Written by Stephanie Namahoe Launiu
Pele, the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess, is the most enduring of the vast pantheon of ancient Hawaiian gods and goddesses. Even in the 21st century, Pele remains in the news whenever volcanic eruptions happen at Kilauea or Mauna Loa Volcano. Those who believe in Pele know that she is the force behind the fiery lava that periodically spurts forth from Hawaiian volcanoes.
The Hawaiians have many stories of Pele and her hot and volatile behavior. But she was also beautiful with a back as straight as a cliff and breasts rounded like a full moon. She is the goddess with the power to destroy and create with fire and lava. The stark lava fields surrounding Mauna Loa are dotted with pillars of lava. Are these trees that a lava flow covered, or are they the remains of ancient lovers that displeased Pele? You decide.
Pele was known to be passionate, volatile, and impulsive. Here are stories of just a few of Pele’s lovers. Any man that fell in love with her was in for a wild ride. And it was ten times worse for any man who rejected her.
Pele’s Forbidden Lover: Aukelenuiaiku
One of the Hawaiian creation stories tells of how Pele’s older sister Namakaokaha‘i, Goddess of the Sea, chased Pele and her family while they were searching for a permanent home in the northern Pacific Ocean. Every time Namakaokaha‘i saw Pele’s canoe approaching land, she whipped up huge surf and giant tidal waves that drove her back out to sea.
What would cause Pele’s sister to be so enraged with her?
The legend says that Namakaokaha‘i was married to Aukelenuiaiku, a mighty man who had the powers of a clairvoyant. Shortly after they met, Namakaokaha‘i fell in love with him and demonstrated to him the magical powers that she held. They were married soon after that.
But Aukelenuiaiku was weak in the flesh, and he fell for the steamy flirtations of Namaka’s younger sister Pele. One day he pretended that he was going fishing and Namaka caught ‘Aukele and Pele together in a lover’s embrace.
Overcome by a raging frenzy…
Namakaokaha‘i caused the oceans to rise and bubble as if they were erupting hot lava. Pele and her family could do nothing but flee from Namakaokaha‘i’s anger.
From Kaua‘i in the north and down the Hawaiian Island chain to O‘ahu, Moloka‘i, and Maui, Pele fled with Namakaoha‘i in furious pursuit. Every time Pele dug a crater so that she could get some volcanic rest, Namaka would see the smoke, rush to douse the flames and keep Pele on the move.
Namakaokaha‘i followed Pele throughout the island chain until Pele finally settled in Halema‘uma‘u Crater at Kilauea Volcano, an upland area far from the reach of the sea’s waves. Even today, Pele’s eruptions from Hawai‘i Island’s volcanoes rush sizzling hot till they reach the sea — symbolizing the match in strength between the sisters of fire and water, volcano and ocean.
The Legend of ‘Ōhi‘a and Lehua
The ‘Ōhi‘a tree is an endemic species that is only found in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the most common native tree in our rainforests and blooms profusely from sea level to the mountain summits.
When you are in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you can spot ‘Ōhi‘a trees adorned with red blossoms standing amid Pele’s stark lava landscape. The red blossoms are called the Lehua flower.
This is the story of ‘Ōhi‘a and Lehua…
It was love at first sight for ‘Ōhi‘’a and Lehua. ‘Ōhi’a was tall and handsome. Lehua was gentle, sweet, and fragile like a flower.
Lehua was the only woman for ‘Ōhi‘a. He romanced her with an energy that quickly won her over and before long they were married. ‘Ōhi‘’a built a home for his new wife.
One day Pele was strolling in the upland forests near their home and her eyes caught a glimpse of the handsome ‘Ōhi‘a in a clearing. Pele was instantly attracted to him and went to strike up a conversation. Although ‘Ōhi‘’a spoke nicely to the beautiful woman in front of him, he angered Pele because he didn’t show any special interest in her. She wanted this young man for herself, but before she could continue her efforts, Lehua arrived to bring ‘Ōhi‘a his lunch.
Pele’s wrath ignited
When he saw his enchanting wife, ‘Ōhi‘a’s face lit up. He dropped everything and his attention was instantly on Lehua. Pele fumed jealously at the young couple. Abandoning her human form, Pele changed into an angry fire column and threw ‘Ōhi‘a onto the ground, transforming him into a twisted tree in revenge for ignoring her advances.
Tears streamed down Lehua’s face as she begged Pele to turn him back into a man, or else turn her into a tree because she didn’t want to live apart from her beloved husband. Pele ignored Lehua and walked away slowly up into the cooler heights of the forest with her anger satisfied. But the gods saw what Pele had done and it angered them. As Lehua lay sobbing, the gods changed her into a beautiful red flower and placed her upon the ‘Ōhi‘a tree, so that they would never be separated again.
Hawaiian legends say that if you pluck the lehua flower, you are separating the lovers and that day it will rain.
Ever since then, the ‘Ōhi‘a tree blossoms with beautiful red Lehua flowers. While the flowers are in bloom on the tree, the weather is sunny. But when a flower is plucked from the tree, rain falls like tears, for Lehua still cannot bear to be separated from her beloved husband ‘Ōhi‘a.
Kamapua‘a, the Pig-God
Pele is famed for her tempestuous love affair with Kamapua‘a also known as the Pig-God. According to oral tradition, Kamapua‘a is a demigod associated with fertility and agriculture. He is the son of the goddess Hina and Kahikiula, the chief of O‘ahu.
He hid the bristles that grew down his back by wearing a cape. Kamapua‘a could appear as a human, a hog, a fish, a tree, or grass. He and Pele were at odds from the beginning; she covered the land with barren lava, and he brought torrents of rain to extinguish her fires and called the wild boars to dig up the land, softening it so seeds could grow.
One story of how Pele and Kamapua‘a met tells of Kamapua‘a traveling to Pele’s home at Kilauea, the most active Hawaiian volcano. Kamapua‘a tried to impress Pele and her sisters by looking like a handsome man. He impressed her sisters, but Pele was not impressed because he had arrived uninvited. She insulted Kamapua‘a by calling him a pig, upsetting Kamapua‘a and turning the conversation into an argument. As Kamapua‘a tried to approach Pele, she sent flames toward him, leaving him in the center of a fire pit. Kamapua‘a struck back by putting out the flames with rain and fog, and hogs began running all over Pele’s land.
After this encounter, the only thing left was Pele’s firesticks. Pele’s brothers begged her to acquiesce because they feared that Kamapua‘a would continue to bring storms that would soak all of her firesticks and take away her power of fire. Kamapua‘a took the sticks and divided the districts giving Pele those that are hot and dry on the western portion of Hawai‘i Island – Ka‘ū, Kona, and Kohala. He took the wet and rainy Eastern districts of Hilo, Puna, and Hāmākua.
Kamapua‘a and Pele make a truce of sorts
After a truce and the division of the island, Kamapua‘a and Pele continued their on-again-off-again love affair through the ages.
Kamapua‘a eventually left the Island of Hawai‘i. He started a family in the ocean where he took the form of the fish called the humu-humu-nuku-nuku-apuaa which has a snout-like mouth. That fish is now known as the official fish of the State of Hawai‘i. Kamapua‘a is not known to have stepped foot on Hawai‘i Island again, but his presence is felt in the fertile soil and moistness of East Hawaii and the prolific harvests that the land produces.
Pele continues to long for Kamapua‘a and she misses their passionate fights and their even more passionate lovemaking. To this day, her love chants continue to echo through the mountains and over barren lava fields.
Lohi‘au and Hi‘iaka
Pele had the superpower of astral projection or soul wandering. This is the ability of a person’s spirit to travel to distant places while their body remains in another location.
There are stories of ancient Hawaiians who were trained to have this special ability to communicate with others on neighboring islands without physically traveling there. “Uhane-lele” is the Hawaiian term for the idea that a spirit can wander away from a living body.
One night Pele fell into a deep sleep and her spirit left her body to follow the sound of a nose-flute to the island of Kaua‘i where there was a hula dance taking place. Pele took the form of a beautiful woman and seduced the Kaua‘i chief Lohi‘au. For three nights, Pele and Lohi‘au secreted themselves away from others and fulfilled their desires.
After the third night, Pele prepared to return to her Big Island home and told Lohi‘au that she would send a messenger to retrieve him to come and live with her. Even though Lohi‘au tried to convince her to stay on Kaua‘i, Pele left.
In her home at Kilauea’s summit, Pele longed for Lohiʻau. She asked her beloved youngest sister Hi‘iaka to journey to Kauai to bring Lohi‘au to her. Even though it was a difficult request and would take many days, Hi‘iaka agreed. Before she departed, Hi‘iaka asked Pele to take care of her sacred grove of ‘ōhiʻa trees and her friend Hōpoe.
Hiʻiaka travels to Kauaʻi
After a while, Hiʻiaka arrived at Kauaʻi and found that Lohiʻau had died of a broken heart. Hiʻiaka was responsible for reviving Lohiʻau. The process took 30 days of chanting while she caught and returned Lohi‘au’s spirit to his body. Lohiʻau came back to life and Hiʻiaka was a step closer to bringing Peleʻs lover to her.
On the way to Kilauea, Hiʻiaka and Lohiʻau stopped for a rest on Oʻahu. They met a chiefess who was a past lover of Lohiʻau. She offered to play a game of kilu (a kissing game) hoping that she would win Lohiʻau for the night. Hiʻiaka agreed to play and was the winner, also keeping Lohiʻau from falling into the hands of that woman. Despite the faithfulness of Hi‘iaka, during this long absence, Pele feared that Hiʻiaka had betrayed her. It was taking too long. Acting in a jealous fit, Pele burned the beloved ʻōhiʻa groves in the Puna district and enveloped Hiʻiakaʻs best friend Hōpoe with lava.
Hiʻiaka had the power of far sight, and she watched Pele’s act of destruction. Expecting to confront Pele, Hiʻiaka, and Lohi‘au arrived at the rim of the Kilauea Crater. In defiance, Hi‘iaka embraced Lohi‘au on the edge of the caldera. Pele was enraged and engulfed her sister and Lohi‘au in flames, killing her lover. Hi‘iaka once again revived Lohi‘au. By this time, Lohi‘au had grown to love Hi‘iaka.
Seeing this, Pele agreed that her sister and Lohi‘au should return to Kaua‘i to live. Pele remained in Kilauea where she lives (and loves) to this day.
