Nä Lei Makamae: The Treasured Lei
by Marie A. McDonald and Paul R. Weissich
with photographs by Jean Coté
A Latitude 20 Book
from University of Hawai`i Press
August 2003, hardcover 8.5 x 11, est. 200 pp., 254 color
Click on the page links below to view samples (in PDF format)
This volume covers eighty-five flowers and plants (and another dozen color variations) used in traditional lei construction. They are arranged according to their Hawaiian names and accompanied by botanical information and descriptions gleaned from legends and chants that illustrate the cultural uses and special meanings of lei prior to Western contact. Many are introduced by poems written especially for this work by master kumu hula, linguist, and ethnologist Pualani Kanaka‘ole Kanahele.
The authors present the lei art form in not only words, but also pictures. Lavish color photographs by Jean Coté showcase each plant and lei (shown by itself or worn), as well as places throughout the Islands associated with specific flowers and plants. An appendix includes a complete list of lei plants, basic instructions for their propagation, and other sources for material.
Marie A. McDonald, ethnologist, educator, and master lei maker, was recognized as a “Master of Traditional Arts” by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1990. Her first book, Ka Lei, remains in print after a quarter century. Paul R. Weissich is former director of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens. He is a consultant and landscape architect and is coauthor of Plants for Tropical Landscapes: A Gardener’s Guide.
