The History of Hawaiian Lei Day
Early Polynesian settlers who had come from Tahiti in sailing canoes introduced the lei custom to the Hawaiian Islands. The word "Lei" means garland or wreath and is any series of objects strung together such as flowers, leaves, shells, seeds, nuts, feathers, and even bone and teeth of various animals with the intent to be worn. Ancient Hawaiians wore a lei or wreath of flowers around the neck to beautify themselves and distinguish themselves from others. The most common version usually consisted of fresh natural foliage such as flowers like the plumerias, orchids, pikake. A Lei made with maile and ti leaves, as well as fern fronds is favored and traditional among hula dancers. The Hawaiian Island of Ni'ihau is famous for its lei made of tiny gem-like shells.
Visitors to the Islands have been presented with a lei as a symbol of affection upon arriving since the "Boat Days" of the early 1900s. At that time lei vendors lined the pier to welcome malihini (visitors) to the islands and kama'aina (locals) back home. Legend has it that departing visitors would throw their lei into the sea as the ship passed by Diamond Head, with the hope that, like their lei, they too would return to the islands again someday. There are a few common methods for producing a lei that have been passed down through the years. They are as follows:
Haku - three-ply braid plus additional materials. Commonly used when flowers and foliage have long pliable stems.
Hili - braid using only one type of material. Most commonly made from three or more strands of pliable vine or fern braided together.
Hilo - A method of twisting two strands together to form a "rope." The popular and simple "ti leaf lei" is made using this method.
Hipuʻu / nipuʻu - knotting the stems of the decorative plant material and stringing the next stem through the knot, similar to a daisy chain.
Humu / humuhumu - The decorative material is sewed to a backing such as hala, paper, or felt. Each new row is overlapped on the previous to create a scale-like effect.
Kui - Sewing or piercing the decorative material with a needle and stringing it onto a thread. This style is probably recognized by most Westerners. Commonly used to string flowers such as plumeria, roses, adn carnations, etc.
Wili - A corkscrew-type twist, and the seed pod of the wiliwil tree. A method of making a lei by winding fiber around successive short lengths of the decorative material.
Even a song composed out of affection for an individual is considered a lei. Haku mele - means to braid a song.
There are, however, some "unspoken rules" when receiving a lei for the first time. The lei should be a welcomed as a celebration of one person's affection to another. Always accept a lei, never refuse. The accepted way to wear a lei is gently draped over the shoulders, hanging down both in front and in back. It is considered rude to remove a lei from your neck in the presence of the person who gave it to you, so if you must, be discreet. In Hawaii, lei giving is a part of many special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and graduations.
At the 81st Annual Mayor's Lei Day Celebration at Kapiolani Park, Honolulu set the record for the World's Longest Lei. Unofficially, the lei measured 5,336 feet in length, more than a mile.
