Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A grandparent or elder.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Hawaiian kupuna.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word kupuna.

Examples

  • Only a fraction of these have been recorded, and many more exist in the memories and life histories of kupuna.

    Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve 2008

  • Then in August 1997 the unthinkable happened: Four revered kupuna native Hawaiian elders and a professor of trust-law publicly charged Bishop Estate trustees with gross incompetence and massive trust abuse.

    King & Roth on Broken Trust: Greed, Mismanagement, and Political Manipulation at America’s Largest Charitable Trust 2006

  • Then in August 1997 the unthinkable happened: Four revered kupuna native Hawaiian elders and a professor of trust-law publicly charged Bishop Estate trustees with gross incompetence and massive trust abuse.

    March 2006 2006

  • In an affidavit supporting their appeal, a founder of the group said: "Specifically, it would be an extreme hewa wrong for me or any other Hui Malama member, if ordered, to take part in any effort to enter the Kawaihae burial cave, with two to three known caves, to remove the 83 moepu, as they belong to the kupuna buried therein," and that would harm "the integrity of the afterlife of these kupuna."

    Hawaiian Natives File Emergency Appeal On Burial Items Howard M. Friedman 2005

  • The group, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna 'O Hawaii Nei, reburied the items in 2000 to honor the wishes of kupuna ancestors.

    Hawaiian Natives File Emergency Appeal On Burial Items Howard M. Friedman 2005

  • "We did this for our kupuna [ancestors]," he says.

    Showdown in Honolulu 2000

  • E hoike ana iloko o na huaolelo maikai wale i na olelo a me na hana a kekahi o ko Hawaii kaikamahine wahine maikai a punahele no hoi, a na ia mea no hoi e kokua mai i ka noho mau ana o ke aloha o na poe o Hawaii nei, no ko lakou mau kupuna a me ko lakou aina.

    The Hawaiian Romance Of Laieikawai Martha Warren Beckwith 1915

  • O na kupuna koikoi o Keoua, o ka Lani Kui-apo-iwa.

    Unwritten Literature of Hawaii The Sacred Songs of the Hula Nathaniel Bright Emerson 1877

  • Among the options are Hawaiian blessings; swims with dolphins; tours to significant cultural and natural sites; lomilomi massage in a garden, by the ocean or beside cliffs; and private hula lessons, slack key guitar concerts and talk-story sessions with kupuna (elders).

    Starbulletin Headlines 2010

  • "What I offer that no one else does are experiences with respected kupuna (elders) and kahuna who normally do not interact with visitors," Gaynes said.

    Starbulletin Headlines 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.