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NA LEI |
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Pua Kika Many hundreds of blossoms are strung in various geometric patterns to create the lei pua kika. As is the case with the making of many leis, the gathering and preparing of the pua kika for stringing consumes more time than the actual construction of the lei. The three-fourths inch tubular blossoms are gathered from the small shrubs. About 2,000 are needed to make a lei 'a'i. Two kinds of pua kika are grown by the lei makers. One type has flowers with keep red-orange tubes and dark bands at the white mouths. The other type differs by having almost white tubes. The tubular flowers are pierced laterally through a point half way between their swollen base and their mouths. They are arranged on the needle as spokes on a wheel by grouping the swollen red-orange bases and the dark and white mouths to create various patterns. The flowers are then passed on to thread. A greater number of geometric patterns were created by combining the two types of pua kika. The lei pua kika did not become popular until the early 1900's although the plants were found in Hawaiian gardens some twenty-five years earlier. Old-time Hawaiians of Waimea, Hawai'i remember their mothers stringing he leis for special occasions. Reference: Ka Lei, The Leis of Hawaii by Marie A. McDonald |