Mai n¨¡ l¨¡lani mua o ke mele koʻi honua i kaulana ma kona inoa ʻo Kumulipo i loaʻa mai ai ka hua ʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç o k¨¥ia makahiki, ʻo &±ô»å±ç³Ü´Ç;°ì¨¡³ó³Ü±ô¾±.&°ù»å±ç³Ü´Ç; ʻO ke “k¨¡huli” ka loli ʻana a ʻokoʻa mai ka hopena. ʻO ia k¨¡huli , ka wela hoʻi o ka honua me ka lole o ka lani, ka huna ahi i ʻoniʻoni ʻeuʻeu aʻe ai ka wale a kumu haʻohaʻo maila n¨¡ mea a pau o ke ao holoʻokoʻa nei.
He au k¨¡huli k¨¥ia e holo nei. He loli nui ma ke ao politika e °ì¨±ʻ¨¥ aupuni °ì¨±±è¾±°ì¾±±è¾±°ì¾±ʻ¨ ai n¨¡ ³¾²¹°ì²¹ʻ¨¡¾±²Ô²¹²Ô²¹ a puni ka honua. He loli honua ma ke ao ʻ¨±è³Ü²¹ o Â鶹´«Ã½ e lewa aʻe ai n¨¡ waʻalele halihali ʻ¨³ó³Ü²¹ maʻamaʻahia. He loli ma ke ao p¨¡paho nui o ka hoʻāno °ì¨±¾±°ì²¹·É¨¡ i ka ʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç aliʻi o ka l¨¡hui.
Ma n¨¥ia makahiki, kai kani leo leʻa hou aʻe ai ke Kumulipo ma kona ʻ¨¡¾±²Ô²¹, kona hale aliʻi ±è´Ç²Ô´Çʻ¨©, i ʻike ³¾¨²¹°ì¨¡°ì²¹ ʻia, ʻo ke k¨¡huli ka loli e paneʻe aukahi ai k¨¡kou mai ka nae maha ʻolu o ka uʻi lolena a e kaʻi ai kanaka i ke au e hiki mai ana.
- Related UH News story: 2024 ʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç of the year, December 9, 2024
2025 Hawaiian Word of the Year: K¨¡huli
Drawn from the opening lines of the Hawaiian creation chant known as the Kumulipo, the 2025 Huaʻ¨±ô±ð±ô´Ç (Word) of the Year selected by the , is k¨¡huli—to change, to alter, to overturn. In the Kumulipo, k¨¡huli describes the transformation that warmed the earth and unfolded the heavens, catalyzing the formation of the universe itself.
“K¨¡huli speaks to transformation at a fundamental level¡ªnot surface change, but the kind of shift that reorders everything,” said Kaʻiu Kimura, director of the Hawaiian language college.
This meaning resonates as we navigate change on multiple fronts: federal shutdowns affecting vulnerable ʻohana, rising costs reshaping island economies, climate disasters whose recovery continues across our communities. Political movements challenge unjust systems globally, while our communities grapple with the cost of simply remaining home.
“The word k¨¡huli acknowledges that transformation can feel disruptive, but it¡¯s also how new worlds emerge,” explained Kimura. “We’re living through an era of k¨¡huli politically, environmentally and culturally.”
In a year where the Kumulipo again resounded across its homeland, k¨¡huli reminds us that transformation is both inevitable and essential. In a year when the expression “6¨C7” emerged, k¨¡huli moves away from the middle ground, emphasizing work that looks beyond “good enough” toward something worthy of our k¨±puna¡¯s (elder) vision and our ³¾´Çʻ´Ç±è³Ü²Ô²¹¡¯²õ (grandchild) future.
“K¨¡huli distinguishes between forces that merely break things and forces that break us free¡ªfrom complacency,” Kimura noted. “It insists we unsettle what doesn’t serve us to make space for what must come next.”