Aloha (pronounced [?'lo.h?]) is the Hawaiian word for love, affection, peace, compassion and mercy, that is commonly used as a simple greeting.
Video Aloha
Etymology
The origins of the Hawaiian word aloha are unclear. The word goes back to the very origins of Hawaii to Kahiki (the homeland) and even further. The word is found in all Polynesian languages and always with the same basic meaning of: love, compassion, sympathy and kindness. Its beginnings may be seen in the Maori definition as "love of kin". Mary Kawena Pukui wrote that the "first expression" of aloha was between a parent and child. The word has become a part of the English vocabulary in an awkward misuse. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word as a "greeting" like "welcome" and "farewell" using a number of examples dating back as far as 1798.
Lorrin Andrews wrote the first Hawaiian dictionary, called A dictionary of the Hawaiian language. In it he describes aloha as "A word expressing different feelings; love, affection, gratitude, kindness, pity, compassion, grief, the modern common salutation at meeting; parting". Mary Kawena Pukui and Samuel Hoyt Elbert's Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian also contains a similar definition. Anthropologist Frances Newton states that "Aloha is a complex and profound sentiment. Such emotions defy definition".
Hawaiians believe the concept to be unique, with no English equivalent.
Maps Aloha
Hawai?i Law of The Aloha Spirit
From Chapter 5 of Hawai?i Revised Statutes:
- § 5-7.5 "Aloha Spirit". (a) "Aloha Spirit" is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, "Aloha", the following unuhi laul? loa may be used:
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- "Akahai", meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
- "L?kahi", meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony;
- "?Olu?olu" meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;
- "Ha?aha?a", meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty;
- "Ahonui", meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance.
- These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth and sincerity of Hawaii's people. It was the working philosophy of native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawai?i. "Aloha" is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. "Aloha" means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. "Aloha" is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. "Aloha" means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen and to know the unknowable.
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- (b) In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations and service to the people, the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, executive officers of each department, the chief justice, associate justices, and judges of the appellate, circuit, and district courts may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the "Aloha Spirit". [L 1986, c 202, § 1]
See also
- Mahalo
- Ohana
- Namaste, Peace, Salaam and Shalom have similar meanings.
- Kenneth R. Conklin, Ph.D. (May 15, 2008). "The Aloha Spirit -- what it is, who possesses it, and why it is important". Hawaii Reporter.
- Talofa
Citations
References
- Pukui, Mary Kawena (1986). Hawaiian Dictionary: Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0824807030. OCLC 229095.
- Van Valkenburg, June A. (2012), Feeling My Way: Finding Purpose, BalboaPress, ISBN 978-1-4525-5462-4
Source of article : Wikipedia
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