Hawaiian Word of the Week: lawelawe

Photo of prince kūhiō courtesy of the national photo company at the library of congress.

March 26 is Prince Kūhiō Day in Hawaii. Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana’ole was one of the last members of the Kingdom of Hawaii Royal family. He was known as the ‘Prince of the People’ providing a life of service, or lawelawe (pronounced: lah-weh-lah-weh), to strengthen the people of Hawaii. 

Prince Kūhiō was born on the island of Kauai on March 26, 1871. During his life, he served as a representative for Hawaii in the United States Congress until his death in 1922. If you don’t know much about Prince Kūhiō, I fully encourage you to learn more about him. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and I didn’t realize Prince Kūhiō had ties to this area. While attending school in the Bay Area, Prince Kūhiō and his brothers would travel to the coastal town of Santa Cruz, where they taught people the sport of surfing, and thus were the first surfers in California. 

But it’s his aupuni (government) lawelawe that got me thinking. How do I provide service to our community and the people around me?  I am not the type to be in aupuni lawelawe but there are other things I can do…like volunteer or take care of of people and the land in my neighborhood.

How do you provide lawelawe to your community? 

Happy Prince Kūhiō Day!

Never miss a Hawaiian word of the week when you sign up for our newsletter. Looking to keep the aloha vibes going all year long? We got you covered.