What is the Hawaiian word for ”worldview”?

Aloha mai,

Every civilization in the history of the world has had some kind of worldview - including Hawaiians. This means that they would have “worldview” or “perspective” in their language - even Hawaiians. 

As we’re talking about some of the pitfalls in learning the Hawaiian language, I wanted to tell you a little bit about the new word “kuanaike”. Its intended meanings are worldview and perspective, but it is unnecessary. There are already at least four traditional words to express this thought.

Ike—experience, awareness, perception, know, knowledge, see, sight, vision

Manao—belief, theory, opinion, ideals, thoughts, 

Noonoo—thought, think intellectually, reflect, 

In many cases, there are several Hawaiian terms that are used to express an English one and vise a versa. What is the one word equivalent for poi in English? There is none! You would have to explain what poi is.

The individuals who came up with the word “kuanaike” either didn’t have a complete grasp of these traditional words or were unsatisfied with them, but I’ve heard all of them express the many meanings of worldview and perspective.

My goal is for you to develop a worldview and perspective of a Native speaker and building an accurate understanding of traditional words a one way to accomplish this.

Me ka oiaio,

Malu

Ka-alala.mykajabi.com