Three women share their experiences with lei making and the importance of safeguarding native Hawaiian culture
For two native Hawaiian women, running their lei-making businesses helps them build community and share Hawaiian culture, shared Kalia Guiteras of Hilo, Hawai‘i and Kaylee Mapuana Kataoka of Mililani, O‘ahu. A proud Kamehameha Schools graduate and owner of the Instagram-based lei shop “hakuleibykay,” Kataoka said she is grateful she has been able to remember her ancestors through this Hawaiian cultural practice, which traces its beginnings in these islands back to the first Polynesian voyagers who came to Hawaii.
Learning lei making
Kataoka said when she was fourteen years old, her aunty “who is a retired Hawaiian language and culture teacher, taught me how to make lei.” To develop her skills, she said she watched videos online and practiced through trial and error.
“My passion for this art has only grown since then … Lei making is not only something I enjoy, but I feel it keeps me grounded and connected to my ancestors,” she said. According to Kataoka, it is a privilege to continue this art form.
Guiteras, owner of Lei by Lia, said “Though I’ve danced for Halau O Ka Ua Kani Lehua [the group she danced hula in] since the age of 3, it wasn’t until I began dancing hula at Kamehameha Schools that I started to make lei within a hui or group setting.” She said her halau had on-campus sleepovers where they worked on their lei together.
Guiteras also grew up making lei in her grandmother’s lei garden. Laughing, she said, “I think back in my days as a keiki [child], lei was our version of the iPad. I would come up to [my grandmother] while she was trying to get things done around the house and all of a sudden she would hand me a lei needle and floss.”
Since starting college, BYUH alumna Delphia Mihi Lloyd from Idaho said she has learned many lei styles—like ti leaf and pua kenikeni—from local Hawaiian friends since she started college. She said her friend, Mahina Okimoto, taught her proper names of plants, lei styles and their cultural significance. “It was fun, humbling and therapeutic for me to learn,” Lloyd shared.
She said her favorite lei to make is pua kalaunu because there are different ways the flower and its petals can be threaded together into patterns. Also, it was Queen Lili‘uokalani’s favorite flower, she said.
Starting a business
Even though being a business owner has sometimes been difficult, Kataoka said, “I am so blessed to have an opportunity to preserve my culture while also doing something I love.” She began her business during her senior year of high school, calling it “one of my greatest accomplishments so far.”
Guiteras used to perform hula on a tour boat, but after leaving that job, she shifted her focus to selling lei, she shared. She was asked to do a pop-up for the Merrie Monarch Festival and she said, “I hardly got any sleep during that week because I couldn’t keep up with lei orders.”
That experience made her switch over to teaching customers to make their own lei. However, she said, “it wasn’t a good feeling turning people down or selling out because in most cases, you’re giving lei to someone special.”
Though she primarily sells lei, Kataoka said she taught her first lei-making class in July 2024. Despite many hours of class preparation, she said it “was well worth it after seeing the enjoyment in everyone’s faces.” Sharing her love of lei and seeing her customers proudly display their lei made it a positive experience for Kataoka.
More than a job
Guiteras said she loves creating spaces where lei-lovers can come together to make lei. “Lei making is not what makes me special; it’s what I have in common with so many people.”
She said the values she learned making lei— “pouring love into our lei, love into our lives and love into our people”—impact her life daily and the lives of other lei-makers. “People seem to understand the importance of having an open heart and mind when working with these delicate flowers, to be worn with pride or to be gifted to someone we love … Let us be so mindful and so loving in everything we do, making lei or otherwise.”
Creativity in lei making
Though she has experience with lei po‘o, Guiteras’ favorite lei is ti leaf, or la‘i in Hawaiian, because she prefers the haku method of lei making. Her students at Kalama Intermediate often complain the leaves are too sticky and smelly when softened, but she said she loves it.
Drawing on the wili (wrapping) technique she learned in middle school, Kataoka has since been able to experiment with lei making. “Not only are [lei po‘o] absolutely beautiful to wear but they also let me explore my creativity with the various colors and styles.”
Younger generations sometimes hesitate to “tweak things or potentially make lei in a way that’s not traditional,” said Guiteras. “When I share with kupuna [elders] such as my Aunty Rafaela Uyetake, a master lei po‘o maker about my latest lei designs … she is nothing but happy.” Guiteras said adapting these traditions and encouraging creativity is acceptable, as long as lei makers are intentional about educating others on the plants they use and maintaining ethical lei-making practices.
Internet facilitating cultural education
The ethical and respectful use of cultural practices like lei making can be promoted through the internet, said Lloyd, a digital creator who speaks about mental health and racial inequality. However, she said the conversation around facilitating cultural competency should not be about asking how social media can be used to teach but how people can use it to seek preexisting information.
Lloyd noted, “There are many kumu [teachers] and leaders of all cultures who take the time to share their knowledge.” She said people need to be taught to have the desire to search for themselves and be open to new information. “As a haole [white person], the significance of lei making to me is an opportunity to support Kānaka Maoli [native Hawaiians] in keeping their culture alive.”