Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. n., A wind-blown grass (Eragrostis variabilis 🌐), famous in songs of Nuʻuanu pali; E. niihauensis on Niʻihau.

• Related:
  • Also: kalamālō and ʻemoloa.
• Related:
  • Neal 64.
  • See song, kehakeha.

2. nvi., A hula step, to do this step, which is said to be named for the grass: one foot taps time with the heel, the toes being stationary, while the other foot, flat, steps forward and then a little back, twice or more; the step is repeated reversing the feet.

• Related:
  • In English this is called the Kalākaua step because the step is used to begin the hula dedicated to Kalākaua: Kalākaua nō he inoa, ka pua mae ʻole i ka lā, a name chant for Kalākaua, the flower that wilts not in the sun.

3. n., A seaweed, perhaps Wrangelia penicillata, which resembles the flowering head of Eragrostis variabilis 🌐.

4. n., A type of house thatching.

5. vi., To hang loose, as long hair.

• References:
  • Kel. 116.

Hula step where one foot taps time with the heel, the toes stationary, while the other foot, flat, steps forward and a little back, twice or more, then the reverse. (PE.) See ʻai kāwele.

Wind-blown grass (Eragrostis variabilis), a word frequently used in meles (songs) of Nuʻuanu Pali. See ʻemo loa, kalamalō. (NEAL 64.)

Like wind-blown grass waving gracefully.