Hanu pilo (aka. Hapilo) means “Bad Breath” in Hawaiian or “Offensive Breath” with Hanu short for “Ha-” meaning to breath and “Pilo” meaning foul odor. It is an informal slang that implies a person believes they are above another due to their Hawaiianess and choose to not understand Hawaiians who are independent of social norms of a specific family from their Hawaiian values, Hawaiian community group norms, or member of Hawaii-Kanaka identity social expectations. Generally, but not always there are some youth that use this slang to hide the meaning from english-speakers that they are not welcome or approved from them as a Hawaiian and originated as a derogatory term of not trying to live the Hawaiian-lifestyle. Its to point out passive aggressive behavior of putting someone down, which is the most common method used in Hawaii.
What Hapilo doesn’t mean is exclusivity to insult a Hawaiian through Hawaiian language (Olelo), but also has a way to point out a person through what they say is prohibiting others who want to be part of a group from being included in a discussion. It has come to be used when from Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) and Non-Kanaka Kamaaina (Born in Hawaii) have left the islands for any number of reasons like: cost of living (priced out of paradise), academic achievement (mainland schooled), experienced travel and changed (escaping island fever), honed skills that are not like other Kanaka Maoli or Kamaaina, and/or have been exposed to a community of a particular interest outside of Native Hawaiian Culture to have a different perspective. It was used to point out harassment of other Hawaiians. Hapilo has been an underground term to say “that person stinks” to imply that a person is accusing other Hawaiians not being like the ones they know due to: regional differences or community differences (Interests), proper english speaking and judged as Hooio (boastful), No knowledge or speaker of Olelo (Language) or Hawaiian Pidgin English, not Pro-Hawaii Sovereignty movement (Political), eating Non-Kanaka Food too often (Food), perceived as well-dressed or high income (Income), and more as its a word that is still developing in its meaning amongst smaller groups. It is theorized that this has been caused from the pressure of Aloha being squeezed out from: Jealousy, Oppression, Bullying, and that the Hapilo person is causing pain because they have their own internal pain from their own insecurities of Hawaiianess. Hapilo can also mean a person who is not a seeker of wisdom and it was said from people who used is a way to tease the other person who was not: Seekers of Unseen Things “Noi’i i na mea ‘ike ‘ole ‘ia”. It is a term that insults people who don’t want to learn about others, do whats most comfortable, do what they always have done, and not use their head to think about how others might be different and expect everyone to be the same. It also points out their flaws of being overly fond of their own personal biased of their idea of Hawaiian to the point its putting down and critically over-judging Hawaiians about not being Hawaiian enough by not knowing. It is an entitlement that shows a person believes everyone should know what they know about things that are Hawaiian and judging them as not Hawaiian enough and then the word Hapilo teases them for being pompous by acting as they are of grand self importance and standing in splendor as they tear down other people. Usage, it had come as an alternative to older english statements of: (1) You do things different from Hawaii Kanaka because…, (2) you lived on the mainland too long, (3) You wen move and not help the Hawaiians and betray our people, (4) You mainland Hawaiians would never understand, (5) You and You family may look like us, but you no act like us, (6) If you so Hawaiian why don’t you know…, (7) I know everyone on this island, who knows who you are?, (8 ) You only came because of instagrams of Mauna Kea, (9) You nevah grad from here, so who are you?, (10) We not goin accept you as Hawaiian, because you stay Hapilo, (11) Real Hawaiians aren’t assertive like you, we be humble, your different from us Hawaii-Kanaka. Area Exposure Name Calling Oahufied (Lived on Oahu) Mauiafied (Lived on Maui) Kauaafied (Lived on Kauai) Molokaiafied (Lived on Molokai) Hiloafied (Lived on Hilo) Konafied (Lived on Kona) Haolified (American exposure) Japanified (Japanese exposure) Californiafied (California exposure) Texafied (Texan exposure) Vegasafied (Vegas exposure) Mexified (Mexican exposure) Hapilo is also used as a way to sum up “Win” and “Lose” arguments on Hawaiianess as a way to dismiss arguments seen as a waste of time. Binary argument of “Right” versus “Wrong” of self-oppression of Hawaiian versus other Hawaiians and to dismiss it as being a foul odor. Such dismissals, because people are to lazy to argue things that don’t matter to them and have been over argued with people who have no need to learn and obtain knowledge. A few of these dismissed topics are: (1) American Color System: dark-skin passing judgement on light-skin Kanaka, (2) Koko Blood: higher-percentage passing judgement on lower-percentage, (3) Hooio: more Hawaiian practices passing judgement on those with less Hawaiian practices, (4) Olelo: Hawaiian names passing judgement on those with Non-Hawaiian names disregarding the Koko, (5) Aina: Living in the Countryside passing judgement Living in the City. It is theorized that its origins is that it was a term born of generational trauma and tension that dates back to 2010s. It is also theorized that its original and limited use was not only a expression, but also as a frustration to end an argument with those in opposition of approving another persons Hawaiianess and denying them social value from their own perspective and expression. Its attraction was that the word was not in the Hawaiian dictionary and seemed to be fairly useless, but it being not understood by some made it exclusive to those in the know. This would reverse the tension of the person who is expressing their disapproval of ones Hawaiianess with a Hawaiian word they themselves most likely were not able to be informed about unless included with the insider group. Something worse than no breath is stink breath, over time foreigners who traveled from overseas had said the word Haole which means foreigner had an added english definition of “without breath”. Or course this is not what Haole means in Hawaiian, but without breath is actually ha ole. Due to this misunderstanding the definition stuck to the actual word Haole and another word would need to be used for people to understand something even worse than being without breath to be more contrasting to having breath. In Hawaiian slang there would be the usage of the word Hapilo to tell people when their breath was foul. Many Haole had believed the term Hapilo was used against them as well and acted as victims to the term, since they could not understand those speaking Hawaiian, so the term had to be further explained in its usage beyond calling someone foul instead of saying a slang word in Hawaiian.
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