Introduction – Hawaiian Vocabulary for Weaving/Plaiting
The following list of Hawaiian words for the different parts of the hala and lauhala and terms relating to the weaving/plaiting process come from “Arts and Crafts of Hawaii Volume III Plaiting” by Te Rangi Hiroa ( Peter H. Buck ) (1964), “The Craft of Hawaiian Lauhala Weaving” by Bird, Goldsberry and Bird (1982) and “Treasury of Hawaiian Words in One Hundred and One Categories“, Kent (1986). I also consulted the “Hawaiian Dictionary Hawaiian-English English-Hawaiian, revised and enlarged edition” (1971) and Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Dictionary. . Hawaiian words for the same process may well differ from island to island and even from district to district within the same island. This listing is by no means meant to be comprehensive.
If readers have additional terms and definitions for this page that they feel would be useful to a general readership, please contact me. I entered kahako by installing the Hawaiian keyboard and then holding down the right ALT key and typing the letter.
The actual mechanics of lauhala choosing, preparation and weaving/plaiting are more thoroughly described in the references above and others found in Sources of Information for Weaving Lauhala and Flax.
Parts of the Hala and Lauhala
a’a hala – the roots of the hala below ground
‘ahui hala – the whole fruit of the hala
ehu hinano – the pollen of the hinano
‘elelau (welelau) – the tip of the lauhala leaf
hala – a single key of the ‘ahui hala
hinano – the male flower of the puhala
huelo – the tip of the lauhala
‘i’o hala – the flesh of the fruit
iwi hala – the seed within the key; the tip of the seed
kokala (kakala) – the thorns on the edge of the lauhala and on the kua
kū – the active koana during weaving
kua or kuakua lauhala – the midrib or center portion of the lauhala
kukū – the thorns of the lauhala
kumu hala – the trunk of the hala
lauhala – the leaf of the hala tree
mu’ohala – the white unopened leaves at the center of the leaf cluster
po’olau – the butt end or base of the lauhala
pū hala, puhala – the entire hala tree
ule hala, uleule hala – the aerial roots of the hala
Selection, Preparation of Lauhala for Weaving/Plaiting
hoahoa – a round kapa beater using for softening the lauhala during hohoa
hohoa ( hoahoa lauhala ) – the softening of lauhala by beating, done just before weaving
ho’opalupalu – the process of softening the lauhala by working with the fingers
ho’opulu – softening of the lauhala by using a damp cloth or immersion in water
i’o ko’o – almost white lauhala except for the tips
ki – bundles of selected leaves numbering 40
kihae – removing the thorns from the lauhala
koana – strips of lauhala of a width chosen by the user ready for weaving
koe (kihae) – the splitting of lauhala with a sharp instrument or thumbnail into koana
ko’o – light green lauhala above the pili la’ele
kua – the midrib of the lauhala
ku’i – the process of removing the thorns on the edges and midrib of the lauhala
kūka’a – a roll of leaves about a foot in diameter
la’ele – the green leaves above the pa’ilau’ula
malo’o – naturally dried lauhala on the tree or the ground below
‘olala – a method of treating green lauhala with heat to soften them after which they were sun dried
pa’ilau’ula – the older and lower leaves dried brown on the tree
pākī – the pounding of lauhala in order to soften them for weaving
pili la’ele – dark green leaves with only the base ( po’olau ) white; just above the la’ele
poka’a ( poka’aka’a, po’ala ) – the process of rolling the lauhala into a kuka’a
pukani (or mu’ohala) – white unopened leaves at the center of the lauhala cluster.
Weaving/Plaiting Terms and Techniques
alahiʻi – border or hem of mat or hat
alo kahi – a single koana
alo lua – a double koana, woven as a unit
ʻekeʻeke – A herringbone design, as in mat plaiting or in the pāpale ʻie (ulukau.org)
ipu – colloquially – a form for hat making generally made of wood; also the crown of a hat; also General name for vessel or container, as dish, mug, calabash, pot, cup, utensil, urn, bowl, basin, pipe ( ulukau.org ).
ka ku – the working koana
koana – a strip (or strips) of lauhala cut to a certain width chosen by the user and ready for weaving
kohe – the corner of a working piece
haunu – to add in a new koana (done in pairs of moe and ku)
hi’i – to finish an edge by folding forward or back to give a neat appearance. Also kūpoki.
hono – to mend or patch
ho’okohe – to weave/plait a corner
lala – a diagonal style of weaving that can leave square corners on the bottom of a basket
maka – the mesh or single crossing of the weave
maka moena – check weave
maka ‘o’eno (ho’ohewahewa) – twill weave, also called hat weave
maoli – the weaving style that leaves the edge straight
moe – the recumbent or “resting” koana
nala (nanala) – a general term for weaving/plaiting
nihoniho – the weaving style that creates points along an edge
pahu pāpale – wooden block upon which a hat is plaited; such hats are called pāpale pahu ( ulukau.org )
pālaulau – check weave
pawehe – decorative weaving/plaiting generally overlain on a finished mat
pelu – to fold or double a koana at 45 or 90 degrees
ulana – to weave/plait
Mats and Decorations
In the Kent reference above, there are more than 60 terms for different types of mats and their decorations. Below is just a representative selection. Figures 89 and 90 in Buck above, shows 9 different pāwehe designs with names.
ahuʻao – a choice mat using half-inch mesh and young, tender lauhala
ahu pāwehe – striped mat with geometric designs
ʻekeʻeke – mat woven/plaited in herringbone design
huʻa moena – a pile of mats
humumiki – pāwehe with red rectangles with corners touching
kahanu – pāwehe with red bands and white internal rectangles
keʻe keʻe – pāwehe of zigzag lines
kumunuʻa – a sleeping mat thicker at one end to serve as a pillow
moena – a general term applied to floor and sleeping mats
moena alolua – a double mat with two smooth-faced sides
moena maka pepe – mat with medium sized mesh
nene – pāwehe with a double row of triangles representing flying geese
olowahia – pāwehe with bands of a serrated edge
pakapaka – large, coarse mats using large lauhala
pālaulau – ordinary floor mat
papa ʻaina – dinner mat placed on the floor or dining table
papaula – pāwehe with a row of opposing triangles giving an hourglass look
pua hala – pāwehe with triangles on their sides and tips touching bases
pāwehe – colored geometric motifs
Measuring the Length of Pāpale ʻIe (hat braids)
anana – The length of the arms extended, including the body, measured to the tips of the longest fingers (Parker – Hawaiian Dictionary)
haʻilima – the distance from the elbow to the end of the fingers (Parker – Hawaiian Dictionary)
iwilei – from the breast bone to the end of the longest finger (Parker – Hawaiian Dictionary)
kīkoʻo – a measure from the end of the thumb to the end of the index finger (Ulukau.org – Hawaiian Dictionary); three kīkoʻo equals one haʻilima
Terms Dealing with Hats ( Pāpale ) from Pukui and Elbert (1986) and Ulukau.org
pāpale ʻie – hat plaited on a wooden block from a long strip ( ʻie ). I believe this was the first form for hats in Hawaii…
pāpale pahu – wooden block for plaiting hats; ipu seems to be a more common term for these forms in general.
piko – the crown of the hat
pā – the flat top of the hat
laulau, ʻēheu – the rim of the hat
wehe i ka pāpale – to tip the hat
pāpale i ka pāpale – to wear a hat
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