New Carpeting Project

A new carpeting project has begun at Turtle Bay Resort. This week the  floors started to receive a new, rich layer of carpet, featuring the Naupaka flower. The Naupaka plant grows wild all around the resort and it is a material participant in the legends of Hawaii.

There are two types of Naupaka in Hawaii; mountain Naupaka, on which the flower petals grow only on the top half of the flower’s stem and beach Naupaka, on which the flower petals only grow on the bottom half of the flower’s stem. Over the years two versions of legend regarding this beautiful plant have survived, each with the same sad ending and each with the same glorious promise.

One legend involves two young lovers who were greatly devoted and completely in love with each other. The great goddess Pele, seeing their love, desired it for herself and wanted the young man for her own. No matter what she tried, however, the two lovers remained completely united and devoted to each other.

In her anger, Pele went after the young man with hot lava. He ran as fast as he could into the mountains to flee Pele’s wrath. Pele’s sisters, seeing the young man’s fate, intervened by turning the young man into mountain Naupaka. This mountain Naupaka today grows flower petals only on the top half of the flower’s stem.

Pele then went after the young women, who fled towards the sea. The sisters again intervened, turning the young woman into beach Naupaka. This beach Naupaka today grows flower petals only on the bottom half of the flower’s stem.

The other legend involves two young lovers who were greatly devoted and completely in love with each other. One was of noble birth and the other of common birth. The laws of the kingdom did not allow commoners and royals to marry each other.

The two went to a respected priest, who told them that nothing could be done to change the law. The lovers then went to pray in the heiau (temple). As they prayed, rain began to fall. With their hearts full of sorrow, they decided one would go live by the ocean and the other in the mountains. The young woman took the flower from her hair and tore it in half, giving the top half to the young man. After they separated, having seen their pain, the mountain Naupaka plants began to only grow flower petals on the top half of the flower’s stem and the beach Naupaka only on the bottom half of the flower’s stem.

Both legends finish the same way with the promise that if ever the mountain Naupaka and beach Naupaka flowers are reunited onto one flower stem the two young lovers will be united together again. Maybe that is why Turtle Bay Resort, which sits in the shadows of the mountains and along five miles of beach, has become a favorite spot for lovers to unite and reunite in marriage ceremonies and vow renewals and to celebrate weddings with glorious honeymoons.

The legends notwithstanding, the Naupaka plant sits beautifully in the natural habitat all over Turtle Bay Resort and it now adorns the new carpets being placed in the hallways. The new carpeting project is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Come check out the improvement!