The Volcano Goddess

The islands of Hawaii are entirely made up of shield volcanoes formed out of fluid lava. This is the story of the goddess who started it all.

Young Pele lived in Kahiki (Tahiti), a child of the gods. Her parents meant for her to become a water goddess but unfortunately for them, Pele discovered fire from the underworld and from then on, was fascinated by it. She began to set fire to everything she could find and was soon setting ablaze her own home.

The one most annoyed at this turn of events was her elder sister, Na-maka-o-kaha’i, the sea goddess. Every time Pele threw a fit (she had quite a temper, you see) and made a volcano erupt, Namaka had to flood it to put out the fire. The sisters got into an awful row and Namaka threatened to submerge their entire island home. That was when their parents decided that it was time to send the spirited Pele on a voyage somewhere, anywhere!

‘It isn’t safe here for you anymore, Pele! Your sister will drown our home if you trouble her any more. There’s a brave new world out there somewhere. Go discover it,’ they said. This is not something all parents tell their children but Pele was, well, how do you put it, more than a handful. They gave her a canoe and along with some of her siblings (she had so many), set her adrift. Her eldest brother, the king of sharks, Ka-moho-alii, steered the canoe. Her mother also gave her an egg, her unborn sister, whom she carried in her armpit as she paddled furiously. The egg, when it hatched later, became her sister Hiaiaka.

They followed a star, shining brightly in the sky towards the north east. Namaka was close behind in hot pursuit but Pele and Kamoho managed to stay ahead and finally came upon an atoll, a strip of islands around a lagoon. This could be our new home, she thought to herself. But just as she made her way up a tall mountain, the snow goddesses who lived there sent freezing cold blizzards her way. Pele began hopping from one island to the other to escape the avalanche attacks. As she moved southwards, fierce tidal waves sent by her sister engulfed her.

On the southernmost island, Pele found the very tall mountain of Mauna Loa and climbed all the way to the top. Here Namaka’s waves wouldn’t reach her and she was able to keep her fires lit all the time.

When her temper flared, Pele spewed forth hot fire and molten lava, which flowed towards the sea, chasing it further and further away. All that flowing hot lava cooled to form more land.

From Mauna Loa, Pele moved to the south east to find a large crater. Here she placed her magic stick, Paoa. This is going to be home, she told herself, and I’m going to call it Kilauea. To this day, the volcano Kilauea spits forth fire and molten lava and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Pele doesn’t forgive those who want to take a piece of her. And souvenir hunters who go to Kilauea are a cursed lot. Bad luck befalls all those who take away a bit of a lava rock from there. So much so that most return the rocks sooner or later. You dare not mess with Pele, the volcano goddess!