Sampaguita Vendor

ByMaria

I took this picture when we went to Laguna, Philippines a few years back. This is a typical sight outside Catholic Churches in the country, vendors selling sampaguita leis. Parishioners likes to buy them as an offering to God or their favorite saints.
Sampaguita or Pikake in Hawaiian is made as leis for other occasions like graduations, birthdays, weddings and other special occasions. It is white in color and very fragrant. Most of the leis are almost always made with another fragrant flower called Ilang-ilang. The flower has five petals and are lime green in color. It has a very intoxicating smell that it is widely used in the perfume industry. Did you know that it is one of the secret ingredients in Chanel perfumes?
Anyways, back to the girl in the picture, what an honest way to earn a living, selling the most wonderfully fragrant flowers in the world.

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