etymology of Hawaiian 'ohana

[Ken Cook]

Dear AN-LANGers,



In the recent (Sept.) issue of _Honolulu_ magazine, Scott Whitney has an
article entitled "Inventing 'Ohana," in which he states:

'Ohana as a word did not exist in Tahiti or the Marquesas, where the first
Hawaiians began their voyages. It has no proto-Polynesian linguistic roots.
It was invented in Hawai'i, probably by taro growers on the west side of
the Big Island. According to [Rubellite] Johnson, the _oha:_ was a corm
that grew off the taro stalk. [I'm using a colon to represent a long
vowel--KC.] The suffix _ana_ was equivalent to English suffix "ing." Thus
'ohana was something growing off the ha:loa, the long stock of the taro
plant--a corm off the old stock, in other words, "offspring" (p. 43).

Johnson (or Whitney) is confusing the continuous aspect marker _ana_ with
the nominal suffix -na, and I think by "It has no proto-Polynesian
lingistic roots," Whitney means 'ohana did not exist as a word in PPN, but
obviously at least the nominal suffix -na can be traced back to PPN, and I
suspect the 'oha part can too.

In particular, I suspect that Hawaiian 'ohana is related to Samoan o:faga
'nest' and Maori ko:hanga 'nest'. The initial glottal stop is missing in
the Samoan word, but there is the corresponding k in the Maori ko:hanga.
The o is short in Hawaiian but long in Samoan and Maori. However, Milner
(1966:160) posits ofa with a short o as the root for o:faga and gives
ofaofata'i '(of a bird, especially a hen) gather under the wings' as a
subentry to o:faga.

Milner has two o:faga entries: o:faga (1) 'nest' and o:faga (2) pile (of
taro-tops awaiting to be replanted) and says that (2) is perhaps cognate
with (1). Here again we see a connection with taro.

Also, Savage's Dictionary of the Maori Language of Rarotongan has ko'anga
with a short vowel and the gloss 'the nest of any bird: used figuratively
to denote a secret receptacle, a place of refuge or security, or a
sanctuary.'

Any opinions? Am I off in suspecting a connection between 'ohana and these
nest words?

Are there any 'ohana cognates in other Polynesian languages?

Cheers,

Ken Cook