Unwritten Literature of Hawaii: The Sacred Songs of the Hula

by Nathaniel Bright Emerson

Mele kahea (ka-héa = to call)—a password by which one gained admission to the halau (pp. [38], [41]).

Moo (mó’o)—a reptile; a dragon; a mythologic monster ([p. 260]).

Muumuu (mu’u-mu’u)—an under garment worn by women; a shift; a chemise; a person maimed of hand or foot; the name of a hula ([p. 212]).

Naulu (náu-lu)—name of the seabreeze at Waimea, Kauai. Ua naulu = a heavy local rain (pp. [110], [112]).

Noa (nó-a)—ceremonially free; unrestrained by tabu ([p. 126]).

Noni (no-ni)—a dye-plant (Morinda citrifolia) whose fruit was sometimes eaten.

Nuuanu (Nu’u-á-nu) a valley back of Honolulu that leads to the “Pali.”

Ohe (ó-he)—bamboo; a flute; a variety of the hula (pp. [135], [145]).

Ohelo (o-hé-lo)—an edible berry that grows at high altitudes; to reach out; to stretch; a variety of the hula ([p. 233]).

Ohia (o-hi’a)—a name in some places applied to the lehua (q. v.), more generally the name of a fruit tree, the “mountain apple” (Eugenia malaccensis).