The Forbidden Isle’s Shell Lei

By Scott Yunker

Left to right, Ni‘ihau shell lei artists Hi‘ipoi Vakameilau and Kahu Hi‘ipoi Kanahele; and Kaua‘i Museum Executive Director Chucky Boy Chock at the museum. Photo by Ryland Balbin

The earth of Ni‘ihau does not yield diamonds. But the Forbidden Isle is indeed home to the “Jewels of the Pacific” — shell lei created by local artists for countless generations.

Seventy-five examples of this iconic jewelry are now on display at the Kaua‘i Museum in Līhu‘e through late December, during a special exhibit named Pupu o Ni‘ihau — Jewels of the Pacific.

The shells are generating interest far and wide, according to Chucky Boy Chock, executive director of the Kaua‘i Museum.

“People are flying in from outside Kaua‘i,” he said. “We know of a couple that came from California to see this.”

The exhibit’s leis belong to a private collection, whose owners have asked to be identified only as Rick and Chuna.

Chock discussed the display’s allure during a stroll through the museum’s Waimakua — Maryanne Kusaka Exhibit Center.

“Shell-making is done all throughout Polynesia,” he said. “But there’s a difference between shells gathered at, say, Ha‘ena or ‘Anini (on Kaua‘i) and Ni‘ihau. The Ni‘ihau shells have a glow … Right away, you can tell.”

This superior material, when used by master craftsmen and women, results in art that has drawn museum visitors all the way from the Mainland.

Very few of the leis on display at the museum — credited to a total of 24 artists from Ni‘ihau — are like any others in the exhibit. They vary widely in size, materials and complexity of design: a single strand of delicate pink shells shares the room with a five-strand wedding lei. Some pieces feature patterns modeled after the vibrant feather cloaks of ali‘i (Hawaiian royalty). Others are designed to evoke the shapes of flowers, such as heliconia.

Chock pointed to a lei made of especially small shells. He described each piece as only a little bigger than a grain of sand, and almost the same color.

“Can you imagine sitting in the sand and gathering these?” said Chock, adding it can take years to collect enough shells to make a single lei.

Charlie Baker, a Ni‘ihau lei dealer and board member of the nonprofit Ni‘ihau Cultural Heritage Foundation, knows just how long it can take to create a masterpiece. He once waited five years to receive a lei made of uliuli (steely blue) momi shells, which are some of the rarest available.

“There’s nothing more Hawaiian than a Ni‘ihau shell lei. The beauty of the shells is just astounding,” Baker said.

The Niihauans’ unique artform stems from their home island’s climate, according to Baker, who has sold shell lei since 1978.

Shell lei in exhibit at Kauai Museum. Photo by Scott Yunker

“Ni‘ihau was such a dry, rather desolate island, and it’s always been the Hawaiian tradition to give flower leis and so forth,” Baker said. “So they gathered these shells and created these leis that mimic different kinds of flowers (like heliconia and crown flower).”

Further details regarding the origins of Ni‘ihau shell lei have been lost to the ages. However, there is much evidence the art existed before Capt. James Cook arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778, according to the Ni‘ihau Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Ni‘ihau leis are primarily made of kahelelani, momi or liki shells. Historically, liki shells were the most popular, and worn by royalty including Hawai‘i’s Queen Kapi‘olani and Queen Emma.

Ni‘ihau, located 18 miles west of Kaua‘i, is home to less than 100 residents, most of them Native Hawaiians, whose main language is Hawaiian, with English as a second language, according to the 2020 Census.

The island is privately owned since 1864, when Elizabeth Sinclair bought it from the Hawaiian Kingdom. Since then, the island’s ownership passed to her descendants, and is currently owned by the Robinsons. The Forbidden Isle is off-limits to outsiders, except invited guests, some Navy personnel, government officials, and the Robinson family.

Talk of 19th-century queens and the Pupu o Ni‘ihau exhibit’s museum setting could lead the uninitiated to imagine shell leis belong to the past. Yet that is far from the truth, according to Chock and the Ni‘ihau artists active today.

Shell lei in exhibit at Kauai Museum. Photo by Scott Yunker

Hi‘ipoi Kanahele Vakameilau is one of the latest in a line of celebrated lei makers. A large photograph of her late grandmother, Mama Ane Kanahele, occupies a place of honor at the Kaua‘i Museum exhibit.

Kanahele Vakameilau, now 37 years old, began “making shell” at age 15.

“The first thing we had to learn was to clean the shells and poke the holes and all that, before we started anything like a bracelet or a necklace,” she said.

Most Ni‘ihau lei makers’ art represents their only income, Kanahele Vakameilau continued.

She confirmed the time-consuming nature of shell-making. Using a needle, it can take her between three and five days to poke holes in the shells needed to make an 18-inch necklace.

The simplest shell lei are valued at about $200, according to the dealer Baker. However, larger Ni‘ihau leis made of rarer shells “are almost priceless.”

Kanahele Vakameilau feels blessed to be a part of this grand tradition.

“I love it. It’s like my meditation, making shell (lei),” she said. “It’s in our blood … It’s like a gift from God to the Ni‘ihau ‘ohana.”

The special Pupu o Ni‘ihau exhibit will be on display at the Kaua‘i Museum in Līhu‘e through Dec. 28. Photo by Scott Yunker

Many young people attended Pupu o Ni‘ihau’s opening at the Kaua‘i Museum in early October. Most wore shell leis of their own design, signaling the latest generation of shell makers is coming to the fore.

“A new crop of grandkids and great-grandkids take pride in doing this. It’s such an honor to honor the tradition of the Ni‘ihau people,” Chock said.

Pupu o Ni‘ihau — Jewels of the Pacific opened Oct. 4 and will last until Dec. 28 at the Kaua‘i Museum, Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m to 2 p.m. Note the museum’s hours differ; Kaua‘i Museum is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kaua‘i Museum is at 4428 Rice St. in Līhuʻe. Call (808) 245-6931 or visit www.kauaimuseum.org for more information.