We say it all with a Lei: Aloha, welcome, goodbye and much more

As soon as you step off the plane and set your foot on this tropical paradise on earth, you get a warm welcome with a traditional lei or floral garland and you instantly get into the spirit of ‘Aloha’. In fact, there is a lei stand at each airport. It’s the island way of welcoming the guest to our ‘Aina’. 

Specialized airport lei greeting services are also provided by many small businesses to welcome the guests at airports.

Lei is the Hawaiian word for garland or wreath. The tradition of lei was introduced in Hawaiian Islands by early Polynesian voyagers who arrived here from Tahiti, sailing in canoes and navigating by guidance from stars. In ancient times, the Maile lei was offered as a part of peace agreement between heads of opposite clan.

making of lei 

They used to make lei form various materials like nuts, feathers, seeds, flowers, leaves and even bone and teeth of various animals. There are leis worn and exchanged for every important occasion in life like for grief, for love, lei for love-making and marriages, for a birth in family.  Lei was worn when farmers blessings the new crop, fisherman’s going out to sea for catch or people going on voyages, priest chanting in the heiau.

Most common people in Hawaii used to wear open-ended horseshoe fashion, long lasting lei made of the spicy scented green maile stems and leaves. Maile is a native Hawaiian vine, with shiny fragrant leaves and the lei very popular at weddings, graduations and especially proms.

The maile is the most traditional wedding lei, as it was used by the Kahuna (Hawaiian priest) in old Hawaii to bind the hands of the bride and groom, symbolizing their commitment to each other.

Maile

Most visitors are only familiar with the plumeria lei, because it is widely available at airports and hotels. The plumeria is a relative newcomer in the old tradition of making lei with pikake, jade vine and Ilima . Harder to find is the lei pikake with its unequaled perfume.

Plumeria lei courtesy: getty images

pikake lei 

Modern lei makers have embraced making lei from other flowers not tropical to Hawaii like orchid leis, new scented flowers, seeds and nuts, and long-lasting flowers such as the Cigar (kika) flower catering to the taste of nearly 9 million tourists that visit the islands.

lei making 

orchid lei 

King Kamehameha draped in Lei 

Lei for sale

Today, Leis are a symbol of appreciation, love, affection, respect and is perhaps the physical manifestation of Aloha spirit. Lei are available all through the island and can also be shipped on order. 

May 1^st is celebrated in Hawaii as Lei Day, when rest of the world commemorates it as Labor Day. “May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii Nei” is a very popular phrase here.  The entire day is filled with festivities, colorful pageantry and lei day parade. A Royal court procession announce the Lei day king and queen  with blowing of conch. 

Lei making competitions are also a part of festivities for that day.

The royal court procession has eight princesses, each representing a different Hawaiian island -- accompanied by a man carrying a kāhili -- a feathered staff used in ancient times as a symbol of royalty.

Each of the 8 Hawaiian Islands has its own official color and lei, based on a flower or foliage that is endemic to that island or once thrived there. The Lei Day princess wears the color of the island she is representing and be draped in the proper accompanying lei. The following is information about 8 islands and the respective lei adapted from Kings Hawaiian blog contributed by Marie Tutko.

• White: Niʻihau, “The Forbidden Isle,” and a lei of made of pūpū(shells). Niʻihau is the only island represented by a shell, as its residents are famous for the intricate lei they craft out of shells that can only be found on that island.
• Purple: Kauaʻi, “The Garden Isle,” and a lei made from the rare, anise-scented mokihana berry.
• Yellow: Oʻahu, “The Gathering Place, and a lei of golden ʻilima flowers.
• Green: Molokaʻi, “The Friendly Isle,” and a lei of polished kukui (candlenuts).
• Orange: Lānaʻi, “The Pineapple Island,” (because of the island’s long history as a pineapple plantation) and a lei of kaunaʻoa, a native, leafless vine.
• Gray: Kahoʻolawe, “The Target Island,” (the uninhabited island was used by U.S. Armed Forces for live-fire training and test explosions for decades), and a lei of hinahina, a native, silvery heliotrope that grows on the beach.
• Pink: Maui, “The Valley Isle,” and a lei of lokelani (a small rose).
• Red: The island of Hawaiʻi, “The Big Island,” and lei of ʻōhiʻa lehua, a native honey plant. The red ʻōhiʻa lehuais often the first shrub that will sprout from a recent lava flow.

Lei day competition 

Winning lei at Lei day Photo: Joel

Aunty Amelia Bailey creating a beautiful haku lei. Photo courtesy of Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson.

Mayor with Lei day queen 

Etiquette's of Lei

graduates at commencement 

There are some do and don’t with a lei in Hawaii. In Hawaii, Lei is not worn like a necklace but it should be elegantly draped with a little length hanging from front and back.  Always accept a lei with a smile and a kiss on the cheek or a hug. When someone makes you a lei, it is said that they’ve put a part of themselves in it. Never remove the lei in front of the giver.

Last, but not least, there is one more taboo…never present a pregnant woman a closed lei. Hawaiians feel that a closed lei around the neck is bad luck for the unborn child. (Head Hakus and open-ended leis are acceptable to give to pregnant woman.)

Finally, there is also tradition to dispose of lei properly. It should never be thrown in garbage. It should be returned to nature by hanging on the tree, burying it or unstringing it and offering the flowers to the sea.

Now, knowing more about the history and etiquettes about lei, I am sure you can’t  resist the vibrant colors, the intoxicating fragrances, or the beautiful tradition of Hawaii’s most recognized icon…the flower lei. Simply enjoy the lei for its beauty and fragrance, and get into the Aloha spirit.