By Leilehua Yuen

In honor of Lei Day, I thought I’d write about the use of the lei in traditional healing. I originally was taught by “Aunty” Nona Beamer to use the lei lāʻī (lei from the leaf of the cordeline fructosa or tī plant) in various protocols for hula and pule, prayer. Later, in a workshop with Sylvester “Papa K” Kepelino, he encouraged me to continue to do so in my practice of lomilomi, hamo, and hoʻoponopono. Imagine how pleased I was to later find a family photo, dated 1931, in which one of my own kūpuna is wearing that very same style of lei!

The lei lāʻī is probably the most familiar lei seen in ceremony and healing. I call the tī plant “the Hawaiian top kitchen drawer.” From it I can make twine, wrapping paper, disposable plates, baker’s paper, “aluminum foil,” “aspirin” to reduce fever, heating pads, and it is a spiritual pale, a protection to keep negative influences from coming inside its bounds.

Back in the 90s, when I underwent major surgery, Aunty Nona accompanied me to the hospital making lei lāʻī as we traveled. Of course, I could not wear it into the surgery, so as I was wheeled through the big swinging doors she held the lei above my head and chanted for me. When I awoke, groggy and sore, my eyes were greeted by lei lāʻī surrounding me in my recovery room—the foot of my bed, the head of my bed, my bed rails—all had lei lāʻī tied to them, as did the whiteboard on the wall before me. Whether it was the specific efficacy of the lei, the surrounding aloha they represented, or other reasons, I was later told that I had healed remarkable well and quickly.

The use of lei in various forms of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing is ancient.  A lei of lau ʻuala (Ipomoea batatas), sweet potato vines and leaves, was worn and used by mothers to encourage milk flow, or vines of the related pōhuehue (Ipomoea pes-caprae) or beach morning glory. Alternatively, a lei made of wauke malolo (Broussonetia papyrifera), a kind of mulberry, could be made. The bast of the wauke would be beaten smooth and allowed to ferment just until it formed a milky slime, at which time it would be worn by the new mother.

Sometimes lei of the leaves of plants used in treatment might be worn throughout the treatment period. These lei would then be disposed of appropriately as part of the pani. Lei are worn with caution, if at all, however, by pregnant women. Only open ended lei should be worn while pregnant, as closed lei are felt to increase the risk of the umbilical cord kinking or looping around the neck.

Every treatment for illness closes with a pani, a ceremony which provides both physical and spiritual completion. Depending on the specific illness, a special lei specifically made for the closing might be used in the pani. For example, an open-ended lei of limu kala (Sargassum echinocarpum). At the end of the pani, the patient swims in the ocean and allows the lei to float away, carrying off any remains of the illness or disharmony which caused it.

Another lei of seaweed, the lei limu pahapaha (Ulva fasciata), was harvested and braided into lei to carry home, where they were dried and later pounded for use in poultices to treat bruising.

In addition to lāʻī, the leaves of ʻape (Alocasia macrorrhiza, Xanthosoma robustum), ʻipuʻawaʻawa (Lagineria siceraria), or ʻohe (Schizostachyum glaucifolium)might be fashioned into a kind of lei and worn to protect a person from negative influences.

I was taught that when wearing any lei as a pale, one must ʻoki, remove, all anger, resentment, and bad feelings. Just as negative influences cannot cross the pale to reach the afflicted person, they also cannot cross the pale to leave. So, before puttin gon a lei as a pale – therefore before beginning treatment of the illness or injury, we must ʻoki. And then we must take responsibility for our own part in the disharmony and ask forgiveness, often of ourselves! Then the healing process begins.

Bibliography

Gutmanis, June: Hawaiian Herbal Medicine, Kāhuna Laʻau Lapaʻau

Gutmanis, June: Nā Pule Kahiko, Ancient Hawaiian Prayers

McDonald, Marie A. & Weissich, Paul R: Nā Lei Makamae

McDonald, Marie A: Ka Lei, The Leis of Hawaii

Shook, E. Victoria: Hoʻoponopono