi
USA
267 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2008 : 09:47:28 AM
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| Mahalo plenty foh dat Braddah Lawrence but so undeserving. It's the musicians that I have the honor and pleasure of playing with, that make me sound good. I jus da bass playa brah... |
Art
SF Bay Area, CA / Mililani, HI
"The real music comes from within you - not from the instrument" |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 02/26/2008 : 10:38:29 AM
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Now you see what kind of trouble you get into if you let people call you anything!
P.S: how do you translate "I jus da bass playa brah..." from Pidgin to a Hawaiian middle name (a challenge for the listeners... Heh.. Heh...)
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Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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