Gibb-

I'm convinced from the literary references that "Hilo" came from the fields songs and then went out to sea and began to surface in shanties. I think I was the first one to dig up the oldest literary reference. It's buried somewhere in the threads.

I also have no doubt that some shantymen associated the word with the Peruvian port known as "Ilo" and that is certainly the case with Hugill.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble