Wehewehe Wikiwiki Hawaiian language dictionaries

1. n., Polished coconut shell or bowl.

• Examples:
  • ʻUmeke pūniu, coconut-shell calabash, as for poi.

2. n., Small knee drum made of a coconut shell with fishskin cover, as of kala.

3. n., Human skull.

• Examples:
  • I holo mua nō i ka pūniu, to go ahead indeed because of one's skull [intelligence].
• References:
  • See also nīnau.

4. n., Small fontanel of an infant.

5. vi., To spin, as a top; dizzy.

｜ No base definition, only supplemental content.

• References:
  • See ʻukulele pūniu.

Small knee drum made of a coconut shell with a tympanum of ala fish skin.

Skull of a man which resembles a coconut (niu). (2 Nal. 9:35.)

Small knee drum made of a coconut shell covered with the skin of the kala fish as a tympanum. The drum was tied to the thigh of the player who performed on both it and the large drum. The pahu and pūniu produced different drum sounds. See pahu.

A cheat; dishonest gambler, who refuses to give up what he has won in a game. (A.)