Ho’okipa is the Hawaiian word meaning “to entertain, make a visit hospitable or welcome.” Ho’okipa encourages us to keep a warm, friendly, and inviting spirit in our home. When people visit, we want them to stay and rest awhile, not feel as though they should leave immediately.
Food is essential in the value of ho’okipa, as food brings people together. Whenever you visit a local person’s home, they’ll let you in, maybe remind you to take off your shoes, then ask if you’ve eaten anything. It’s just the Hawaiian way.
Ho’o means – to do or be
Kipa means – to visit or call in, to entertain and treat hospitably
Therefore, ho’okipa literally means to visit others and to treat everyone with hospitality.
What does ho’okipa look like?
As I mentioned before, for many locals, hospitality is food. It’s making sure guests are well fed. I think, for almost all cultures, food is what brings people closer together. You can’t come to a local person’s house without being offered something to eat. Food is just the way.
Hospitality also looks like genuine care and love. Have you ever visited a person’s house and they seem so excited to have you, they immediately invite you to kick back and share all about your life? Even if you just saw them recently? I know many people who have this attitude and it always feels so nice to enter their homes.
They care. Ho’okipa. They welcome you, and they love you.
Hospitality looks like entertaining too. No, that doesn’t mean you have to put on a show or pop in a movie, it just means that you provide enjoyment, facilitate meaningful conversations, make memories and give full attention to your guest. All of ho’okipa goes back to aloha. Love.
You love your guests, withholding judgment.
Ho’okipa is willing to share
Ho’okipa is the idea that you treat guests with honor, and as a part of the ‘ohana. The guest has traveled to visit, so we give them the honor for taking time for us.
One great example of ho’okipa in my life is been my dad’s hanai (adopted) parent. They lived a few houses down from my grandma’s house. Since we lived with grandma for a short season, we visited dad’s hanai family often.
Whenever we went, Aunty Loreen would greet us all with smiles and kisses. We took off our slippers and went inside to greet Uncle Harold with big hugs. He was always happy to see us.
They’d tell us to sit down, tell us to make ourselves comfortable, and then, of course, Aunty would ask what we’d like to eat. We were all pretty shy, so she just went and started making food.
In a matter of minutes, we’d be at the table eating laulau, rice, and poi. “No limit!” she’d say, piling more food on our plates.
I never forgot that.
Ho’okipa is just that: when you feel loved, welcomed, and cared for.
Ho’okipa Feels Calm
There are certain vibes you feel when you walk into someone’s home. Ho’okipa is the vibe of cleanliness, welcome, and calm.
This isn’t always possible, especially with our ever busy lives. But even with little ones running around or a busy schedule, there can still be a sense of calm.
How do you attain this? It’s all in the lifestyle. Hawaii encourages a lifestyle of cleanliness. People always take off their shoes before coming into the home, as shoes can track in the dirtiness from outside (and this is meant on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level).
The entertainment, music, artwork, and decorations in the home should invite good feelings. They feel clean and wholesome. Anything dark takes away from the good vibes.
Every person lives a different lifestyle, but there can still be that good spirit in the home even if we organize things differently.
There are so many ways to implement the value of ho’okipa in your life, and it might look a little different for each person. But the underlying flow is the same: just love. Show pure aloha by being willing to share… share what you have, and share in another person’s life.
That is the spirit of ho’okipa and I hope you can implement it into your life, bringing more aloha home!
With love,
Leialoha
Let’s Hear From You!
How do you live the value of ho’okipa? Let us know in the comments below!
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