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Nā
Lei o Hawai`i
Types of Lei
E Komo Mai!
Visit
our Lei Day Pages
Types of Lei
`A`ohe pau ka `ike i ka hālau
ho`okāhi
All
knowledge is not taught in the same school
It is necessary to remember that from ancient times there has been a
certain amount of variation in terminology between different islands,
districts, and families. The Hawaiian culture and language are far more
complex, diverse, and varied than would be indicated by most tourist
publications, or even Western school texts.
hili - braid or plait. A method of making a lei by braiding together only one kind of material. Lei palapalai and lei kauna`oa often are made using this style.
At right, Pi`ikea wears a lei hili made of kupukupu haole - a Boston fern which
has naturalized and reverted to a more sword-fern-like growth habit. At
left, kupukupu haole harvested to hili into lei. Below center, `iwa`iwa
haole, an introduced relative of the native `iwa`iwa. Below right,
palapalai, a fern considered sacred in hula and used at the hula altar
and in personal ornamentation. These ferns and others with longs
flexible stems are often fashioned into lei hili.
'Iwa'iwa
growing on an embankment by Leilehua's garden stairs.