Lei are made from flowers, foliage, feather, and shells. Lei are made from bone, and from finely braided hair. Lei are made from the interweaving of words and melody. And all of these are held and presented within the context of the environment which created them.
From the reefs, with their profusion of seaweeds, fishes, and other creatures, to the summits with their unique plant life and animals found nowhere else in the world, the lei is a metaphor for the interweaving of all our lives.
In the Hawaiian lexicon, different zones, moving from horizon to mountain top, each have their own names. This information was taken from Samuel Manaiakalani Kamakau’s book, The Works of the People of Old.
Heights in the center or toward the side of a land, or island, are called mauna, mountains, or kuahiwi, “ridge backs.”
The highest places, which cover over with fog and have great “flanks” behind and in front (kaha kua, kaha alo) — like Mauna Kea — are called mauna; the place below the summit, above where the forests grow is the kuahiwi. The peak of the mountain is called pane po‘o or piko.
Here are some names for [the zones of] the mountains — the mauna or kuahiwi. A mountain is called a kuahiwi, but mauna is the overall term for the whole mountain, and there are many names applied to one, according to its delineations (‘ano).
The part directly in back and in front of the summit proper is called the kuamauna, mountaintop; below the kuamauna is the kuahea, and makai of the kuahea is the kuahiwi proper. This is where small trees begin to grow. It is the wao nahele.
Makai of this region the trees are tall, and this is the wao lipo.
Makai of the wao lipo is the wao ‘eiwa, and makai of that the wao ma‘ukele.
Makai of the wao ma‘ukele is the wao akua, and makai of there the wao kanaka, the area that people cultivate.
Makai of the wao kanaka is the ‘ama‘u, fern belt, and makai of the ‘ama‘u the‘apa‘a, grasslands.
A solitary group of trees is a moku la‘au (a “stand” of trees) or an ulu la‘au, grove. Thickets that extend to the kuahiwi are ulunahele, wild growth. And area where koa trees suitable for canoes (koa wa‘a) grow is a wao koa and mauka of there is a wao la‘au, timber land. These are dry forest growths from the ‘apa‘aup to the kuahiwi. The places that are “spongy” (naele) are found in the wao ma‘ukele, the wet forest.
Makai of the ‘apa‘a are the pahe‘e [pili grass] and ‘ilima growth and makai of them the kula, open country, and the ‘apoho hollows near to the habitations of men. Then comes the kahakai, coast, the kahaone, sandy beach, and the kalawa, the curve of the seashore — right down to the ‘ae kai, the water’s edge.
That is the way ka po‘e kahiko named the land from mountain peak to sea.
A Glossary From Shore to Summit
‘ae kai – the water’s edge
kalawa – the curve of the seashore
kahaone – sandy beach
kahakai – coast
‘apoho – hollows near to the habitations of humans
kula – open country, plains
‘apa‘a – arid plains, grasslands.
‘ilima – seaward, arid section of the kula
pahe‘e – areas suitable for wetland planting
wao amaʻu –
wao kanaka – areas suitable for human habitation
wao ma‘ukele – the wetland forest
Wao laʻau – timberlands
kuahiwi – ridge backs of the uplands
kualono – region near the mountain top
Kuamauna – the mountain top
Other terms
moku la‘au – A solitary group of trees
ulu la‘au – A grove of trees
ulunahele – Thickets of wild growth that extend to the kuahiwi
wao koa – Where the koa suitable for canoe grow
naele – Spongy places
mauna – Heights, mountains
This list of elevation terms comes from the September 21, 1916 edition of Ka Hōkū o Hawai‘i.
Ke Kuahiwi—the mountain
Ke kualono—the region near the mountain top
Ke Kuamauna—the mountain top
Ke ku(a)hea—the misty ridge
Ke kaolo—the trail ways
Ka wao—the inland regions
Ka wao—ma‘u kele
Ka wao kele—the rain belt regions
Ka wao akua—the distant area inhabited by gods
Ka wao la‘au—the forested region
Ka wao kanaka—the region of people below
Ka ‘ama‘u—the place of ‘ama‘u (fern upland agricultural zone)
Ka ‘apa‘a—the arid plains
Ka pahe‘e—the place of wet land planting
Ke Kula—the plain or open country
Ka ‘ilima—the place of ‘ilima growth [a seaward, and generally arid section of the kula]
Ka pu‘eone—the dunes
Ka po‘ina nalu—the place covered by waves [shoreline]
Ke kai kohola—the shallow sea [shoreline reef flats]
Ke kai ‘ele—the dark sea
Ke kai uli—the deep blue-green sea
Ke kai pualena—the yellow [sun reflecting sea on the horizon]
Kai popolohua-a-Kane-i-Tahiti—the deep purplish black sea of Kane at Tahiti