The King Kamehameha Day Parade would not be a parade without Pa’u riders. As they pass by, a contingent from each of the eight islands from the old Hawaiian Kingdom, one has to marvel at the preparation behind the pageantry. The day before the parade, plants, seeds, pods, vines and flowers are collected for the elaborate haku lei and corsages for their hair. On the morning of the parade, historically for protection, the riders are tightly wrapped up in 12 yards of fabric held together by six dried, unpolished kukui nuts.

As a photographer, the parade offers an abundance of opportunities.  But the problem has always been finding a location with a background void of telephone wires, street signs, or parked cars.  And then there are all the other photographers who for some reason want to stand exactly where you are standing.

In any event, I was lucky enough to capture this beautiful princess, from the island of Hawaii, passing by with an unencumbered background.  The red flowers adorning her dress and crown are from the Ohi’a tree.  Even the Ohi’a carries a mythological background, which of course involves love and jealousy. Pele, you see, met a handsome warrior named Ohi’a whom she wanted to marry.  But, as luck would have it, Ohi’a had already pledged his love to Lehua. This did not sit well with Pele, who in a moment of rage turned O’hia into a twisted tree. Lehua was heartbroken.  The gods then felt sorry for Lehua and turned Lehua into a flow on the Ohi’a tree so that the two lovers would be forever joined.  Hawaiian folklore says that if you pluck the Lehua blossom you are separating the lovers and it will rain that day.

It has been raining a lot here lately.  Global warming or lost love?