intimate relationship Native Hawaiian moe aikāne https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_aik%C4%81ne A term referring to intimate relationships between partners of the same gender, known as aikāne, in pre-colonial Hawaiʻi. These relationships were particularly cherished by aliʻi nui (chiefs) and the male and female kaukaualiʻi performing a hana lawelawe or expected service with no stigma attached. The word and social category of aikāne refers to: ai or intimate sexual relationship; and kāne or male/husband. In traditional moʻolelo or chants, women and goddesses (as well as aliʻi chiefs) referred to their female lovers as aikāne, as when the goddess Hiʻiaka refers to her female lover Hōpoe as her aikāne. During the late 19th and early 20th century, the word aikāne was "purified" of its sexual meaning by colonialism, and in print meant simply "friend", although in Hawaiian language publications its metaphorical meaning could mean either "friend" or "lover" without stigmatization. aikāne