FEATHER LEIS. 



A lei Avas a ver\- primitive form of personal decoration. Among the Hawaiians 

 the faA^orite form was a necklace of the fragrant fruits of the screw pine, — the Icihala^ 

 "he leihala oe ma ka ai o ka poe naauao — thou art a hala necklace about the neck of 

 the wise" Avell expressed the native estimation of this ornament. When made of 

 feathers the name could hardly be translated necklace, for the lei of feathers was as 

 often worn in the hair and about the head as about the neck: or the longer ones were 

 thrown over the shoulder precisely as the long strings of flowers called lei at the present 



day are usually worn. It is best then to adopt the 

 i ,_ Hawaiian word without "doing it into English." 



^y^- , No feather work required less labor or 



jW -^ffl|^^ skill than tying feathers around a core ( usually 



^""^^^^^^ of several strings of olona or, in modern times, 



of cotton or woolen cord), but unless the work 

 was thoroughly done there was danger of disso- 

 lution, and in case the lei came apart in windy 

 weather the constituent feathers might be harder 

 to retrieve than were the gold beads of our great- 

 grandmothers when the retaining string acci- 

 dentally parted. 



The illustration, Fig. 17, Avill show how 

 the feathers were tied (hakii), and while the 

 result was rather stiff, there was ample opportunity for displa}' of taste in the ar- 

 rangement of feathers both in colors and size. The long feathers, such as were used 

 in cloaks and capes were sometimes used, but generally the smaller feathers were re- 

 served for this purpose. Large feathers made a very hot ornament; several strands 

 of a smaller diameter were cooler. When not in use the joint of a bambu made a con- 

 venient and safe receptacle. Leis of mamo and 00 are liighly valued at the present daj-. 

 A superb one of mamo, an heirloom of the Kamehamehas [B. M. No. 2800] is valued at 

 $1000, and another of 00 quite as large [B. M. No. 2801] is believed to be worth $800. 

 Small ones of 00 not more than three-quarters of an inch in diameter and long enough 

 to go around the neck ( iS to 20 inches long) are now valued at more than $200. Of 

 these smaller ones the leis of n:alvaceous flowers (Sida Jci//a.v) strung and sold in the 

 streets of Honolulu are, so far as color goes, a very got)d imitation. 



The flat bands of peacock or pheasant, or even of dyed feathers, are of course 

 modern, often poorly made by sewing the feathers to a strip of cotton cloth, and used 

 by natives and others for hat bands. 



FIG. 17. THE GROWING END OF 

 A LEI. 



