mauka

In Hawaii, "mauka" is a fundamental directional term used by everyone from lifelong residents to news anchors and bus drivers. Derived from the Hawaiian language ("ma" meaning "at" or "toward", and "uka" meaning "upland"), it replaces cardinal directions like north or south, which are largely useless on a round island. You use "mauka" to tell someone to drive toward the mountains, or to describe which side of the highway a store is on. It is always paired conceptually with "makai" (toward the ocean). Using these terms correctly is one of the first signs that a visitor or transplant is beginning to understand how life and navigation are oriented in the islands.

Keoki wiped the mud from his forearms, glaring at his cousin from Honolulu who was complaining about the humidity. "You think you know hard work 'cause you go to F45 in Kaka'ako?" Keoki scoffed, gesturing with his o'o stick toward the steep, emerald ridges of Halawa Valley. "Try pull kalo all morning, then we see how much gas you get left."

His cousin, wearing brand-new tabis that were already slipping on the slick rocks, pointed vaguely toward the ocean. "I thought we were just clearing the lower patches down there."

"Nah, brah. Da best water is mauka," Keoki said, turning his back and marching higher up the terraced lo'i. "You want the real harvest, you gotta climb. If your legs burning now, just wait till we gotta carry the bags back down."