ʻŌlelo Noʻeau are Hawaiian proverbs that often offer wisdom for a person to live by. The ones chosen are intended to apply particularly to your learning of the Hawaiian language in hopes to keep up your motivation.
This month's proverb is a bit longer, but follows the same pattern discussed in our last ʻŌlelo Noʻeau. I'll provide a breakdown for your understanding.
- ʻike = To know, learn, see; Knowledge, experience
- Nō = Emphatic marker; does not need to be translated, but can be as "indeed," "really," "very"
- i = in, on
- Lā = Day [here]; Sun
- o ka = of the
- Mana = Power, strength (the English "mana," in the fantasy genre, comes from Hawaiian/Polynesian languages)
All together:
Knowledge on the day of knowledge; strength on the day of strength
[There is] Knowledge on days of knowledge; [There is] power on days of power
Learn on the day of learning; [use] strength on the day of strength
Note:
You can think of the first word of each phrase (ʻike and mana) as either nouns or verbs. Further, if you prefer them as nouns, you can imagine an Aia to start each phrase.
Also note that this ʻŌlelo Noʻeau is using ʻike and mana as opposite ideas - ʻike for the mind, mana for the physical body.
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