HB 051: The Legend of Pele, Hawaiian Goddess of Fire and Volcanoes

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How many stories of the Hawaiian Islands have you heard? If you are a culture lover, you may be curious to know what makes Hawaiian culture so rich. In this episode, Bryan is joined with Andrew Fowers of Shaka Guide to discuss three important stories of goddess Pele.

 

Pele, also known as the goddess of fire, can be quick to anger and a jealous lover. In the three stories, we are about to hear, it’s hard to ignore Pele’s anger. A silver lining about Pele is that she has a conscience, too.

 

In the first story of how the Kilauea volcano came to be, Pele got jealous of her little sister Hiiaka. Pele sent her sister to find her lover Ohia and bring him to her. Pele gave Hiiaka a deadline of 40 days. Hiiaka failed to meet the deadline. She came back after the deadline had elapsed, but she brought Ohia with her. Pele’s angry got the best of her and destroyed Hiika’s forest. When Hiiaka saw that, she too got angry and embraced Ohia in Pele’s presence. Pele got upset and buried Ohia beneath rapid hot lava.

 

The second story is about the curse of Pele. According to Hawaiian culture, what belongs to Pele must remain in Hawaii. Many people who visit Hawaii usually get tempted to take away lava rocks or sand as souvenirs. Unfortunately, many of them end up mailing them back because of the many bad things they encounter. Could it be the curse of Pele?

 

The third story is about the relationship between Pele and the Ohia Lehua tree. This story is evidence enough that Pele is not always bad. When lava erupts, it is usually black and barren. Amazing enough, there is one tree that can withstand that, the Ohia Lehua tree.

 

This tree is said to close its leaves and pore for it to survive the harsh conditions. The Ohia Lehua tree has beautiful red flowers that some native Hawaiian birds feed on. It is believed that after Pele calmed down, she turned Ohia’s body into the tree and Lehau’s body into its flowers. She did that to join the lovers together forever.

 

Fast forward today, there is a fungus that is threatening the life of the Ohia Lehua trees, and great effort is being put in place to save the trees.

 

Listen in as Andrew tells us the stories in depth.