Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

Māmala-hoe

/ Mā.mala-hoe / Haw to Eng, Pukui-Elbert (1986),

n., Name of a particular company of warriors of Kamehameha and the name of Kamehameha’s famous law of the splintered paddle (literally, paddle fragment) which guaranteed the safety of the highways to all, as women, children, sick, and aged; the law was so called because it was said to have been formulated after Kamehameha had been struck on the head with a paddle while his foot was trapped in a crevice. The law is often called Māmala hoa. According to one account (Thrum, 1906, 81–6) Kamehameha threw a stone at two attackers; it hit a noni tree, pierced one of the attackers and hit a precipice where it is still lodged. Kamehameha's supporters tortured and killed a “navigator” who had failed to guard Kamehameha properly by pulling a spear back and forth through his body. Kamehameha wept and formulated his law.

  • Literally, splintered paddle.
  • References:
    • Cf. Kam. 64:22.

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Mamalahoe

/ MA-MA-LA-HO-E / Haw to Eng, Andrews (1865),

s., Mamala, piece, and hoe, paddle. Name of one of Kamehameha's criminal laws, a law of the most stringent class; the violation of all such laws was, indeed, punishable with death. The name was derived from the fact that he came near losing his life by a paddle being split over his head. O Kamehameha ka meanana i kau Mamalahoe kanawai.

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Mamalahoe

/ mă'-mā'-lă-hō'-e / Haw to Eng, Parker (1922),

n., [Mamala, piece, and hoe, paddle.] One of Kamehameha’s criminal laws, a law of the most stringent class; the violation of all such laws was, indeed, punishable with death. The name was derived from the fact that he came near losing his life by a paddle being split over his head. O Kamehameha ka mea nana i kau mamalahoe kanawai.

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