Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Art of the Lei
In choosing their materials, lei makers tell a story - since flowers and plants may em-
body Hawaiian places and myths - and express emotions. Traditional lei makers may use
feathers, nuts, shells, seeds, seaweed, vines, leaves and fruit, in addition to more familiar
fragrant flowers. The most commons methods of making lei are by knotting, braiding,
winding, stringing or sewing the raw natural materials together.
Worn daily, lei were integral to ancient Hawaiian society. In the islands' Polynesian
past, lei were part of sacred hula dances and given as special gifts to loved ones, healing
medicine to the sick and offerings to the gods, all practices that continue today. So
powerful a symbol were they that on ancient Hawaii's battlefields, a lei could bring
peace to warring armies.
Today, locals wear lei for special events, such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries
and graduations. It's no longer common to make one's own lei, unless you belong to a
hula
halau
(school). For ceremonial hula, performers are often required to make their
own lei, even gathering raw materials by hand.
ISLAND LEI TRADITIONS
Lei are a universal language in Hawaii, but some special lei evoke a particular is-
land.
Oʻah
OʻahuThe yellow-orangeʻilimais the island's official flower, and a symbol of Laka,
the Hawaiian goddess of hula dancing. Once favored by royalty, anʻilimalei may be
made of up to a thousand small blossoms strung together.
HHawaiʻi th
ig IslandLei made from lehua, flowers of the ohia plant, are most of-
ten colored red or pink. According to legend, the first Hawaiian lei was made of le-
hua and given by Hiʻiaka, goddess of healing, to her sister Pele, goddess of fire and
volcanoes.
MMauuiThelokelani(pink damask rose, or ʻrose of heaven') is a soft, velvety and aro-
matic flower. It was imported by 19th-century Christian missionaries for their gar-
dens in Lahaina. Today it's Maui's official flower, the only exotic species of flora so
recognized in Hawaii.
Lanaʻi
iʻi the B
e Big Isla
aʻiA yellowish-orange vine,kaunaoais traditionally gathered from the island's
windward shores, then twisted into a lei. One traditional Hawaiian chant sings of
this plant growing on Lanaʻi like a feathered cape lying on a strong chief's
shoulders.
