Highschool Sororities....

[ms_gwyn]

Originally Posted by OTW

[/off topic]

How did the ones with the Hawaiian names come to get their names? And WTF is "Le Aikane"? Is it French? Is it Hawaiian? I only ask because the kaona (deeper meaning) of "Aikane" is gay male partner. Na Ali`i? The Chiefs? Laule`a = glad/happy? There was a singing group here called Hui Ohana in the 1970s so it's kinda weird to see it the other way around. And ironically my outrigger paddling club is called Hui Lanakila.

I'm curious to learn more about their foundings, even more so how they became labeled as such. Does Alhambra have a large Hawaiian/part-Hawaiian population or did somebody think that it was just cool to give these clubs a Hawaiian name?

OTW

I was always under the impression that Le Aikanes meant Friends...I would ask my sister but we don't talk...we haven't for over 10 years....

The groups were founded in the 50/60s..Cheryl Tiegs was a member of Na Al'ii, my thinking is when there were founded based on Polynesian pop culture that was popular during the time, I know this sounds bad, as a Greek and all, but it has been almost 20 years, since I was out of High School, my memory is very faulty during that time period. A lot of the groups that were on campus when I was there are gone and a few new ones have formed....Most were of Hawaiian themed, except for Les Petites Amies which is French and stands for The Little Friends.

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

OTW

I was always under the impression that Le Aikanes meant Friends...I would ask my sister but we don't talk...we haven't for over 10 years....

The groups were founded in the 50/60s..Cheryl Tiegs was a member of Na Al'ii, my thinking is when there were founded based on Polynesian pop culture that was popular during the time, I know this sounds bad, as a Greek and all, but it has been almost 20 years, since I was out of High School, my memory is very faulty during that time period. A lot of the groups that were on campus when I was there are gone and a few new ones have formed....Most were of Hawaiian themed, except for Les Petites Amies which is French and stands for The Little Friends.

Interesting.

The Hawaiian language can get tricky at times because words have literal and figurative meanings. If you're trying to say "The Friends" it would be more proper to say "Na Hoa" or "Na Hoaloha" instead of "`Aikane" because of the above mentioned deeper meaning. `Ai=Eat; Kane=Man. You get the idea. It can mean friend, but it is very rarely used.

Is the ' in Al`ii intentional? The `okina (glottal stop) belongs between the two i.

Based on what I've heard about Polynesian pop culture in the 50s/60s I can see how lots of people would be quick to jump on the Hawaiian bandwagon. I suppose we can thank Don Ho for that (RIP, Don). The Hawaiian "Renaissance" didn't happen here till the mid-70s and it was then that more and more people were eager to learn the language.

I learn something new everyday!

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by ms_gwyn

OTW

I was always under the impression that Le Aikanes meant Friends...I would ask my sister but we don't talk...we haven't for over 10 years....

The groups were founded in the 50/60s..Cheryl Tiegs was a member of Na Al'ii, my thinking is when there were founded based on Polynesian pop culture that was popular during the time, I know this sounds bad, as a Greek and all, but it has been almost 20 years, since I was out of High School, my memory is very faulty during that time period. A lot of the groups that were on campus when I was there are gone and a few new ones have formed....Most were of Hawaiian themed, except for Les Petites Amies which is French and stands for The Little Friends.

Ms_Gwyn, you are from Alhambra? One of my sorority sisters went to HS in Alhambra, and was a member of one of these groups (although I can't remember the name). I do remember her saying there was a group for boys called "Le Frat". This was back in the early 90s.