Lei mark many occasions. Perhaps most iconic is the fragrant lei that travelers receive when arriving at the airport. What is often less photographed is the lei given to those departing the island. Lei are used to mark celebrations like birthdays, graduations, or weddings. They are also used to give aloha to beloved public figures. These figures may be living, but they may also already have passed. The statue of surfing legend Duke Kahanamoku in Waikiki is always adorned with lei. The garlands of bright soft flowers stand in contrast to the bronze metal statue and give life to this legend. Lei are also present at funerals, worn by those who mourn or placed on lanterns sent to sea to memorialize loved ones. For me, lei are a physical representation of the emotions we feel in moments of love.

While I was in Hawai'i I learned how to make hakulei,  a style of lei created by wrapping bundles of flowers together. To create the lei, the lei maker creates a braid from a material like raffia. The braid becomes the backing. Flowers are bound together onto this one core to create the lei. Each flower is beautiful individually. In a lei, the flowers collectively create a larger work of art.

I am trying to extend lei making as a metaphor into this project. Here on this website I have a collection of stories representing my experiences as a hānai daughter in Hawai'i. I hope that each story, like a flower, is beautiful and unique on its own. And I hope that collectively, like a lei, these stories work together to create something new. I have decided to “bundle” these stories in an alphabetic order. I like the neatness and the way the letters look in sequence. As a reader, you are the lei maker. You have the choice to “bundle” these stories in your own order to make your own meaning, to create your own lei from the flowers that I have gathered here for you. I hope that you enjoy reading.

Aloha.