April 6th: Leho

Our Hawaiian word for today is leho for cowry shell. It is a very generic term for the cowry. Leho can be modified by adding other words to make the name specific for each of the many types of cowry, but leho will always work.

March 30th: Hōʻole

Hōʻole means to deny, refuse, reject, veto and many more things of that nature. That's what the legislature did when they refused to pass the bill you wanted passed — hōʻole.

March 23rd: Puana

For the caller who wanted to know what puana meant, as in the line so commonly used in the last verse of a song. In that case, puana means the attack or beginning of a song. Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana just means to start to tell the summary — refrain of the song.

March 16th: Pānini

Whether you use them as fences to keep cattle from strolling into your yard, or decoration in your home, pānini are a pretty popular plant in Hawaiʻi nei. Pānini is a cactus, from which we can also make liquor.

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