Lio

Lio

(pronounced \lee-oh\)
Lio means horse. The first lio arrived in Hawai’i in 1804. In 1832, the vaqueros (Mexican cowboys) were invited to Hawai’i to teach Hawaiians how to ride a lio and rope wild cattle. By 1836, long before the "wild west" and what we consider "American cowboys," Hawai’i had working paniolo (Hawaiian cowboys). Ranching would become an important part of Hawai’i’s economy.