Papakema
Our Hawaiian word of the week is Papakema, which means baptism.
The hawaiian language doesn’t have verbs and nouns like English does, so the word “baptism” is the same as “baptize.”
Papakema also means “godparent.” When you get baptized or papakema, you have a new godparent, which is God.
Sign language
There are a few ways to sign papakema, but the simplest way is a little sprinkle sprinkle on you po’o (your head).
Practice papakema
Let’s practice using papakema in a sentence.
I’m going to ask you a question and you will answer, “I got papakema,” which means “I got baptized.”
Ready? Okay.
Why are you glowing? I got papakema.
Why do you look like you just swallowed the angel of Christmas? I got papakema.
Ooh! Honey, you look fierce. What did you do? I got papakema.
