2023 Hawaiian Lei Contest
K. W. Bridges & N. L. Furumoto
Important Note
This document lists rules for Lei Contest entrants. Note that the rule statements given here are simplified from the set of official rules. The rules here are intended to give non-participants a general sense of the rules that contestants must follow.
Contestants should obtain official rules from the City and County of Honolulu, Department of Parks and Recreation. The rules for the 2023 Lei Contest are obtained by using the following web address:
https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpr/leiday_docs/2023_HAWAIIAN_LEI_ CONTEST_RULES.pdf
All photos were taken by the authors on May 1, 2023 in Honolulu, HI.
2023 © K. W.
&
www.kimbridges.com
Bridges
N. L. Furumoto
Lei Day
May 1, 2023
Kapi`olani Park, O`ahu, Hawai`i
It’s a beautiful day. A warm tradewind breeze blows a few clouds around in the blue sky. This is the kind of day to be outside enjoying nature.
Kapi`olani Park is filled with people. Music is coming from the Bandstand. A sizeable audience is seated. All eyes are on the hula dancers.
Nearby, there is activity around the sales area. Clothes, jewelry, and crafts are available. Farther away there are food stands with a variety of traditional fare typically offered at outdoor gatherings.
There are two elements that distinguish this event. One is a cluster of tents, tables and chairs. This is where you can get information about lei making, talk to lei experts, discover conservation efforts and hear Hawaiian music.
The other special element is nearby. This is the long display area where event officials are hanging lei. These are the entries to the Lei Contest. We’re too early. All we can see are some of the setup activities. Groups are chatting. Officials are examining and judging the entries.
The Lei Contest is why we’re here. But we’ve got to wait. Viewing the lei entries begins at 1:00 PM.
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Preparation
You can see the magnitude of the Hawaiian Lei Contest by viewing the display area. The boards on which the lei will hang extend from near the Bandstand almost to the entrance to the Shell.
Lei are arranged in groups. A closed information packet hides the identity of each lei maker. That’s important so that the judging will not be biased.
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General Rules
Here is a simplified version of the Lei Contest rules.
• Eligibility: Anyone of any age can enter an unlimited number of lei, but lei made by full-time employees of the Department of Parks and Recreation are not eligible.
• Submission: Lei must be submitted to the Lei Receiving booth at Kapi‘olani Park on May 1, 2023, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Lei submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
• Materials: Lei must be made with natural plant materials and limited to flowers, leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds. Endangered plants shall not be used. Lei using non-natural materials, artificial treatment or artificial coloring of natural materials will be disqualified.
• Measurements: Lei ‘Ā‘ī (neck lei) must be between 30 and 36 inches long, and Lei Pāpale (hat lei) must be between 22 and 24 inches long. The measurements do not include the 2-inch loop and tail.
• Other requirements: Lei must be wearable, have a 2-inch loop for hanging, and be left untied.
• Decisions: The Department of Parks and Recreation reserves the right to disqualify any lei that does not meet the rules or specifications.
The officials seem to handle the rules well. In addition, there is considerable attention given to crowd control, including keeping people safe. Waiting in the sun for an hour or more can be a concern.
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Lei Day Origin
There was an attempt to start the tradition of a “Lei Day” in 1917, according to articles in the Honolulu Star Bulletin (1/30/1917 & 2/16/1917)1. The purpose was to promote the fundraising in association with the Punahou Carnival.
Lei Day, as we now know it, started in 1927. Don Blanding, a columnist for the Star Bulletin newspaper shared his idea with “Kamaaina Kolumn” columnist Grace Tower Warren. She penned the critical tag line: May Day is Lei Day.
The event, first held on May 1, 1928, soon became very popular.
Governor Wallace Farrington, in 1929, proclamed that May 1 would be observed each year as “May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i.” This didn’t make the day a State holiday. However, the Governor’s action did promote the day as one for celebration. Leonard “Red” and Ruth Hawk composed a song in the same year. These are the lyrics:
May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, garlands of flowers everywhere. All of the colors in the rainbow, maidens with blossoms in their hair; Flowers that mean we should be happy, throwing aside a load of care.
Oh, May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii, Lei Day is happy days out here.
This has become a very popular song that is often accompanied with a hula.
1 Thanks to Professor Jon Morse for finding this obscure historical note.
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Lei Court
The origin of Lei Day included the coronation of a Lei Court. This year, the members of the Court are:
• Lei Queen Kuʻuleilanimekealohamau (Leilani) Kūpahu-Marino Kahoʻāno
• First Princess Melodie Lynn Leina‘ala Nalua‘ī Vega
• Princess Charlene Kapualani Kauhane Harano
A photo of the Lei Court is on an interesting official website: https://bit.ly/HonoluluLeiDay
We saw the Court entrance from a distance as we were waiting in line to view the Lei Contest. The Court activities were too far away, and the crowd surrounding the participants was too dense, for us to get more than a photo or two of the procession.
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Waiting
We had to do a lot of standing around while we waited our turn to view the Lei Contest entries. It wasn’t boring. There are a lot of people walking around wearing lei, many of which look like they could be entered in the contest.
The line that developed was quite long. We were about at the half-way point.
Viewing began at 1 PM. Two lines were created that ran the length of the display. Most people wanted to view the lei close-up. That line moved slowly. The people in be back, farther away from the lei, had a very short wait.
There is some social pressure to keep moving, once you’re viewing the lei. It took us 30 minutes to do our viewing. There was a lot to see in such a short time.
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Lei Divisions & Categories
Competition takes place in nine groups. Each group has three winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd).
LEI ‘Ā‘Ī (neck lei)
This division has six categories based on the color of the lei materials [abbreviations used in some tables]:
• Uliuli (blue) and/or Poni (purple) [BlPu]
• ‘Ula‘ula (red) and/or ‘Ākala (pink) [RePi]
• Melemele (yellow) and/or ‘Alani (orange) [YeOr]
• Palaunu (brown) and/or ‘Ōma‘oma‘o (green) [BrGr]
• Ke‘oke‘o (white) and/or Hinahina (gray) [WhGr]
• Mixed (three or more colors) [MIX]
LEI KUAHIWI (theme lei) [THME]
Each lei includes the ‘ōhi‘a lehua, with accepted substitutes being Calliandra and `akia. The theme for 2023 is Lei Kuahiwi (Mountain Lei).
LEI LANAKILA MUA (beginner) [BEG]
Contestants entering in this category must never have received an award in any previous Hawaiian Lei contest, except for Youth Lei Contest winners.
LEI PĀPALE (hat lei) [HAT]
These lei follow the rules for the other lei except the hat lei are shorter (2224 inches long).
There is also a Mayor’s Grand Prize [MGP] that is displayed as though it is a separate category.
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Lei Construction Methods
There is a set of standards governing how a lei is constructed. Each method has a name.
Haku: Braiding flowers, leaves, and/or fruit in a three-strand plait of fern, lau kī (ti leaf), hau fiber, etc.
Hili: Braiding or weaving of a single plant material.
Humupapa: Plant materials are sewn to a foundation of dried banana fiber, lauhala, lau kī or other suitable materials.
Kui: Plant materials are strung together through the center or side.
Kīpu‘u: The stems of leaves are knotted together to make a chain. No cordage or needle is used.
Wili: Plant materials are placed on a backing of lau kī, lauhala, dried banana fiber or other suitable material and wound with fiber or thread around the plant material and backing.
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Hawaiian Lei Contest Winners
The following pages show the three winners for each of the divisions and categories.
Unfortunately, the other lei in each category aren’t shown. Many of these lei, perhaps most, should be available as a photo record as each displays considerable skill, imagination and effort. However, this document is not the place for such an archive.
There are two groups of lei that are not included in the photos (and, mostly left out of the analyses which follow):
LEI LIPINE (non-traditional). These are lei made from yarn, ribbon and fabric. These can be beautiful and they are certainly worthy of display in this contest. See the example on the facing page (1st place in this category by Sayuri Hieida). The reason for not including this category is that this document is primarily about the analysis of the floral composition of the lei. These lei do not have flowers.
YOUTH LEI CONTEST. There are several categories of lei submitted by age group (5 and under, 6-8, 9-12, 13-17 years). Each age group is judged and three winners of each group receive an award. The lei are on display just like those in the other categories.
The Photos
Each set of photos shows the winners for a division or category. The photos are arranged, left to right, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
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LEI LANAKILA MUA Beginner
1st: Sanoe K.A. Kelley
2nd: Kaoru Nakashima
3rd: Keauekuloa Leong
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Uliuli/Poni Blue/Purple
1st: Alison Grace Higgins
2nd: William W. Char
3rd: Megumi Matsuyama
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LEI PĀPALE
Hat Lei
1st: Joel G. Kelley (below)
2nd: William W. Char (top right)
3rd: Melvin Moki T. Labra (bottom right)
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Mixed
1st: Ayesha Yasmin Liquorish
2nd: Joel G. Kelley
3rd: Shoi Shizuko
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Palaunu/‘Ōma‘oma‘o Brown/Green
1st: Melvin Moki T. Labra
2nd: Joel G. Kelley
3rd: Carla C. Fukumoto
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LEI KUAHIWI
Theme Lei
1st: Reginald J. Dela Cruz
2nd: Melvin Moki T. Labra
3rd: Ayesha Yasmin Liquorish
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‘Ula‘ula/‘Ākala Red/Pink
1st: Melvin Moki T. Labra
2nd: Roselani Irene Oga
3rd: Joel G. Kelley
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Ke‘oke‘o/Hinahina White/Gray
1st: Gienah S. Southichack
2nd: Dale T. Acoba
3rd: William W. Char
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Melemele/‘Alani
Yellow/Orange
1st: Honey Lalaina Coleman
2nd: Joel G. Kelley
3rd: Gienah S. Southichack
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Mayor’s Grand Prize
Winner: Melvin Moki T. Labra
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Analysis
Data Capture & Initial Analysis
All of the data used in this analysis come from photographs taken at the event. Photos captured at least part of each lei and all of the accompanying information posted on the adjacent sheet of paper.
The photography was done with a Sony A7R5 camera using a Sony EF 135mm f/1.8 GM lens. About 1,500 photos were taken, some documenting the activities at the venue. Generally, duplicate shots were taken to reduce the possibility of a single “bad” image causing a gap in the data. On examination, this duplication was not needed.
In general, the photos were taken with a 1/2000 second shutter speed and an aperture of f/11. Images were recorded as JPG and RAW. The size of each image is 6336 x 9504 pixels (61 mpixels). The RAW photos were processed to produce the lei photos used here. The size of the total photo collection is 159 GB.
A photo for each entry was duplicated and then cropped to the limits of the information sheet. These images were run through an OCR engine to produce an information file with the following data fields.
• category
• entry_id
• maker
• style
• material_used
The data file was processed using custom routines written in the R language. Repeated manual and procedural editing was done to achieve a sufficient level of consistency in each of the types of information.
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Divisions & Categories
A total of 137 entries were in the ten divisions and categories, which includes a division for the Mayor’s Grand Prize.
Two divisions, Beginner and Hat Lei, had the most entries. All the “color” divisions were well represented. Mixed had the most entries while Yellow/ Orange and White/Gray had the least.
The distribution of entries is encouraging. Having a substantial number of lei in the Beginner division shows that there is a continuing interest in this art form. Many of these participants are likely to move up into the other divisions in future contests.
The popularity of Hat Lei was seen not only in the number of entries in this division, but also in the people who came to help staff the exhibit or view the contest.
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Lei Style
You can get style information, along with diagrams, that helps explain the basic lei making methods at the following website:
https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/dpr/leiday_docs/Lei_Make_Methods1.pdf
Wili is the technique most used in this year’s competition. If you’re not familiar with the construction of lei using the wili style, there are several YouTube videos that provide a good demonstration. After seeing these, you’ll better appreciate the decisions and attention to technique in making these lei.
William Char:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6t-PvCLfo8
Milia Dela Cruz:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9H-GccHd6g
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Makers
There were 67 people who entered lei in the Divisions & Categories. That means, on average there were about two lei entered by each contestant.
There were 27 makers who entered two or more lei. Several makers entered a lot of lei.
We went through the observation line just ahead of one of the makers, Timothy Barrus (shown below as his photo is taken next to one of his lei).
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Winner Analysis
Sixteen people won awards in the 2023 Hawaiian Lei Contest on O`ahu. They are to be congratulated as all of these winners demonstrate the highest form of lei artistry.
Two individuals stand out in this year’s competition: Joel Kelley and Melvin (Moki) Labra each won five awards. For Moki, this is particularly noteworthy as two of his awards were for first place and another was for the Mayor ’s Grand Prize.
The Success column in the 2023 Winner Summary table is the percentage of the lei entered that won one of the three awards in the category in which they were submitted. From these data, it appears that some makers submit many lei with the hope that a few will be recognized as winners. Other makers focus on perfecting one or a few lei, feeling this is the better strategy for winning. This would make an interesting facet to explore in conservations with the lei makes.
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Lei Contest Plants
There are two lists of plants presented here. One comes from the contest organizers as a list of possible plants that might be used in a lei. Obviously, this is not a complete or exhaustive set of potential lei plants. The other list is a composite of the plants listed for each lei entry. These are the plants that are actually used.
This section compares these two lists and analyzes the characteristics of the list of plants that were used in the contest lei.
Only the entries for the Divisions and Categories are included in the analyses. This excludes entries from the Youth Competition entries.
Rules Plant List
A list of plants is given as part of the Rules document. This list is used, most likely, to help prepare the list of plants used in lei submitted to the contest.
The list given here has been simplified a bit to allow analysis. Specifically,
All terms have been shifted to lower case. Possessive marks and diacritical have been made consistent. Some editing of names for simplification and to help with comparisons.
The Simplified Rules Plant List has 167 entries. These are shown in the following table.
An analysis of this list, which presumably simplifies the posting of species used in the lei, is given later.
At this point, the list serves as a useful reminder of species often use in making Hawaiian lei.
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Simplified Rules Plant List
agapanthus
ageratum
agonis foliage
alahe‘e (walahe‘e)
alstromeria
alyssum
asparagus fern
aster (monte casini)
astilbe
baby’s breath (gypsophila)
bachelor’s button (cornflower)
balloon flower (bell flower)
banksia
bear grass
begonia
billy balls (craspedia)
bird of paradise
blue jade
blupleurum
bougainvillea
bouvardia
brunia
calendula
candle brush
carnation
celosia
chinaman’s hat (cup and saucer)
chrysanthemum
cibotium (tree fern)
cigar flower (kika)
clerodendrum (bleeding heart)
coral plant (hanging firecracker)
croton
crown flower
cymbidium
daisy
davallia fern (shinobu)
delphinium (bella donna)
dendrobium
dracaena (song of india)
dusty miller
epidendron
eryngium
eucalyptus
feverfew (tanacetum)
firecracker
freesia
galphimia
geranium
ginger (white, yellow, red, pink)
globe amaranth (bozo, bozu)
goldenrod
grevillea
hala
heather
hedyotis
hemigraphis
he‘e (octopus)
hibiscus
hinahina (helitropium anomalum)
honeysuckle
hoya
huapala
hydrangea
hypericum
ironwood (casuarina)
ixora
joyweed
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Simplified Rules Plant List (cont.)
kalanchoe
kauna‘oa
ki (ti leaf)
kikania
koa
kou
kou haole
kukui
kupukupu
lantana
lantern ‘ilima
larkspur
laua‘e
lavender
leather leaf fern
leucadendron
leucospermum (pin cushion)
limu
linaria
liriope
lisianthus
lobelia
loke lau (green rose)
lokelani
maile
mamane
mangrove
manuka (tea tree, leptospermum)
marguerite daisy
marigold
maunaloa
mau‘u ‘aki‘aki
ma‘o (hawaiian cotton)
mickey mouse
moa
mock orange
mokihana
ola‘a beauty
oncidium
pakalana
palapalai
pala‘a
panax
pansy
pentas
pieris japonica
pikake
pilikai (wood rose)
plumeria
pohinahina
pohutukawa (new zealand lehua)
protea
pua kenikeni
pukiawe
queen anne’s lace
ranuculus
ribbon plant
rose
royal ‘ilima
safflower
salvia
sandpaper vine
sea grape
shrimp plant (white, red, yellow)
silver tree
snail flower
snap dragon
solidaster
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Simplified Rules Plant List (cont.)
spanish moss/pele’s hair
spirea
statice (misty statice)
stephanotis
strawflower
sunflower
sweet william
ti-leaf (ki)
tiare (tahitian gardenia)
torenia (wishbone flower, ola‘a beauty)
trachelium
tree heliotrope
tricolor dracaena
tuberose
turk’s cap
uluhe
vanda orchid
veronica
violet
wax flower
wiliwili
yarrow
zinnia
‘aki‘aki
‘akulikuli
‘a‘ali‘i
‘ilima
‘ohai ali‘i
‘ohelo
‘ohi‘a (lehua, liklehua)
‘uki
‘ulei
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Plants Used in the Entries
There were a total of 899 recorded components of the 137 lei in the Divisions & Categories. For the sake of simplification, each of these components is called a “species.”
There were 195 different species recorded in the entries. Almost half of these (93) were listed only once.
The frequency distribution of species used (chart below) is not unexpected. These data demonstrate that there are a number of species that are both available and routinely used to make Hawaiian lei. What is not known from this analysis is whether the rare species (that long tail) make any difference in the ranking of a lei. Do winners have these species? That’s a question remaining to be teased out of the data.
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There was an average of 6.56 species in a lei. The distribution of these data are shown in the chart below. Only a few makers used more than 12 species in a lei.
The general procedures in making a wili lei are to repeat adding a few species over and over so that a pattern develops. This is likely to be difficult if there are too many species.
The mean of the number of species used in a winner lei is 7.7, slightly greater than the average of the lei. One of the winning lei, in the Brown/Green category, used 17 species. This is a small indication that it is possible to create a winning lei with a relatively large number of species.
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The variability in the number of species used in the lei is shown as a boxplot below. The horizontal lines are the median values and the boxes are the interquartile ranges. Each orange point represents a lei in the division or category.
The Mixed [MIX], Brown/Green [BrGr], and White/Gray [WhGr] categories show the most variability in the number of species used. The Blue/Purple [BlPu], Theme Lei [THME] and Yellow/Orange [YeOr] lei show the least variation in the number of species used in their construction.
The Mayor’s Grand Prize [MGP] is notable as it has more species than most of the other lei. Did that fact contribute to its success?
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Plant Lists
Two plants list are presented in the previous pages. One comes from the Rules. The other list is the species provided on the information page adjacent to each lei.
The Rules list appears to have several values. It can help guide lei makes to species they might have not remembered. The list is also likely to be useful as information pages are created prior to the opening of the lei contest. In both uses, having an up-to-date list is probably beneficial. It is in that spirit that the following observations are made.
The two lists were compared. This is an “automated” process that uses procedures which account for small differences in how a name is presented. Factors such as diacritical marks, upper vs lower cas, and small spelling differences are ignored. The result is a general, not exact, comparison.
Only about 50% of the species listed on the Rules list were reported as used in lei in this year’s contest. That indicates that there are some species that might be removed from the Rules list to make room for other species.
About 43% of the species reported as used in lei are on the Rules list. This means, most likely, that these non-Rule-list species had to be entered in an ad hoc manner. That takes time and leads to error.
This suggests that the top of the Species Used in Entries list (page 66ff) be used in subsequent editions of the Contest Rules. This should simplify the task to entering lei into the competition and make future contest analyses more accurate.
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Final Thoughts
It’s good to see that the Annual Hawaiian Lei Contest continues in popularity, artistry and skill. Maintenance of this traditional art is important, not just to the Hawaiian community, but to the world.
Capturing the basic data for this document was a challenge. A photo-set (generally two photos taken with one shutter press) was taken every 5 to 6 seconds for the 17 minutes spent with the lei shown in this document. That’s a fast pace as there was a distinct desire to get complete coverage. A poorly pointed shot would mean a gap in the data. Sometimes, there are no alternatives. Fortunately, it worked.
Working through the photos and extracted data provided a welcome slow pace examination of the lei entries. It’s unfortunate that there isn’t a practical way to show all the contest submissions. The winners shown here are just the tip of the “artistic iceberg.” Images of many more of the lei should be archived for posterity.
The data were analyzed with programming in the R language. This document wouldn’t have been possible without this kind of analytical support.
The success of this event is a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved. The Honolulu City and County Department of Parks and Recreation, the Committee overseeing this event, and the participants themselves all deserve to be congratulated for their efforts.
Thank you for making this event possible.
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