ipu
1. n. the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria, also L. vulgaris), a wide-spreading vine, with large-angled or lobed leaves, white, night blooming flowers, and smooth green and mottled or white fruits varying widely in shape and size. The plant is a native of tropical Asia or Africa. Hawaiians have long used gourds as receptacles, small gourds with thin walls to hold water or food, or for rattles for dances (the ipu has a fine tone, halfway between that of niu and laʻamia), larger ones with thin to thick walls to hold tapa and other articles or to serve as drums. Orientals cook and eat the white pulp of green fruits. Hawaiians have distinguished between a kind with bitter pulp, used medicinally, and a kind with nonbitter pulp. For gourds classified according to shape and color see hōkeo, hue, hulilau, kūkaeʻiwa, ʻolo, poʻokanaka. 2. n. squash, general term. 3. s. A general name for all kinds of gourds, calabashes, melons, pumpkins, &c. 4. the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), a wide-spreading vine from tropical Africa, with large, lobed leaves and yellow flowers. It is grown for its edible fruits, which are round or oblong, green or green with light stripes, and full of sweet, juicy, rose-colored pulp surrounding flat, black seeds, The watermelon was introduced to Hawaiʻi about 1792 and thrived until the melon fly arrived about 1910. Among many varieties that were developed were three outstanding ones: ipu huluhulu, ipu poʻo kanaka, and ipu oloolo. Today watermelons are again cultivated successfully because the fruits are commonly wrapped in paper or cloth during early stages. 5. general name for vessel or container, as dish, mug, calabash, pot, cup, utensil, urn, bowl, basin, pipe. 6. A general name for small containers, as dish, cup, mug, tumbler, &c. Kanl. 23:25. Each kind is designated by some additional word expressive of its quality or use, which see under their own names. 7. drum consisting of a single gourd or made of two large gourds of unequal size joined together. 8. crown of a hat.
(16)
155
ʻAʻohe ipu ʻōpio e ʻole ka mimino i ka lā.
No immature gourd can withstand withering in the sun [without care].
[No child can get along without adult supervision.]
492
Haumanumanu ka ipu ʻinoʻino.
A misshapen gourd makes an ugly container.
[Said of an ugly person. Also said in warning to a mother to be careful with the body of her baby — to mold it lest it be imperfect and ugly.]
642
He ipu hoʻoilina mai nā kupuna mai.
An inherited container from the remotest ancestress.
[Said of the womb, the container by which the family line continues.]
643
He ipu kāʻeo.
A full calabash.
[A knowledgeable person. Also expressed ʻUmeke kaeo.]
644
He ipu pala ʻole.
A calabash without a dah [of poi ] in it.
[An ignoramus. Also expressed ʻUmeke pala ʻole.]
831
He nahā ipu auaneʻi o paʻa i ka hupau humu.
It isn’t a break in a gourd container that can he easily mended by sewing the parts together.
[A broken relationship is not as easily mended as a broken gourd. Also, the breaking up of the family brought a stop to the support each gave the other.]
965
He waʻa auaneʻi ka ipu e pau ai nā pipi me nā ʻōpae.
A gourd container is not a canoe to take all of the oysters and shrimps.
[The container is not too large and cannot deplete the supply. A reply to one who views with suspicion another’s food container, or who balks at sharing what he has.]
1255
Ipu kai hīnālea.
A dish of hīnālea fish.
[A rude remark about one with bad breath, or one whose nose has the foul odor of catarrh. The hīnālea was a favorite fish for a dish called iʻa hoʻomelu. Before preparation, the fish was left to decompose slightly, thus acquiring a strong odor. After seasoning with salt, kukui relish, and chili pepper, the fish lost its unpleasant smell.]
1256
Ipu lei Kohala na ka Moaʻe Kū.
Kohala is like a wreath container for the Moaʻe breeze.
[Kohala is a windy place.]
1259
Ipu paʻu lena i ka uahi.
Soot containers yellowed by smoke.
[A term of contempt applied to the kauā of Kaupō, Maui.]
2198
Muʻumuʻu hōkake ipu kai.
One-armed fellow who messes up his meat dish.
[An expression of ridicule for a person who has lost a hand or is without hands or fingers. He messes up his dish in his attempt to pick up the food. Also said in humor of anyone who is clumsy with his hands.]
2320
No Hanamāʻulu ka ipu puehu.
The quickly emptied container belongs to Hanamāʻulu.
[Said of the stingy people of Hanamāʻulu, Kauaʻi — no hospitality there. At one time, food containers would be hidden away and the people of Hanamāʻulu would apologize for having so little to offer their guests.]
2328
Noho nō ke kanaka a ka lā mālie, kau ka ipu hōkeo a ka lawaiʻa, nānā ana i ka ʻōpua.
A person waits for a clear day, sets up the gourd that holds the fishermans paraphernalia, and observes the clouds.
[To a fisherman, a clear day, his tools, and the signs and omens seen in the clouds are important.]
2535
ʻO Poʻo ke koʻa, ka ipu kai aloha a nā aliʻi.
Poo is the fishing ground, beloved meat dish of chiefis.
[Said of Poʻo, a favorite fishing place of the chiefs of Oʻahu, located near Mokumanu. Nuʻuanu Pali is the landmark by which it was located.]
2596
Pā mai, pā mai ka makani o Hilo; waiho aku i ka ipu iki, hō mai i ka ipu nui.
Blow, blow, O winds of Hilo, put away the small containers and give us the large one.
[Laʻamaomao, the god of wind, was said to have a wind container called Ipu-a-Laʻamaomao. When one desires more wind to make the surf roll high, or a kite sail aloft, he makes this appeal.]