food, medicine, and many other things.
In Hawaiian customs, the gourd plant should be planted on the night of Hua, during the lunar phase where it was believed to look the most like an egg or a fruit. The gourd should be planted done by a pot-bellied man who has just eaten a large meal. To stretch his stomach, the pot-bellied man must take the seeds and carry them as if they were already a fully grown and heavy gourd. The man would drop the seed into the hole he had dug for it, then he would suddenly pull his hands apart with his palms facing upwards. The reason for this was that the Hawaiians believed that if his palms were to face downward, it would cause the gourd to twist and shrivel. After the seed was buried, the following chant would be recited: He ipu nui! O hiki ku mauna, O hiki kua, Nui maoli keia ipu! Translation: A huge ipu! Growing like a mountain, To be carried on the back, Really huge is this gourd