Pono () is a Hawaiian word commonly rendered as "

righteousness Righteousness is the quality or state of "being morally right or justifiable" rooted in religious or divine law with a broader spectrum of moral correctness, justice, and virtuous living as dictated by a higher authority or set of spiritual beli ...

". For instance, the

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

state motto All of the United States' 50 states have a state motto, as do the District of Columbia and 3 of its territories. A motto is a phrase intended to formally describe the general motivation or intention of an organization. State mottos ca ...

: '' Ua Mau ke Ea o ka Āina i ka Pono'' or "The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness". ''Pono'' is a notably

polysemous Polysemy ( or ; ) is the capacity for a sign (e.g. a symbol, morpheme, word, or phrase) to have multiple related meanings. For example, a word can have several word senses. Polysemy is distinct from '' monosemy'', where a word has a single meani ...

term.

Mary Kawena Pukui Mary Abigail Kawenaʻulaokalaniahiʻiakaikapoliopele Naleilehuaapele Wiggin Pukui (20 April 1895 – 21 May 1986), known as Kawena, was a Hawaiian scholar, author, composer, hula expert, and educator. Life Pukui was born on April 20, 1895, in ...

's and Samuel Hoyt Elbert's Hawaiian dictionary gives six meanings and 83 English

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

equivalents. # ''nvs''. Goodness, uprightness, morality, moral qualities, correct or proper procedure, excellence, well-being, prosperity, welfare, benefit, behalf, equity, sake, true condition or nature, duty; moral, fitting, proper, righteous, right, upright, just, virtuous, fair, beneficial, successful, in perfect order, accurate, correct, eased, relieved; should, ought, must, necessary. # ''vs''. Completely, properly, rightly, well, exactly, carefully, satisfactorily, much (an intensifier). # ''n''. Property, resources, assets, fortune, belongings, equipment, household goods, furniture, gear of any kind, possessions, accessories, necessities. # ''n''. Use, purpose, plan. # ''n''. Hope. # ''vs''. Careless, informal, improper, any kind of (preceding a stem).Pukui, Mary Kawena & Elbert, Samuel H. (1986
''Hawaiian Dictionary''
Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. pp. 340–1. Note that usage examples are omitted. Here are some examples of how ''pono'' can be used in different contexts: * Mai pono hana ʻoe, akā e hana pono – Don’t work carelessly; instead, work carefully and correctly. * Ponoʻai – To eat in any way or anything available; taking potluck. * Ponohana – To work in any manner that suits oneself. * Pononō i ka noho – Living in an unstructured or careless way; shiftless. * Pono lole – Any kind of clothing, without specific selection. The word has strong

cultural Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and spiritual connotations of "a state of harmony or balance", and is the aim of the

Hoʻoponopono () is a traditional Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness. The Hawaiian word translates into English simply as ''correction'', with the synonyms ''manage'' or ''supervise''. Similar forgiveness practices are performed on islands thro ...

practice. Pono is often used as in affirmative prayers, especially within

Kanaka Maoli Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

healing arts and the

Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement The Hawaiian sovereignty movement () is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii out of a desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and self-governance. Some group ...

Footnotes

References

*Chun, Malcolm Naea. 2006. ''Pono: The Way of Living''. University of Hawaii. *Fuchs, Lawrence H. 1961. ''Hawaii Pono: A Social History''. Harcourt, Brace & World. Hawaiiana Hawaiian words and phrases {{Hawaii-stub