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"Eia Ni'ihau O Kahelelani..."


Ni'ihau... The name invokes the vision of a mysterious and private island. Ni'ihau, the island of high chief Kahelelani, is located 17 miles southwest of Kaua'i. It is home to the rare pearls of Hawai'i: the shells used in Lei Pupu, the "flower" of the island of Ni'ihau.

Ni'ihau nutures the last community of pure blooded Hawaiians. Ni'ihau families represent the last breed of indigenous speakers of the Hawaiian language. They live in a rare dryland ecosystem that harnesses the spirit of a great people, steeped in their tradition, heritage, and legacy.


Pure and rare represents who we are and what we bring to you.

This web site is a labor of love for a group of five special individuals. We've had the privilege of visiting Ni'ihau, and have learned the craft of Lei Pupu O Ni'ihau from members of it's community. With many days of eye strain, poked fingers, and remembering to only think good thoughts while making a lei, we are blessed to be able to work with some of the families of Ni'ihau.

"Nana i ke kumu".. "Look to the source". In our case, our kumu is Ilei Beniamina, a Ni'ihau 3rd generation lei maker, who in turn has shared her island with us. She serves as our cultural expert, our baseline on protocol, and what is "pono". She is our source of inspiration.


Our goal is twofold: First, to educate people about the indigenous people of Ni'ihau and their unique way of life in this fast paced world. They keep alive a historic art form and continue to try to live within the culture and lifestyle of their ancestors.


Second, to provide a means for our Ni'ihau 'ohana to prosper and thrive. To support their traditional way of life by utilizing technology to bring their special treasures to you, where ever you may be.


While you may not have an opportunity to visit Ni'ihau (although we encourage you to do so via Ni'ihau Helicopters), we hope that by sharing our mana'o and giving you an opportunity to see these beautiful leis, you will feel as if you too were able to visit this isolated and private island and lay in the sand to gather some shells.


"It takes 5 fingers to hold 4 fish"
Our five fingers are:

  Ileialoha Beniamina
  Kekoa Billena
  Kahanukakela Schmitz
  Mahealani Harris
  Nohealani Martin

 

Na Ohana

 

We send our mahalos to our Ni'ihau ohana for their nuturing and support in bringing this web site to you. Without their kokua and Ni'ihau Aloha, we could not have accomplished what we have. We hope they are as proud of our efforts as we are thankful to them for their sharing their lives and aloha with us.


In this world it is a rare thing to be gifted with individuals who care for keeping the culture alive and "pono", and we all have grown by having met and worked with them. We all hope this is the beginning of a long and interesting relationship.


Privacy Policy:
Treasures of Ni'ihau values your privacy. We are committed to maintaining the privacy of our customers at the same high standards which we would expect ours to be. Our Ni'ihau traditions of integrity, honesty, and care for others form the foundation of how we conduct our business.

We collect only the personal information required to contact you and assist you in your Ni'ihau Lei purchase. We do not track who hits our site, and unless you request to be added to our mailing list, we will not send unsolicited emails.
We do not resell your personal information to any third party companies or disclose to any other individuals.
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© 2003, 2004, 2005 Treasures of Ni'ihau, LLP
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