Naupaka! A flowering plant admired and enjoyed by all who know Hawaiʻi. And the story of Naupaka surely piques our interest and enriches the beauty.

Naupaka is an endemic plant, native to Hawaiʻi, with two distinct plant forms. One plant grows only by the seashore; the other is found only in the mountains. Each plant (same species) blooms with an identical “half flower,” four petals that appear to be just half of a whole.

In the Hawaiian legend, Naupaka was the daughter of an aliʻi (chief). She fell in love with a commoner, Kaui. Despite disapproval and stern warnings from the aliʻi, the lovers would meet to do what lovers do.

In reprisal, the father banished the man, Kaui, to the mountain and held his daughter captive by the sea. The two lovers were forever separated–each of them only half of the whole.

Naupaka–Mahuʻi Hou represents a departure for me from my mission to create quilts for the Queen. This is Ricʻs own story. In the quilt, I have the lovers reaching to touch and reunite.

No longer separate and apart, male and female are re-joined. No longer, “Is it a boy? Or is it a girl?” Gender is much more fluid than our culture has dictated. We all have traits of both genders. It is our determination to define and embrace our gender identity.