Our Hawaiian Leis: You Will Find Beauty Beyond
Adornment
Hawaiian Leis...
Some say you will find memories strung among the lovely blossoms
of Hawaiian leis, for they are a garland of many things besides
flowers and greenery, string and ribbon. Leis are an unspoken
greeting, a token of affection. Leis celebrate and safeguard
our physical and spiritual natures, removing sickness and guilt.
It cheers the soul.
The lei play a role in dealing with family conflicts and associated
medical problems. Often, unexplained illness was seen as a physical
manifestation of emotional conflict, and had effects on the
entire family. Members of the family would gather together and,
through prayer and open soul-searching, identify the source
of the trouble and take corrective action. At the close of the
session, the individual deemed at fault would wear open lei
of limu kala (sargassum) into the ocean; as the lei was lifted
off the shoulders by the waves and floated away, the negative
influences were carried off and the wearer was "freed and
pardoned" or kala.
Hawaiians believe that a lei received must never be given
away, except to a blood relative. Once received, a lei becomes
a part of the wearer and therefore is not to be given casually.
Lei worn for hula are not to be given away at all, for they
are made of forest flora, which are reserved for the hula deity,
Laka. After a dance performance, all lei and greenery are returned
to the forest home of Laka.
In some hula schools, only closed lei of flowers, leaves and
ferns encircling the upper chest, head, wrists and ankles are
permitted. These lei safeguard those parts of the body where
dance knowledge and skill are believed to reside. And since
hala means "to be gone or to depart," hala lei are
not permitted by some hula schools too, for fear that knowledge
and skill would leave the dancer.
The meanings of Hawaiian
leis are as varied as the flowers and plants that are used
to create them. In Hawaiian tradition, the leis are not just
a thing of beauty. It was often an item replete with cultural
and spiritual symbolism.
Learn
more about Hawaiian flower wedding leis, Orchids, Plumeria,
Tuberose and more...
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