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3. The round fruit balls of the breadfruit tree and the small black hanging berry balls of Solanum nigrum presumably constitute, for the imagination, a common denominator - they can be used symbolically in the glyphs of hua poporo:

Among the several wordplays involved in the word poporo we can, therefore, certainly first of all identify pôpo = ball:

Popo, pôpo

Popo: 1. To put something into something else, for instance, stones in a boat before going fishing. 2. To enter, to go in; he-popo-mai kiroto ki te hare, he enters the house. 3. Bundle, bag made of leaves; to make a bundle, a parcel, to leave something in a bundle, a parcel. Pôpo: ball; to make small balls: kete pôpó ki'ea, small basket with balls of coloured earth. Popohaga, to dawn; he-popohaga, dawn breaks (one does not say: i te popohaga, but: i te po-á). Vanaga.

1. Waves which strike one another. P Pau.: po-karakara, to strike the hands together. Mgv.: po-kara, to clap the hands loudly and gently in alternation. Ta.: popo, to clap the hands. 2. To wrap up, to bundle, to preserve, to put in safety. Pau.: hakapopo, to make into a ball. Mgv.: popo, to take care of a fish net. 3. Pau.: popo, ball, sphere. Mgv.: popo, ball. Ta.: popo, id. Mq.: popo, id. Ha.: popo, id. Popohaga, morning; popohaga atatehe, id. Mq.: popoui, id. Popokai (popo 2 - kai 4): hare popokai, store-house. Popopopo, to deteriorate. P Mgv.: popopopo, entirely rotten, decayed. Mq.: popo, worm-eaten, decayed. Poporakau (popo 2 - rakau 2) store, warehouse. Churchill.

When dawn breaks (i te po-á) not only colours suddenly appear, but we also hear sounds. In the morning (popohaga) we open our eyes and ears. A fresh new day enters (popo) - although the same (hua) as yesterday.

"Poi ball, made from plaited flax fibre ornamented with haliotis shell and stuffed with bullrush down. It was swung rythmically around the body and tapped for percussive effect to the accompaniment of chant." (Starzecka)