'Ohana Series - I maika'i ke kalo i ka 'oha.

Aloha mai e ka lehulehu! Hau'oli Pō'alima Aloha! Happy Aloha Friday! It's all about 'ohana today. I maika'i ke kalo i ka 'ohā. The taro is judged good by its offspring. There is so much kaona in this 'ōlelo no'eau. First, the word 'ohā translates as taro corm, growing from the older root. It also means offshoot or offspring and youngster. 'Ohā is the root of the word 'ohana and so we see the connection between kalo and the 'ohana. This connection goes all the way back to the creation. In the story of Papa and Wākea we find that Ho'ohōkūkalani has a still born child who is buried and from that spot sprouts forth the first taro plant. Her second child is Hāloa, our first ancestor. Understanding these things further deepens our understanding of the pilina, or relationship we have as Hawaiians to this plant. Now, the 'ōlelo no'eau says that we, as parents, or kalo are judged to be good by the actions of our 'ohā, our offspring, our children. Our children then become a reflection of us as mākua. Again, we see the tremendous kuleana we have as mākua. Think about it. When a child does something good or bad the first question often is, "Who's your mother or father?", particularly if the child is doing something negative. We do the best we possibly can with our keiki and then we allow them to make choices in life, choices that hopefully reflect positively on us as parents. Our kūpuna who left us words of wisdom to help us as we raise their mamo, their descendants. I hopenapule maika'i. Aloha nō, a hui hou.

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