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Yellow & Orange Lehua Leis
Posted: October 24, 2007
I was thrilled to photograph an authentic yellow lehua lei made by Brian Choy. In old Hawaii, yellow was more highly prized than red because it was rarer and more difficult to get. Yellow was reserved for the highest rank of chiefs. Kamehameha the Great’s feathered cape was pure yellow.
Lei Lehua Mano (Yellow Lehua Lei)
This authentic yellow lehua lei is made with completely native and Polynesian-introduced material: (1) yellow lehua flowers and buds, (2) yellow ilima flowers and buds, (3) yellow kaunaoa vines, (4) yellow ti leaves, and (5) green palapalai ferns.
Lei Lehua Alani (Orange Lehua Lei)
This orange lehua lei is made with introduced plants: (1) orange lehua from New Zealand from which the Hawaiian Lehua is believed to have evolved, (2) cup and saucer, (3) orange and pink bouganvillia, (4) orange ti leaves, (5) orange globe amaranth, (6) orange kalanchoe and (7) green palapalai ferns.
Lei Keokeo (White Lei)
Oral tradition speaks of white lehua leis and there is a written account of a lehua lei made entirely of alternating red and white lehua flowers. But modern science has not validated the existence of white lehua. Some speculate that white lehua is an extremely pale yellow lehua. If the mythic white lehua flower does actually exist, it would be exceedingly rare and probably live in an extremely remote location.
To achieve a white appearance this white lei is made with (1) white fuzzy lehua buds, (2) silver hinahina leaves, (3) silvery kului flower stalks, (4) slivery-green kukui leaves, (5) dark red ti leaves–bordering on purple, and (6) green palaa ferns.