Hawaiian Noun · Music
‘ili‘ili
Pronunciation: /EE-lee-EE-lee/
Meaning
Small stones used as castanets, clapped together to provide rhythm in hula.
Example sentences
E hoʻokani mai ʻoe i ka ʻoli me ka leo o ka ‘ili‘ili.
You sing the chant with the sound of the small stones.
Ua lawe ka mea hula i kāna mau ‘ili‘ili maʻalahi i ka pāʻina.
The hula dancer brought her smooth small stones easily to the party.
Ke lohe nei au i ke kani o nā ‘ili‘ili mai ka hale hula.
I can hear the sound of the small stones from the hula house.
About this word
“‘ili‘ili” is a Hawaiian noun meaning Small stones used as castanets, clapped together to provide rhythm in hula. It is part of the ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language) vocabulary in the category of Music. Definitions are based on the Pukui-Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary.