Lei Aloha: Flower Lei Of Hawaii With Instructions Book
Product Description
By Marsha Heckman
Photographs by Ann Cecil, Veronica Carmona and Ronnda Heinrich
Softcover, 9-1/2" x 10". 104 pages.
The author turns her passion for the lei into this fascinating collection of floral histories, which honors the lei makers who share their crafts and stories. Filled with hundreds of striking full color photographs and instructions for making leis of your very own.
HISTORY OF LEIS: The magical history of the floral lei dates back to the ancient Hawaiians who wore braided leaves, native flowers, shells, feathers, stones and bones to beautify themselves. They also offered these hand-made garlands to each other and to their gods as a symbol of love and friendship. The lei was treasured and worn with pride by people of every age. During the Boat Days of the late 1800's, the popularity of the lei grew as visitors who arrived by ship were greeted with aloha and presented with a floral leis. Legends grew around the luck of the lei. It was said if a departing visitor tossed their lei into the ocean and it floated back to the beach, it meant that the person would someday return to the islands. Hundreds of leis could be seen floating in the crystal waters off of Diamond Head as a ship steamed away. Today, the ancient tradition continues. The tender and beautiful lei is still carefully made by hand - weaving fragrant and colorful flowers and leaves together to create a work of art. Leis are worn on all special occasions and given to family and friends as gifts of love. The lei is a symbol of Hawaii.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON LEI-MAKING: The flower lei, a garland worn like a necklace, is created by stringing individual flowers into a single strand or multiple strands and tying the ends together. A lei may be wide and flat or thick and round. It may not even be made of flowers at all, as is the case with the maile, a fragrant vine with shiny green leaves, that is draped U-shaped around a person's neck or placed upon an altar.
In ancient Hawaii, the presence of lei signified special occasions, such as when villagers gathered to tread a taro patch prior to its planting or when they came together to celebrate their collective efforts to build someone's home. In this context, the presentation of a lei symbolized sharing.
The lei also figured into more formal ceremonies. Jasmine flowers or pikake are traditionally used in courtship and marriage. The flower was name "pikake" or peacock because Princess Kaiulani had jasmine bushes and peacocks in her garden. The pua kika or cigar lei, made of hundreds of tubular red-orange flowers strung in a spiral pattern, is presented to bridegrooms.
The Ilima, which is the flower of Oahu, ranges in color from yellow to deep gold to bright orange. This velvety lei requires 2,000 delicate and easily bruised flowers, which must be picked unopened before dawn and strung before they bloom in late morning. Often associated with, but not restricted to royalty, strands of Ilima many feet long were said to have been presented each morning to the Hawaiian monarchs.
Traditional haku-lei styles, which require significantly more skill than the average lei, have recently become popular once again. This technique involves setting or mounting the flowers face up amid greenery on a backing of banana or other natural fiber. The ends of the fibers are tied together to have the haku lei encircle the recipient's neck or head.
Today, in addition to weddings and special ceremonies, flower lei are most often presented to honor birthdays and graduations. Islanders also don the lei on May 1, which May Day or Lei Day in Hawaii, and during the Aloha Week festivities that take place throughout the islands during the Fall.
HISTORY OF LEIS: The magical history of the floral lei dates back to the ancient Hawaiians who wore braided leaves, native flowers, shells, feathers, stones and bones to beautify themselves. They also offered these hand-made garlands to each other and to their gods as a symbol of love and friendship. The lei was treasured and worn with pride by people of every age. During the Boat Days of the late 1800's, the popularity of the lei grew as visitors who arrived by ship were greeted with aloha and presented with a floral leis. Legends grew around the luck of the lei. It was said if a departing visitor tossed their lei into the ocean and it floated back to the beach, it meant that the person would someday return to the islands. Hundreds of leis could be seen floating in the crystal waters off of Diamond Head as a ship steamed away. Today, the ancient tradition continues. The tender and beautiful lei is still carefully made by hand - weaving fragrant and colorful flowers and leaves together to create a work of art. Leis are worn on all special occasions and given to family and friends as gifts of love. The lei is a symbol of Hawaii.
ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON LEI-MAKING: The flower lei, a garland worn like a necklace, is created by stringing individual flowers into a single strand or multiple strands and tying the ends together. A lei may be wide and flat or thick and round. It may not even be made of flowers at all, as is the case with the maile, a fragrant vine with shiny green leaves, that is draped U-shaped around a person's neck or placed upon an altar.
In ancient Hawaii, the presence of lei signified special occasions, such as when villagers gathered to tread a taro patch prior to its planting or when they came together to celebrate their collective efforts to build someone's home. In this context, the presentation of a lei symbolized sharing.
The lei also figured into more formal ceremonies. Jasmine flowers or pikake are traditionally used in courtship and marriage. The flower was name "pikake" or peacock because Princess Kaiulani had jasmine bushes and peacocks in her garden. The pua kika or cigar lei, made of hundreds of tubular red-orange flowers strung in a spiral pattern, is presented to bridegrooms.
The Ilima, which is the flower of Oahu, ranges in color from yellow to deep gold to bright orange. This velvety lei requires 2,000 delicate and easily bruised flowers, which must be picked unopened before dawn and strung before they bloom in late morning. Often associated with, but not restricted to royalty, strands of Ilima many feet long were said to have been presented each morning to the Hawaiian monarchs.
Traditional haku-lei styles, which require significantly more skill than the average lei, have recently become popular once again. This technique involves setting or mounting the flowers face up amid greenery on a backing of banana or other natural fiber. The ends of the fibers are tied together to have the haku lei encircle the recipient's neck or head.
Today, in addition to weddings and special ceremonies, flower lei are most often presented to honor birthdays and graduations. Islanders also don the lei on May 1, which May Day or Lei Day in Hawaii, and during the Aloha Week festivities that take place throughout the islands during the Fall.
