Jealousy Causes Pele Regretful Act of Wrath

Ohi'a and Lehua were lovers, inseparable in their devotion to each other. Ohi'a caught the lusty eye of Pele one day, but would ignore the volcano goddess in his rapt attention to Lehua.

Pele flew into a rage and killed the lovers. Her sisters discovered what she had done, and were angered. Stung by her sisters' reproach, she came to grieve her act of jealosy.

Repentant, she transformed Ohi`a's body into a tree. She adorned the tree with flowers made of Lehua's body. Thus, the ohi`a`lehua tree that forests the slopes of Pele's home on Mauna Loa have the rough, masculine bark of Ohi`a and the soft, feminine blossoms of Lehua.

Through her act of contrition, Pele joined the lovers forever. Aloha Ahiahi.



Pele Left Bora-Bora to Make a Home in Hawai`i

Hawaiian chants have it that Pele came from Bora-Bora, near Tahiti. Some say she was driven by wanderlust to come to Hawai`i. Others say she was driven away from her birthplace by a flood.

Still others say a jealous sister chased her to Hawai`i after Pele had seduced her husband. She became a goddess, legends say, after the sister, Na- maka-o-Kaha`i, slew her in a ferocious battle near Hana, Maui. With her death, Pele's spirit was free of her mortal self, and transcended to godliness.

The spirit made her way back to the island of Hawai`i, where she made her home on Mauna Loa, the largest mountain on Earth. Here, her sacred fires could be safe from vengeful Na-maka-o-Kaha`i, who had become the goddess of the sea. Aloha Ahiahi.


Pele will Play, Invited or Not

A sport enjoyed by ancient Hawaiian chiefs was called holua. Narrow, hardwood sleds which were ridden down long slides built of rock and thatched with grass.

At a houla slide near Kapoho, a proud chief named Kahawali prepared to take his sled for a run. Before he launched himself, a strange woman appeared, and challenged him to a race. He ignored her and launched his sled.

Hearing screams, and a roar behind him, Kahawali looked over his sholder. He saw the woman hot on his heels, gliding down a flow of scorching lava.

Realizing he had snubbed Pele, Kahawali's mastery of holua was put to a test. His skills were just enough to allow him his lead on the goddess. Upon reaching bottom, Kahawali ran for the sea where his brother met him with his canoe. They set out for Maui, never to return. Aloha Ahiahi.



Fire and Ice: Pele and Poliahu

Two lusty goddesses of Hawai`i clashed when both sought the attentions of a handsome stranger.

Pele, goddess of volcanic fire, and Poliahu goddess of snow-capped mountains, both fell for `Ai-wohi-kupua, a chief from Kaua`i who was traveling about, seeking a beautiful young chieftess he had courted in his dreams.

A battle of immortal proportions ensued. Pele started it, causing Mauna Kea, Poliahu's home, to erupt. Waves of fiery lava drove Poliahu away in a panic, and melted the snows capping the volcano.

Poliahu recouped her strength, however, and returned with a snowstorm so intense, it was to quench forever Mauna Kea's fires.

Neither won the handsome chief. Nevertheless, the two still quarrel. Even today, Pele's home on Mauna Loa is occasionally capped with snow, though its fires remain burning deep within the volcano. Aloha Ahiahi.



Pele Loses Lover to Her sister, Hi`iaka

One day Pele traveled to Kaua`i in a dream and fell in love with a handsome chief, Lohi`au. Hi`iaka Pele's favorite sister volunteered to retrieve the chief after Pele woke from her dream journey. Pele accepted, but made Hi`iaka promise that she would resist should the chief be attracted to her. In return, Pele promised to protect Hi`iaka's favorite forests of sacred ohi`a-lehua trees and ferns.

The trip to Kaua`i was perilous. Hi`iaka found Lohi`au dead from grief over having lost Pele. Hi`iaka restored the chief to life, and though attracted to each other, Hi`iaka returned with Lohi`au, properly chaste.

Pele had grown impatient and when Hi`iaka had not returned when expected, Pele set fire to Hi`iaka's beloved forests.

Seeing this Hi`iaka embraced Lohi`au in front of her sister. Pele retaliated with fire which consumed Lohi`au.

Kane-milo-ha`i, a brother to the goddesses, caught Lohi`au's fleeing spirit, restored his life and reunited him with Hi`iaka. Aloha Ahiahi.



Kamehameha Empowered by Appeasing Pele

Rule of the island of Hawai`i was fought over for seven years after King Kalani`opu`u died in 1783. Still contending were the king's son, Keoua, and his upstart cousin, Kamehameha.

While Kamehameha was waging war in Maui and Moloka`i, Keoua laid waste to his cousin's homeland on the windward coast of Hawai`i. On his return, though, an eruption of Kilauea decimated his armies. Believing that volcano goddess Pele had sided with Kamehameha, Keoua gave up the war with his cousin.

In 1801, Kamehameha's now peaceful kingdom was wracked by an eruption of Mount Hualalai.

To stop the lava that was destroying much of the Kona coast, the king offered Pele a hank of hair, wrapping it in a ti leaf, and tossing it into a molten flow. The flow stopped, and Hualalai never erupted again. Aloha Ahiahi.



Invincible Pele, Goddess of Volcanoes

Imagine ancient Polynesians first laying eyes on Hawai`i. Imagine their awe as they watched torrents of fiery lava stream down the flanks of mighty volcanoes, as they felt the tremors of earthquakes shaking the firmament.

To those ancients, these spectacles were wrought by a being who commanded much mana, or power; a supernatural being free from the bonds of common mortality.

The being was a goddess, a goddess who sometimes appeard as a beautiful young woman, sometimes as a hobbled old crone. Sometimes she was clothed in flame and sometimes she was flame itself.

To many Hawaiians today, Pele is alive and well. Testament to her vitality may be found in the calderas of Kilauea and Mauna Loa, which continue to provide us the spectacle of volcanic eruption. Aloha Ahiahi.