TYPES OF POSSESSION

The Hawaiian Concepts Of Possession

The ideas, and associated actions, associated with possessing, obtaining, or having something are sometimes clearly differentiated but sometimes carry subtle differences in meaning. Possession could imply ownership; it could simply mean something is just sitting there next to you (locational), or shades of meaning in-between. The way you obtain something can vary from simply receiving the thing, to seeking and finding the thing, to forcefully taking the thing. You could possess some number of things, or nothing.

Below you'll find nine different ways that possession can be expressed.

"He" Possession ["He" to the "K"]

Non-specific possessor is a K-Possessive, a general possession

Anytime itʻs a "He" itʻs a K-Possessive form

He moʻ kaʻu

He mau keiki kāne kaʻu

He hale kō maua

He papa kā kakou

He mau lei kō Iokepa

He kelepona kā Iokepa

Number Possession

When a statement presents the number of things possessed a k-possessive is used:

He ʻelua pōpoki kaʻu - I have two cats

He ʻekolou kaʻa o kēla ʻohana - That family has three cars

Possessed numbers (anytime itʻs an amount) are K-Less Possessives

The possessive kiʻa always takes the k-less form an never the leading ko/kā form

ʻElima aʻu peni - I have five pens

ʻElua o kēla ʻohana kaʻa - That family has two cars

ʻEhia āu peni? - How many pens do you have

ʻAʻohe āna pōpoki - She has no cats

Notice that this is different than the statement "She does not have a cat" - ʻAʻole āna he pōpoki

With ʻAʻohe youʻre expressing a number, with ʻAʻole youʻre expressing negation, not a numeric quantity

The "He" prefix can be used with a possessed number:

He ʻelima hale kūʻai o kēia kaona

Here are some additional examples:

Q: He moʻopuna kau?  R: ʻAʻole, ʻaʻohe aʻu ka moʻopuna

Q ʻEhia ou ka pāpale?  R: Hoʻokahi wale nō oʻu pāpale

ʻAʻhoe kelepona a Iokepa   or   ʻAʻohe a Iokepa kelepona

He ʻihiku aʻu moʻopuna

He hoʻokahi wale nō aʻu moʻopuna - I have just one grandchild

N-Possessives - Pepeke Nonoʻa

Nonoʻa - No, Na, Naʻu, Nōna, etc.

"Belongs to", expressing ownership, under the control of, focusing on the possession

There is no i/iā connector between the possessor and the thing possessed

The thing possessed determines A-Class versus O-Class

Contrast this with the no/na when used as a connector, as in:

ka pōpoki no Iokepa" versus "ka pōpoki na Iokepa"

Here, "no is benefactive and "na" is agentive ("The cat for Iokepa" versus "The cat of Iokepa")

Na Iokepa kēia kelepona - This phone is Iokepaʻs. This phone belongs to Iokepa.

Na wai kēia keiki? - Who does this child belong to?

No wai kēia hale? - Who does this building belong to?

No Iokepa kēia pāpale - This hat belongs to Iokepa.

Na Kaipo ka leka - This letter belongs to Kaipo ("The letter is Kaipoʻs")

Na Pua nā manakō - The mangos belong to Pua ("The mangos are Puaʻs")

Locational Possession - "Located to me"

Something is "located to me" - Itʻs in my possession but I donʻt own it

Possession is to a person or thing, unlike "Aia i hea" where possession is to a place

The possessor is marked with i/iā

Aia wai kaʻu kī - Who has my key?   Aia iaʻu - I have it (pronounced "eye-ya-u" with a single ʻglideʻ)

Naʻu kēlā kī aka aia wai? - Thatʻs my key, but who has it?

Aia iā wai ʻo ia? - Who has her?   Aia iā Puhi ʻo ia - Puhi has her.

Aia ʻoe - Itʻs up to you

Aia iā wai ka hili ʻana? - Whoʻs the next batter?

Aia iaʻu - My turn!

Who is it dependent upon?

Itʻs not just the location of a thing, but also the location of an action

Aia nō iā ʻoe - Itʻs up to you

Aia ʻoe ke koho - The choice is yours (also stated as: Aia ʻoe ke koho ʻana)

Aia ʻoe ke hana me ka hana ʻole

Aia ʻā wai ka lū ʻana? - Whose turn is to to roll? (as dice in a game)

Aia ʻoe - Itʻs up to you

Aia iaʻu ka lū ʻana - Itʻs my turn

{Negation: Replace Aia with ʻAʻole