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Early Hawaiian Lei Vendors
<click for larger image>
Each of the major Hawaiian Islands has
its own lei.
Hawaii - lehua. The blossoms come from the
`ohi`a lehua tree which
grows on the slopes of the volcanoes.
The most common color
is red but it's also found in white, yellow and orange,
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Kauai - mokihana.
Found
ONLY on Kaua'i.
You take the purplish berries and sting them like beads.
Sometimes they are woven with
strands of maile.
Once you smell mokihana, you never forget it. (It's
wonderful)
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Kaho'olawe - hinahina. You find it on the
beaches of Kaho`olawe.
It's a silver-gray plant. (You braid it to form the lei)
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Lanai - kaunaoa. This a parasitic vine (light orange
in color)
You gather it by the handful and twist it together to form the lei.
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Remember to "give a lei" on special
occasions.
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Maui - lokelani. A delicate,
sweet-smelling, pink rose.
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Molokai - kukui. (The
Candlenut Tree) You braid the leaves
to make the lei.
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Ni'ihau - pupu. The white pupu shells
are found along the
shoreline of Ni'ihau.
You pierce them and string on cords to form this lei.
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O'ahu - `ilima. A very thin and
delicate yellow/orange lei.
This is called "the royal lei" because they were once worn
only by the high chiefs.
(It takes 500 - 1000 blossoms to make 1 `Ilima lei
and it
lasts just one day!)
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MAY 1st is Lei Day in Hawaii BUT
EVERYDAY IS LEI DAY at Aloha Joe.com
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