LIHU‘E — Green on green was the theme of a lei wili being worked on by Kalei Cadawas, Monday at the Kaua‘i Museum. Cadawas was one of two community resource people on hand during the Presidents’ Day holiday, demonstrating their
LIHU‘E — Green on green was the theme of a lei wili being worked on by Kalei Cadawas, Monday at the Kaua‘i Museum.
Cadawas was one of two community resource people on hand during the Presidents’ Day holiday, demonstrating their respective cultural specialties for visitors that streamed through the doors, escaping the threat of inclement weather.
“Lei wili is one of the old style lei,” Cadawas, designated a Master Lei Artist, said. “We teach the traditional techniques of lei so it will live on.”
Cadawas said he started making lei when he was 12 years old, learning from his mother and grandmother.
“That’s three generations of making lei,” Cadawas said. “I’m open to teaching the techniques so the lei will live in the future, taught to others the way I was taught.”
As his hands wove bits of moa, palapala‘i fern, and lau‘ae fern into a lei wili, it also appeared to stir the spirit of the paintings by students of Waihang Lai on exhibit in the background, the watercolors depicting Hawaiian flora appearing to bloom more brightly, and a landscape featuring a plantation-style cottage triggering the memory of a spectator.
Cadawas will lead a workshop on lei making this Saturday at the Kaua‘i Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
But this is not just a “bring a lei needle and string plumeria” workshop.
Cadawas said he will provide all the materials so students, even beginners, will leave with a complete lei po‘o, or head lei. He said any serious prospective lei maker will learn a lot.
“All the materials, the flowers, and the greens, will be put together in a kit, cleaned and ready to work,” Cadawas said. “But in spite of everything being ready, the messages of conservation, preservation and lei protocol will be touched on.”
Leah Drake, the education outreach officer at Kaua‘i Museum, said eventually she hopes to add the lei classes as part of the Kaua‘i Museum’s educational offerings.
“We live in Western times,” Cadawas said. “And we’ve loosened the definition of lei so everyone thinks of lei in a casual sense.”
But lei protocol defines the serious aspect of lei, Cadawas noting that lei giving is a very personal and private matter. It is more than taking a lei needle and stringing some plumeria, or other commonly available blooms together.
That seriousness is translated into the disclosure of no pets or children at the Saturday workshop, and students should bring a brown bag lunch and wear comfortable clothing and shoes.
Enrollment is limited due to Cadawas being willing to give “one-on-one” attention to lei makers.
A future workshop will cover aspects of lei material, the mountains, and that aspect of lei, Cadawas, an award-winner for many of his lei creations, said.
Drake said this is just the first class. Another workshop is being planned for in April.
To register, or for more information on the workshop, call Drake at 245-6931.
