You probably don’t know what Aloha means

I really need to offset all this writing about Nazi symbolism in surfing and political lineups, and what better way than to talk about Aloha.

Aloha is a very familiar word to surfers across the globe. It means “hello” and “goodbye,” right? If that were the case, this story would be a paragraph long. But as it happens, some anthropologists and linguists believe that Aloha doesn’t have a direct equivalent in English at all.

what aloha actually means

In Hawaiian, alo means presence, face, front, sharing, being with—and hā means breath, life force, life. Early Hawaiian dictionaries described aloha as a word expressing a wide range of feelings: love, affection, gratitude, kindness, pity, compassion—but also grief.

Etymologically, aloha belongs to the broader family of Polynesian languages and is often connected to qarofa (Proto-Polynesian: love, pity, compassion) and the Proto-Oceanic root qarop(-i), meaning “to feel pity, empathy, or sorrow.”

There are other interpretations, too. One breaks the word into alo (sharing), oha (joyous affection), and hā (life energy; breath), resulting in “the joyful sharing of life energy in the present.” Another equates aloha with “sparkling with positive thoughts in order to procure a positive reality for all.” And Queen Liliʻuokalani is often quoted as saying: “Aloha is to learn what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and to know the unknowable.”

Aloha means a great deal to the Hawaiian people, and as it extends into other practices such as hoʻokipa (hospitality) and the honi ihu (the sharing of breath), we’d need another story entirely to do it justice. But for now, I wanted to draw your attention to the Aloha Spirit Law.

the aloha spirit law

The Aloha Spirit Law is a unique, non-punitive statute that legally defines aloha not merely as a greeting, but as a “coordination of mind and heart within each person.” First enacted in 1986, it allows government officials and judges to consider this philosophy in the course of their duties. I want to share the law with you in its entirety.

We could really use it outside Hawaiʻi’s legal system too—in the lineup, in government, and, honestly, in daily life everywhere.

From Chapter 5 of Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes:
§ 5-7.5 “Aloha Spirit.”

(a) “Aloha Spirit” is the coordination of mind and heart within each person. It brings each person to the self. Each person must think and emote good feelings to others. In the contemplation and presence of the life force, “Aloha,” the following unuhi laulā loa (broad interpretations) may be used:

“Akahai,” meaning kindness to be expressed with tenderness;
“Lōkahi,” meaning unity, to be expressed with harmony;
“ʻOluʻolu,” meaning agreeable, to be expressed with pleasantness;
“Haʻahaʻa,” meaning humility, to be expressed with modesty;
“Ahonui,” meaning patience, to be expressed with perseverance.

These are traits of character that express the charm, warmth, and sincerity of Hawaiʻi’s people. It was the working philosophy of Native Hawaiians and was presented as a gift to the people of Hawaiʻi. “Aloha” is more than a word of greeting or farewell or a salutation. “Aloha” means mutual regard and affection and extends warmth in caring with no obligation in return. “Aloha” is the essence of relationships in which each person is important to every other person for collective existence. “Aloha” means to hear what is not said, to see what cannot be seen, and to know the unknowable.

In exercising their power on behalf of the people and in fulfillment of their responsibilities, obligations, and service, the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, executive officers of each department, the chief justice, associate justices, and judges of the appellate, circuit, and district courts may contemplate and reside with the life force and give consideration to the “Aloha Spirit.”

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team