The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary

*kani-kani scruffiness of the skin; dirt, dregs

POC kani-kani scruffiness of the skin; dirt, dregs

OC
Vitu hani-hani get infected
Nggela kani-kani a skin disease which leaves white scars or patches on the skin, different from (‘showing first patches of leprosy, whiter than ’)
'Āre'āre kani a skin disease, white spots
Motu kani-kani full of dirt, weeds or mud (metaphor of infectious diseases, wars, raids or killing)
Wayan kani-kani (of land, body) be wasting away, be wasted, eaten away, eroded; (of skin) be flaky, scaly, as patches of skin in a habitual kava drinker
Fijian kani scales and roughness of the skin caused by excessive drinking of (kava); also the dregs of in the cup or bowl