What Is A Hawaii Lei?
By Chris Chew
People are getting lei'd in Hawaii every day. No,not the dirty
thought you may have in your mind.
What exactly is a Hawaiian lei then? Well, a lei is a beautiful
tropical floral or sea shell garland made and stringed together
from sweet fragrant tropical flowers and usually presented to
visitors to Hawaii to be draped around their necks by beautiful
Hawaiian native girls. The lei is a welcoming gesture and as
well as gift to tourists, VIPs or simply to people the Hawaiian
people appreciates.
Hawaiian natives are very proud of their tradition, custom and
culture and they are also very polite people.That is why the
lei is so much more than merely just a simple decorative
necklace of flowers and sea shells. They are the Hawaiian way
of saying hello,congratulations, respect, welcome, sympathy or
a loving couple's gift to say "I love you". According to
Hawaiian legends, the first lei was given by Hiiaka, the sister
of the volcano goddess Pele. Hiiaka garlanded Pele with a lei of
the fragrant lehua flower blossoms.
The leis were traditionally given to high ranking village
tribal chiefs and accompanied by a bow by the giver. This was
because it was forbidden for common villagers to raise their
arms higher than the village chief's head.
The presentation of a lei with a kiss was rumoured to have
started during world war 2 when a entertainer dancer kissed an
American officer on a dare. That was presumed to have started
the tradition of presentation of a lei with a a kiss on the
cheek.
Making a lei is a complicated artistic art form. All leis are
handmade in a variety of patterns and styles. Some are sewn
with hundreds of flowers or sea shells and some others, a
mixture of leaves and ferns. Every Hawaiian island has its own
special flower for making the lei. On the island of Muai, leis
are made from rose. On Oahu, it is the orange ilima flower. On
Hawaii's Big Island, leis are made from the lehua blossoms, the
same flowers used by Hiiaka when she put the first Hawaiian lei
on Pele.
On the island of Molokai, kukui is the preferred flower and in
Kauai, the mokihana is the choice for making the lei. On Lanai,
it is the kaunaoa and in Niihau, they prefer sea shells leis
instead of flowers and blossoms.
Leis are available everywhere in Hawaii. You can find them at
the airport, lei shops especially in Maunakea Street, in
Chinatown and other tourist areas. You can even ask your tour
company to send you a lei greeter to welcome you at the
airport.
About The Author:
Chris Chew is an author and a travel writer.
More of his articles are located at http://scuba-diving.com
http://destinations.blogspot.com and
http://hawaii-vacations-holidays.blogspot.com
