Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. nvs., Dizzy, giddy; dizziness; to rotate, whirl, spin, revolve, gyrate.

• Examples:
  • Ke aloha pōniu ʻailana, dizzy with love and compassion.
• Related:
  • hoʻopōniu Caus/sim.; To revolve, spin.

2. Same as lolo, coconut sponge.

3. n., The balloon vine or heartseed (Cardiospermum halicacabum 🌐), a slender, herbaceous, tropical vine, with finely subdivided leaves, small white flowers, and 2.5 cm-wide balloon-like fruiting capsules, each with three seeds (black with a white heart-shaped scar). Hawaiians formerly used the whole plant as a magic remedy for dizziness, wearing it as a lei and eating a little, before throwing it away into the ocean.

• Related:
  • Also: hale-a-ka-iʻa, ʻinalua, pōhuehue uka.
• References:
  • Neal 532.

Balloon vine, heartseed (Cardiospermum halicacabum), a slender-stemmed herbaceous plant that grows to 10 feet. It has small white flowers and balloonlike fruit. It is used in its entirety as a head lei, which was believed to have healing power, especially for headaches (hence, the name pōniu meaning spinning, dizziness). Lengths of the vine were twisted or plaited into a round lei that was placed on the head. The plants were grown for vegetables; leaves were used medicinally for rheumatism or digestive and pulmonary disorders. (NEAL 532.) See ʻinalua.