ʻAha kanu piko

Inoa | Name(s)

ʻAha kanu piko

Hōʻuluʻulu Manaʻo

Wahi a nā kūpuna “He piko pau ʻiole.” (ʻŌN 891). He ʻōlelo aʻo a kaulana kēia, inā lawe ʻia ka piko o ke keiki ma mua o ke kanu kūpono ʻana, lilo ke keiki i kanaka ʻaihue. Me kēlā manaʻo, he mea nui ka ʻaha kanu piko. Na ka makua e kanu i ke piko i kahi malū me ka pule o ka hana maikaʻi a me ka pale ʻana i ke keiki no ka lōʻihi o kona ola. (Nānā i ke Kumu v. 1 Pūkuʻi 183-184)

Description

The famed proverb “He piko pau ʻiole.” (ʻŌN 891) teaches that the child whose piko is not properly secured will become a thief. Therefore the piko planting ceremony was very important. The parent would properly hide or dispose of the piko in a secret place along with a prayer for good intentions and safety for the child’s life.

ʻŌlelo kuhikuhi

E koho i kēia huaʻōlelo no nā kumuwaiwai pili i ka ʻaha no ke kanu ʻana i ka piko o kahi keiki a kanaka nō paha. Pili pū kēia huaʻōlelo i nā wahi kaulana no ke kanu pinepine ʻana i nā piko o nā keiki, e like me ka loko ʻO Waiau ma Maunakea.

Instructions

Use this term for resources related to the act and ceremony for planting the umbilical cord of a child. This term is also related to the famous places where this was often done, such as at Lake Waiau on Maunakea.

ʻĀina | Land/sea: Waiau (Maunakea); Wailoa (Hawaiʻi); Mokuola (Hawaiʻi)

Hana | Practice: Hānau keiki

Kūkulu | Built environment: Pōhaku hānau

Kūlana | Rank/title: Kāhuna makua

Kūmole

Pukui, Mary Kawena. ’Olelo No’eau : Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings. Honolulu, Hawai’i: Bishop Museum Press, 1983.

Pukui, Mary Kawena, and Samuel H. (Samuel Hoyt) Elbert. Hawaiian Dictionary : Hawaiian-English, English-Hawaiian. Rev. and enl. Ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1986.

Pukui, Mary Kawena, E.W. Haertig and Catherine A. Lee. Nānā i ke kumu, Volume I. Honolulu: Hui Hānai, 1972. Ulukau: The Hawaiian Electronic Library.

Hoʻopili ʻia i  | Applied to: Nānā i ke kumu = Look to the source; Mauna Kea, ka piko kaulana o ka ʻāina” = Mauna Kea, the famous summit of the land

Mea haku | Created by: Annemarie Paikai