Posted 14 years ago
Belltown
(241 items)
This is a 36-inch long, triple strand, Ni'ihau Shell Lei. My mom picked this up while vacationing with my dad in Kauai in 1969. The color of the shells is pinker than seen in these photos (I shot this outside; the daylight was apparently too much for my photo skills).
Ni'ihau is the smallest inhabited island in Hawaii. It's also privately owned, which means to visit the place you have to take an organized tour, but you can't spend the night. The shell leis are a source of income for the people who live on the island, as is rent paid by the US Navy.
I’m just now seeing your Niihau shell necklace. Very special!
I lived in Hawaii for a few wonderful years and have enjoyed learning the history of the islands.
Having a little piece of Niihau, you might like to read “The Niihau Incident” by Allan Beekman.
It is the true account of a Japanese pilot who, after bombing Pearl Harbor, wound up surviving his crash landing on Niihau.
So isolated as the Niihau residents were, they had no idea of the bombing that had just occurred.
This brief 126 page book gives the account of the incident.
It’s not something ever heard of in the usual accounts of the attacks on Oahu’s bases on December 7, 1941.
Hi Watchsearcher. And I'm just now seeing your comment! Will take a look at "The Niihau Incident." Thanks for the tip!