Here's a another quote from the Origin of Johnny Come Down to Hilo thread from Mark Cohen focused on the meaning of "hilo":

"But in some of these Hilo shanties it was not a port, either in Hawaii or Peru, to which they were referring. Sometimes the word was a substitute for a 'do', a 'jamboree', or even a 'dance'. And in some cases the word was used as a verb--to 'hilo' somebody or something."

Makes sense to me.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble