(birds chirping)
- [Narrator] The lei is a quintessential part of Hawaiʻi,
a symbol stretching back to ancient times.
But lei are not one size fits all;
and across the Hawaiian Islands,
there are many lei makers and many style of lei.
(soft piano music)
This is Bill Char-
a legend in traditional Hawaiian lei making.
- The early people did very simple leis.
They weren't these gorgeous, colorful leis
like this today.
This is just done with ferns.
It's one object just braided on itself.
A lot of 'em were very simple,
like tea leaf lei, used for symbolic purposes.
When you're making a lei,
and it's like a backbone,
your family ties.
And, you're adding each flower,
it's sort of like a person, your cousin,
your sister, your auntie, your brother.
All along, you're wrapping on top of the stems.
That is the backbone of your family,
and it just keeps going on and on.
Then you have your lei.
(Hawaiian music)
Cruise lines would come in.
Those are the old days
and people would come and they would get their leis.
And it was part of the tradition to stop in Hawaiʻi.
When you stop, you got a lei.
- [Narrator] When tourists began coming to the islands,
a sewn style of lei called Kui became popular,
and Chinatown was the place to get them.
One of the many places in Chinatown
is called Cindy's Lei and Flower Shop.
It's been in business for 50 years.
- In the very beginning, there were maybe like four,
four, five different type of leis.
Now, you have like 40-40 or more.
Fifty years ago, flowers are still being made
the same way-needle and string.
The flowers get delivered here, and we sort them out,
and we string them the best we can.
We craft so that it looks natural, open.
- [Narrator] Lei making is passed down
through family tradition,
and continues to find new expression
in the next generation.
- My tutu, or grandmother-and she was a pretty
prolific lei maker in Hawaii-
I helped her make lei.
I sat there and cleaned her flowers.
And I just got to sort of be immersed
in her passion of lei making.
There's many different styles of leis.
I'm, personally, specialized in making Haku lei.
A Haku lei is generally worn on your head, lei po'o.
Like I'm wearing mine on my head.
Some people wear them around their neck.
And Haku just refers to the traditional style of making it.
Here we go.
They have lots of different materials.
And then usually, in Hawaiʻi, you don't show up
to a birthday party,
you don't show up to a wedding,
you don't show up to a baby shower
without a lei for somebody.
- A lei represents you.
You don't take your lei off because your mana,
your spirit is already part of this lei.
- I think that's one of the best ways to say
a gift from the heart:
floral, sweet, tactile, visual and very special.
You know that if you got a lei or if you gifted a lei,
you have a connection with Hawaiʻi.
- [Meleana] Lei, in Hawaiʻi, is the ultimate
expression of love.
Hawaiians, we have an innate aloha spirit,
you know, which is a warm, welcoming, stay with me,
eat with me, share with me,
and I think that is sort of embodied in a lei.
(chiming)