Hawaii State Motto: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono

Hawaii's state motto is Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono, a Hawaiian-language phrase meaning The Life of the Land Is Perpetuated in Righteousness. King Kamehameha III spoke the words in 1843 and they became the motto of the Kingdom of Hawaii. When Hawaii became the 50th state in 1959, the phrase was carried into the new state's official symbols without change.

Hawaii is the only U.S. state with a motto in the Hawaiian language. Every other state uses English, Latin, Spanish, French, or Greek. The phrase is also unusual because it comes from a real, documented historical event rather than a committee or legislative session.

The official English translation used by the State of Hawaii is The Life of the Land Is Perpetuated in Righteousness. This version appears on Hawaii government websites and in official state publications.

The central word ea does not translate precisely into one English word. It can mean breath, life, sovereignty, or surface depending on context. When Kamehameha III spoke the phrase in 1843, the context was the restoration of political sovereignty, so ea carried a political weight that the word life does not fully capture in English. Both translations are used by credible Hawaiian sources.

In February 1843, British naval officer Lord George Paulet arrived in Honolulu and, acting without authorization from the British government, claimed the Hawaiian Islands for Britain. King Kamehameha III was pressured into a provisional cession. The occupation lasted five months.

On July 31, 1843, Rear Admiral Richard Thomas arrived and restored Hawaiian sovereignty. At a ceremony in Honolulu, Kamehameha III spoke the words Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono. That date is now observed in Hawaii as Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Restoration Day.

The phrase became the official motto of the Kingdom of Hawaii and appeared on the royal coat of arms. It was preserved through the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893, through the territorial period beginning in 1900, and into statehood in 1959. The words have not changed.