Big Happiness: The Life and Death of a Modern Hawaiian Warrior

Glossary

295 Glossary Local and Hawaiian Words and Terms ahupua‘a Traditional Hawaiian land division/community, usually occupying a fertile valley ‘āina Land; literally, “that which provides” ainokea Local slang for “I no care” bachi Mystical payback resulting from bad behavior ha‘aheo Pride hale House hana wai Work the water hau A tropical shrub/tree that forms a dense thicket where it flourishes in coastal areas he inoa no Traditional ending to a Native Hawaiian chant that roughly translates into “in honor of” hui Group imu Oven imua Move forward; advance kālua To cook kama‘āina “Of the land,” referring to permanent residents not necessarily born in Hawai‘i kanikapila Informal gathering of musicians and singers kuleana Responsibility; land parcel granted during the Great Mahele of the mid-nineteenth century (see mahele) lo‘i Taro patch lomi Traditional Hawaiian form of massage luna Overseer mahele Division, often referring to Hawai‘i’s Great Mahele of the mid-nineteenth century, when common and royal land was divided and parceled out to a handful of Hawai‘i residents makai Towards the sea mālama To care for Glossary 296 Japanese Terms and Words mana Spirit mauka Towards the mountains ‘ohana Family; depending on context , could refer to either immediate family or extended family paniolos Cowboys solé Local slang referring to Samoans ; literally “brother” in Samoan tita Local slang for a tough and outspoken woman baka yarō Extremely strong expletive , though the literal translation is only “You stupid idiot!” banzuke The ranking sheet listing professional sumo’s eight hundred or so competitors beya Compounded form of heya, meaning “room,” but in this case referring to a sumo beya. Sumo’s professional league, the Japan Sumo Association (Nihon Sumo Kyokai), is composed of groups of sumo competitors who live and train together in one of fifty-odd sumo beya throughout Tokyo. butsukari-geiko A sumo training exercise in which one rikishi charges into the chest of another, who willingly accepts the charge and provides resistance as the first rikishi pushes him across the sand-covered ring dame A negative response along the lines of “no” or “it is forbidden” dohyō The raised platform, composed of clay with sunken straw boundaries, on which the sumo ring is situated gaijin Literally “outside person,” but used by Japanese to refer to any foreigner (notably, rather than “American” or “Australian,” and even in contexts when the speaker is outside of Japan) gaman To endure in the face of pain, adversity, and long odds without complaint ganbare The encouraging command form of gaman geta Traditional Japanese wooden slippers hayaku Quickly jonidan The second (and nonsalaried ) division towards the bottom of sumo’s six-division ranking sheet jonokuchi The initial (and nonsalaried ) division at the bottom of sumo’s six-division ranking sheet jūryō The fifth division on sumo’s six-division ranking sheet, also the first salaried division kachi-koshi A term indicating that a rikishi has won a majority of his bouts in a major tournament 297 Glossary kanji The pictographic characters, borrowed from written Chinese, that constitute much of the written Japanese language kawaigari Literally “tender loving care,” but referring to, at best, overwhelmingly physically demanding training, and at worst, the cruelest form of hazing keshō mawashi An elaborately stitched and brightly colored apronlike garment worn by sekitori during sumo’s ring-entering ceremony kōenkai A group of sponsors dedicated to supporting a rikishi according to sumo’s ancient patronage system, sometimes translated as “fan club” kōhai “Junior” in sumo’s allimportant relationship-defining senpai-kōhai seniority system Kokugikan Hall of national sport. The ten-thousand-seat Tokyo arena, built exclusively for sumo, is where half of the Japan Sumo Association’s six annual major tournaments are held. makunouchi The top division on sumo’s six-division ranking sheet makushita The fourth (and nonsalaried ) division on sumo’s sixdivision ranking sheet mashita A mumbled abbreviation of the phrase arigato gozaimashita, or, “Thank you very much” mawashi The beltlike clothing worn by rikishi during practice or competition mottai nai “What a waste.” Can be spoken in a more positive tone suggesting a misplacement of superior abilities. nagaizumō A sumo match that takes a long time—usually up to and beyond a minute or so nani “What” osssh The mumbled sumo greeting, an abbreviation of the phrase, ohaiyo gozaimasu, or, “Good morning!” oyakata One of the fifty-odd “elder” positions in the...