Lauhala, lau meaning "leaf" in the Hawaiian language

Hawaiian language

The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...

, refers to the leaves of the hala tree (Pandanus tectorius

Pandanus tectorius

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus that is native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include Thatch Screwpine, Hala , Bacua , and Vacquois ....

).

Uses

The hala tree is of great cultural, health and economic importance in many Pacific Islands. The fruit of the tree is used as a food source in many Pacific Islands. The fruits are oftentimes consumed fresh or as a preserved food while the trunks of P. tectorius can be used as building material, and leaves for thatching

Thatching

Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...

. Though many parts of the hala tree are utilized, in Hawaii the most common use of Hala is the leaves.

Hawaiians distinguish five kinds of the hala tree according to the colour and size of the fruits:

• hala ula (orange red)
• hala lihilihi ula (red tip, becoming yellow to the centre)
• hala īkoi (bright orange only at the tip)
• hala melemele (yellow)
• hala pia (not quite white, small fruit)

Weaving

Many Pacific cultures weave, plait, or braid the leaves of the P. tectorius to create useful items such as baskets, mats and hats. Though it is a long and arduous process to prepare the leaves for weaving, the final products are works of art with a pleasing earthy feel.

Remains of lauhala from burial caves in Hawaii show almost the same patterns as more recent woven objects, therefore the tradition of this craft seems to be very old.

Types of Lauhala

The favored lauhala for weaving was called "lauhala kilipaki". The leaves of this Pandanus sp. were exceptionally soft and durable. They were highly prized for their beauty in color and the ease with which they could be plaited. Special sleeping mats were created out of the "Hinano", male flower, of the hala tree. The light colored bracts were very soft and pliable and made very finely woven mats reserved for the chiefs. They were especially prized because of their scarcity. Male plants are much less common in the wild than female, and they only make a few flowers per season. The bract

Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...

s are also very short, about 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long and 15 centimetres (5.9 in) wide, with only about two thirds of the bract actually usable for weaving.