Shows two women wearing lei making and offering of lei as they chant.

Floral Adornments of Hawaiʻi

Above, Kili Redondo (left) and Leinani Lozi (right), oli (chant) at the opening of the 2023 Hilo Lei Day Festival at Kalākaua Park. Photo by Rita French

Lei, the lovely garlands of Hawaiʻi, are made of many different materials, from shells to ivory, to flowers, to feathers – so many things can be crafted into beautiful adornments.

These same techniques can be used to craft other types of adornments as well.

A garland is a lei.

Worn around the neck, open or closed, it is a lei ʻāʻī – a neck lei.

Lei Day 2023, Kalākaua Park
Photo by Rita French

Worn on the head, it is a lei poʻo – a head lei.

Leinani Lozi wears on her head a lei poʻo of kupukupu (native sword fern) in the hili style. Around her neck she wears a lei lāʻī in the hilo style.
Photo by Rita French

Worn on a hat, it is a lei pāpale – a hat lei.

Leinaʻala Lassiter wears a lei pāpale (hat lei) of loke (rose) and lei ʻāʻī of pua kiele (gardenia) in the kui style as she MCs the 2023 Hilo Lei Day Festival at Kalākaua Park.
Photo by Rita French

A short garland worn on the wrist or ankle is a kūpeʻe.

Marcia Timboy, a member of the Hilo Lei Day Festival Board of Directors, show her kūpeʻe lima (bracelet) of fern, liko, and other foliage. Around her neck she wears a lei pūpū, a shell lei ʻāʻī.
Photo by Leilehua Yuen

An unidentified student wears a kūpeʻe wāwae (anklet) of lau kukui (kukui leaf).
Photo by Leilehua Yuen

A short garland or a floral arrangement worn in the hair or as a boutonnière is a wehi, wēwehi, or wehiwehi.

Recently we have been hearing that some people are claiming wēwehi are called “koko” or “coco” in Hawaiian. This is not true. “Koko” means “blood” in Hawaiian. “Kōkō” is a carrying net. “Kokō” is to crow or cackle. “Coco” is not a Hawaiian word.

Photo by Leilehua Yuen

There are many ways to craft a lei or a wēwehi. The two main ways of creating a lei are to kui lei (to sew or string a lei), and to haku lei (to braid, weave, or compile/fabricate a lei). This can be confusing because haku has several definitions, and is both a noun and a verb.

You can learn more about lei at LeiDay.org