The Word You Never Want to Be Called

Aloha e ka poe heluhelu,

Sorry for missing last Wednesday. I was sick in bed all week. Something must be going around.

Once I recovered, I met with a student for some online tutoring. During our session she asked about the word hookano. We use this word for people who think they are superior to others, stuck up, highly conceited, or believe they are God's gift to the earth. Do I need to say it? You do not want to be associated with hookano.

Mary Kawena Pukui, author of The Hawaiian Dictionary, went around the islands interviewing native speakers and asking for their words. She compiled the most comprehensive dictionary to date. She once shared some cultural insight on this word that I think you will find helpful.

Pukui shared an account where a social worker visiting Hawaii was invited to a Hawaiian home for a meal but refused. Word started to circulate: "He is hookano. He is stuck up. He thinks he is too good for us and our food."

Pukui continued, "When anyone is invited to eat, he is expected to take something. Take a token bite or two or a cup of coffee. To flatly refuse Hawaiian hospitality is a genuine insult. Hawaiians believed that anyone who was unable to accept was also unable to give."

Whether Hawaiians or local people in Hawaii know the word hookano or not, they know you do not want to be that word. To this day, when everyone is eating and one person is not, you better believe people are going to talk about it.

Here’s a fun experiment. Next time you are at dinner with a group, take a moment and observe. You just might spot someone being hookano. And if you do not spot them, look in the mirror because it just might be you 😂. 

Lawa keia,
Maluhia