Mythic Monday: Fiery Pele
May 29. 2017
This week, Mythic Monday turns to the vast Pacific Ocean and the fiery Polynesian goddess Pele. The passionate, volatile, and capricious goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes, Pele (PEH leh) is easily one of the most entertaining characters in the mythology of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. There are many stories where Pele’s famous fury is ignited—usually from jealousy or arrogance—resulting in spectacular volcanic eruptions or fiery lava flows that leave death and destruction in their wake. But Pele is also known as the “Goddess of the Sacred Land” and “She-who-shapes-the land” for her role in the creation of new land through volcanic eruptions.
The fire goddess Pele, shown here in a wooden sculpture, was worshiped on many islands of Polynesia. The Hawaiians believed she lived in the volcano Kilauea. When the goddess became angry, the volcano erupted. Credit: Wood sculpture with beaten bark cloth, 22 1/2 inches (57 centimeters) high; Museum of Man, Paris
According to Hawaiian myth, Pele resides within Kilauea (kee loh WAY ah), a large active volcano on the island of Hawaii. She is not always home, and the ground shakes whenever she moves from one location to another to visit members of her large family. Pele sometimes appears as an ugly hag with rough skin and red eyes and other times as a beautiful woman. Legends claim that Pele’s face can sometime be seen in Kilauea’s explosive eruptions caused by her furious wrath.
Pele is famous for her fickle temper, and most myths in Hawaii portray her as jealous and spiteful. In one myth, Pele saw the lovely snow goddess, Poli’ahu (poh lee AH hoo), and became jealous of her beauty. Pele opened up the ground and hurled fire and lava at Poli’ahu. With her snowy cloak on fire, Poli’ahu fled to the top of Mauna Kea, a large volcano neighboring Kilauea. As she ran, Poli’ahu threw snow to cool and harden the lava that Pele threw. Eventually, Pele’s temper cooled and she surrendered Mauna Kea to Poli’ahu and settled in Kilauea herself. This explains why Mauna Kea has a cap of snow while snowless Kilauea spews lava to this day.
In another myth, Pele sent her sister, Hi’iaka (hee ee AH kuh), to retrieve Pele’s lover, a prince from the island of Kauai. Hi’iaka agreed, but only if Pele promised not to harm her beloved lehua (leh HOO uh) groves or her friend Hopoe (HO PO eh). (The lehua is a tree with clusters of bright-red flowers.) Pele agreed, but Hi’iaka was delayed upon discovering that Pele’s lover had died. Hi’iaka spent days chanting over the lover’s body to bring him back to life. Convinced that her sister had stolen her lover, Pele burned the lehua groves, killing Hopoe as well. Upon returning with Kauai’s prince, Hi’iaka was furious to discover her sister had broken her promise. The sisters eventually made peace, and it is said that, as a result, lehua flowers are among the first things to grow on the island’s hardened lava flows.
Even today, tourists to Hawaii must beware the wrath of Pele. According to a popular legend, any visitor who takes a piece of volcanic lava from the Hawaiian Islands risks angering the goddess. The legend warns that anyone who does take a bit of rock from Hawaii as a souvenir will suffer bad luck until the rock is returned to Hawaii and Pele is appeased.
