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You have seen the picture before – A Hawaiian beauty wears a pink hibiscus in her hair to match her lovely pink plumeria lei. Her hat is woven from the leaves of the coco palm.

Never in our travels have we received such a warm and colorful welcome as at our arrival in Honolulu in the Hawaiian Islands. While a native orchestra played, we were presented with fragrant festive flower necklaces or leis, a custom kept alive from the days when Polynesian Gods walked like men in the forest decked with garlands of flowers, shells, seeds and feathers.

Since then these garlands have been used in religious ceremonies, though they have come to have friendly and social significance as well. The lei, dear to generations of Hawaiians, is as much a part of their life as their music. It is used on all holidays, at feasts and festivals and at the arrival and departure of friends and visitors.

There are many kinds of leis. Some are simple, others intricate, and many are fragrant. The five-pointed bloom of plumeria is commonly used. Some plumerias are waxy-white with yellow centers, some creamy or bright yellow and other hybrids in pink and rose. The small, waxy, light creamy flower of the pikake or Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac) is used for its perfume. Strung into leis, it is regarded by many as the most enchanting flower fragrance in the world. This is the jasmine that is grown commercially in China and added to tea leaves to make jasmine tea.

Another flower used for leis is the grayish lavender or greenish white bloom of the crown flower (Calotropis gigantea). The sculptured ivory neck laces, which are sold in exclusive jewelry shops, have designs based on the lovely crown flower. This attractive blossom is also combined with a matching color of bougainvillea.

Then, too, the sweetly perfumed exquisite flowers of the white ginger (Hedychium coronarium) and yellow ginger (Hedychium flavam), which grow wild in damp places, make fascinating garlands that are exotic and lovely. At Hilo, the orchid center of the Islands, we were presented with gorgeous vanda orchid leis, each containing 150 blossoms.

The Maunaloa lei, originally made of Dioclea violacea, a plant of the legume family now rarely found in Hawaii, is presently made from Canavalia microcarpa also of the same family. Both plants have the typical pea blossom and are orchid in color. They are also long lasting and most attractive when made into sculptured floral bands, with scale-like overlapping petals in the center, and bordered on either edge with rounded projections, the keel of the pea flower.

At a private party given by a kamaaina (old-timer) we saw leis of ancient song and legend – gifts to the hostess from life long friends. Hundreds of tiny, single, delicate, orange blooms, about one-inch across, of ilima (Sida fallax), a native plant related to the hibiscus, had been laboriously strung into a lei of several strands and twined with maile. This same ilima lei, orange-colored symbol of royalty, is made of paper and presented to each passenger boarding our west cruise coast for Hawaii. Though, festive, it is far removed front the real thing.

Maile (Alyxia olivaeformis), a vine that grows wild in the native forests of the lower and middle mountain regions, has a fragrant vanilla-like scent and shiny, pointed, oval leaves. At one time considered the favorite plant of the Hawaiians, it was indispensable for decorations at festive times and was used in the manner of smilax.

The Chinese violet (Telosma cordata or odoratissima) of the milkweed family supplied the tiny, yellowish-green flowers of another delightfully fragrant, many-stranded lei that was given to our hostess. It is the small, dainty, rose-colored four o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa), which perfumes the air. Used for late afternoon or evening wear, the Hawaiian name, “Nani Ahiahi” means beauty of the evening. Waxy stephanotis, tuberoses, gardenias, sweet violets, maiden-hair fern and carnations are all used and woven skillfully into garlands.

Flowers for leis are picked early in the morning and packed in big baskets with fern and maile.

On Memorial Day, children place leis on graves of the war dead of many servicemen and women, in Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific. The Hawaiian name for Punchbowl Crater is Puowaina, which means Hill of Sacrifice.

The lei represents the warm-heartedness of Hawaiian life and the friendliness which is referred to as the “aloha spirit.” To arrive in Hawaii or to leave it is a colorful, never-to-beforgotten experience. One’s shoulders are laden with fresh, fragrant blossoms, and gifts from newly found friends come to bid farewell.

As some visitors to Hawaii leave, they toss their leis into the water, and if carried back to the shore it means you will return some day.

One of the last remaining crafts among the polynesians, the Hawaiians have set aside May first as Lei Day, the only day of its kind in the world.

by D Nehrling