Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono (Hawaiian pronunciation:[ˈuəˈmɐwkeˈɛəokəˈʔaːi.nəikəˈpo.no]) is a Hawaiian phrase, spoken by Kamehameha III, and adopted in 1959 as the state motto.[1] It is most commonly translated as "the life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."[2][3] An alternative translation, which appears at Thomas Square next to a statue of Kamehameha III, is "The sovereignty of the kingdom continues because we are righteous."[4]
Some of the words in the phrase have additional meanings or connotations. In particular, Ea means not only "life" or "breath" but also "sovereignty".[3][5][7] Hawaiian activists argue that ea refers specifically to sovereignty because of the circumstances at the time KamehamehaIII uttered it.[2][3] Thus, an alternate translation is "The sovereignty of the land is perpetuated in righteousness."[8]
Pono, commonly translated as "righteousness", may also connote goodness, fairness, order, or completeness.[9]ʻĀina, translated in the motto as "land", also has a more significant meaning in the Hawaiian language.[10]ʻĀina is better translated as "that which feeds" and can describe a relationship between Native Hawaiians and the islands.[10][3]