‘Get Along Little Dogie’ With a Hawaiian Twist

Like their counterparts in the American West, Hawaiian cowboys learned their trade from Mexican vaqueros. But the land and language made the Hawaiian paniolo a different kind of cowboy.

Steep mountain slopes and sharp fields of lava created terrain far more challenging than the open range of the mainland. And the tropical environment provided no guarantee against cold, as paniolos did much of their work at elevations above the frost and snow levels of the 13,795-foot-high Mauna Kea volcano.

The early paniolo (pahn-ee-OH-lo) saddles used no tacks or nails and were hand-sewn and planed. Neleau (nel-ay-OW) wood was used for the frame, pegs and okuma (oh-KOO-ma), or saddle horn.

As on the mainland, the floppy hat inspired by the vaqueros gave way to Stetsons, but the paniolos adorned theirs with leis of flowers or feathers--a tradition that continues today in rodeo competitions and parades.

Paniolos--no matter their ethnicity--took their orders in Hawaiian. On a roundup, the cry might be “Hele makai (heh-LAY mah-KY),” not, “Get along, little dogie.”

A unique vocabulary of the range evolved that is still used today. Its terms include:

Pipi (PEE-pee): Cattle

Lio (LEE-oh): Horse

Ili o (EEL-ee-oh): Dog

Kaula ili (COW-la EE-lee): Lariat

Kau ka lio (COW kah LEE-oh): Mount your horses

Oni (OH-nee): Move out

Waha (WAH-ha): Make noise to keep the cattle moving

Hemo ka puka (HEH-mo kah POOK-ah): Open the gate

Wawahi (wah-WAH-hee): Separate the cattle

Nee imua (NAY-eh ee-MOO-ah): Move up front

Kani ka o (KAHN-ee kah oh): Stay in line

Paa ka ma ka mua (PA-ah kah mah kah MOO-ah): Come inside

Paeke (pa-EH’-kay): Corral

Oki hau (OH-kee HOW): De-horn

Kuni (KOON-ee): Brand