Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

n., An endemic fish (Kuhlia sandvicensis 🌐) found in both fresh and salt water. The mature stage is āhole, the young stage āholehole. Because of the meaning of hole, to strip away, this fish was used for magic, as to chase away evil spirits and for love magic. It was also called a "sea pig" (puaʻa kai) and used ceremonially as a substitute for pig. Foreigners were sometimes called āhole because of the light skin of the fish.

• Examples:
  • He āhole ka iʻa, hole ke aloha, āhole is the fish, love is restless [of āhole fish used in love magic].

Fish found in fresh or salt water, substituted for a human body as a sacrifice in the post hole (pouomanu) on a house building site before construction.