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Pele (deity)

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According to legend, Pele lives in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater of Kīlauea

In the Hawaiian religion, Pele (pronounced [ˈpɛlɛ], English: /ˈpeɪleɪ/ PAY-lay) is the goddess of fire, lightning, dance, and volcanoes. She is a popular figure in many stories of ancient Hawaii known as Hawaiian mythology.

Legends

There are several traditional legends associated with Pele in Hawaiian mythology. She has numerous siblings, including Kāne Milohai, Kamohoaliʻi, Nāmaka and 13 sisters named Hiʻiaka, the most famous being Hiʻiakaikapoliopele (Hiʻiaka in the bosom of Pele). They are usually considered to be the offspring of Haumea. Her home is believed to be the fire pit called Halemaʻumaʻu crater, at the summit caldera of Kīlauea, one of the Earth's most active volcanoes; but her domain encompasses all volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Every incident with a volcanic eruption in Hawaii it is said to be Pele's way of expressing her longing to be with her true love, in many stories a young chief named Lohiau, but she's a fickle and dangerous lover who sometimes kills her husbands. [1]

Expulsion version

In one version of the story, Pele is daughter of Kanehoalani and Haumea in the mystical land of Kuaihelani, a floating free land like Fata Morgana. Kuaihelani was in the region of Kahiki (Kukulu o Kahiki). She stays so close to her mother's fireplace with the fire-keeper Lono-makua. Her older sister Nā-maka-o-Kahaʻi, a sea goddess, fears that Pele's ambition would smother the home-land and drives Pele away. Kamohoali'i drives Pele south in a canoe called Honua-i-a-kea with her younger sister Hiʻiaka and with her brothers Ka-moho-aliʻi, Kane-milo-hai, Kane-apua, and arrives at the islets above Hawaii. There Kane-milo-hai is left on Mokupapapa, just a reef, to build it up in fitness for human residence. On Nihoa, 800 feet above the ocean she leaves Kane-apua after her visit to Lehua and crowning a wreath of kau-no'a. Pele feels sorry for her younger brother and picks him up again. Pele used the divining rod, Paoa to pick her a new home. A group of chants tells of a pursuit by Namakaokaha'i and Pele is torn apart. Her bones, KaiwioPele form a hill on Kahikinui. While her spirit escaped to the island of Hawaiʻi.[2]: 157  (Pele & Hi'iaka A myth from HAwaii by Nathaniel B. Emerson)

Flood version

In another version, Pele comes from a land said to be "close to the clouds," with parents Kane-hoa-lani and Ka-hina-liʻi, and brothers Ka-moho-aliʻi and Kahuila-o-ka-lani. From her husband Wahieloa (also called Wahialoa) she has a daughter Laka and a son Menehune. Pele-kumu-honua entices her husband and Pele travels in search of him. The sea pours from her head over the land of Kanaloa (perhaps the island now known as Kahoʻolawe) and her brothers say:

"A sea! a sea!
Forth bursts the sea,
Bursts forth over Kanaloa (Kahoʻolawe),
The sea rises to the hills. . . ."

"Thrice" (according to the chant) the sea floods the land, then recedes. These floodings are called The-sea-of-Ka-hina-liʻi.[2]: 158 

Historical times

File:'The Goddess Pele', painting by Arthur Johnsen, Kilauea Visitor Center.JPG
Pele, painted by Arthur Johnsen

Pele belief continued after the old religion was officially abolished in 1819. In the summer of 1823 English missionary William Ellis toured the island to determine locations for mission stations.[3]: 236  After a long journey to the volcano Kīlauea with little food, Ellis eagerly ate the wild berries they found growing there.[3]: 128  The berries of the ʻōhelo (Vaccinium reticulatum) plant were considered sacred to the Pele. Traditionally prayers and offerings to Pele were always made before eating the berries. The volcano crater was an active lava lake, which the natives feared was a sign that Pele was not pleased with the violation.[3]: 143  Although wood carvings and thatched temples were easily destroyed, the volcano was a natural monument to the goddess.

In December 1824 the High Chiefess Kapiʻolani descended into the Halemaʻumaʻu crater after reciting a Christian prayer instead of the traditional one to Pele. She was not killed as predicted, and this story was often told by missionaries to show the superiority of their faith.[4] Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) wrote a poem about the incident in 1892.[5]

When businessman George Lycurgus ran a hotel at the rim of Kīlauea, called the Volcano House, he would often "pray" to Pele for the sake of the tourists. Park officials took a dim view of his habit of tossing items such as gin bottles (after drinking their contents) into the crater.[6]

Plantation owner William Hyde Rice published a version of the story in his collection of legends.[7] In 2003 the Volcano Art Center had a special competition for Pele paintings to replace one done in the early 20th century by D. Howard Hitchcock displayed in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitors center. Some criticized what looked like a blond caucasian as the Hawaiian goddess.[8] Over 140 paintings were submitted, and finalists were displayed at sites within the park.[9] The winner of the contest was Volcano Village artist Arthur Johnsen. This version shows the goddess in shades of red, with a digging stick in her left hand (the ʻōʻō, for which the currently erupting vent was named), and an embryonic form of Hiʻiaka-i-ka-poli-o-Pele in her right hand. The painting is now on display at the Kīlauea Visitor Center on the edge of the Kīlauea crater.[10]

Relatives

Pele's other prominent relatives are:

Artifacts

It is said

that Pele forms artifact out of lava, indicating she was present. One main artifact Pele formed in her lava is called "Pele's Chair" Pele's chair was formed on Oahu. Legend has it that this was the last place she rested before she left the island of Oahu. People claim they can feel the energy of Pele when visiting Pele's chair.

Science

Pele's hair, a volcanic glass in strands

Several phenomena connected to volcanism have been named after her, including Pele's hair, Pele's tears, and Limu o Pele (Pele's seaweed). A volcano on the moon Io (Moon) of Jupiter is also named Pele.[11]

Pop Culture references

  • The musician Tori Amos named an album Boys for Pele in her honor. A single lyrical excerpt from the song "Muhammad My Friend" makes the only outright connection, "You've never seen fire until you've seen Pele blow." However, the entire record deals with the ideas usually associated with Pele, such as feminine "fire," or power. Amos claims the title reflects the idea of boys being devoured by Pele, or alternately, as boys worshipping Pele.
  • Simon Winchester, in his book Krakatoa, stated about the Pele myth: "Like many legends, this old yarn has its basis in fact. The sea attacks volcanoes – the waters and the waves erode the fresh laid rocks. And this is why Pele herself moved, shifting always to the younger and newer volcanoes, and relentlessly away from the older and worn-out islands of the northwest."
  • In 2004, American composer Brian Balmages composed a piece entitled "Pele for Solo Horn and Wind Ensemble" on commission by Jerry Peel, professor of French Horn at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. It was premiered by the University of Miami Wind Ensemble under the direction of Gary Green, with Jerry Peel on Horn.
  • Pele is mentioned in the song "Hot Lava" by Perry Farrell on the South Park Album.
"And after the eruption, we lay dormant for a while
Let's just hold each other and talk,
For now, Pele sleeps"
  • Steven Reineke created a musical composition called "Goddess of Fire" which was inspired by the story and life of Pele.
  • In the 1990s a character claiming to be the goddess Pele appeared as a villainess in the DC Comics comic book Superboy. Pele later reappeared in the comic book Wonder Woman where she sought revenge against Wonder Woman for the murder of Kāne Milohai, who in that story was her father, at the hands of the Greek god Zeus.[12]
  • In Marvel Comics's Chaos War event, Pele appears as an ally to Hercules and the daughter of Gaea.
  • An eight-woman world-beat band (featuring djimbe drums, steel drums, and saxophone) called Pele Juju was based in Santa Cruz, California.
  • Pele appears on Sabrina the Teenage Witch in the episode "The good, the bad and the luau", as Sabrina's relative, who gives her the final clue to the family secret. This version of her has a slight tendency to unwittingly set things on fire.
  • In Borderlands, Pele is referenced in some rare weapon descriptions which explode causing fire damage on impact. The description reads "Pele demands a sacrifice!"

References

  1. ^ William Westervelt (1999). Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes. Mutual Publishing, originally published 1916 by Ellis Press.
  2. ^ a b Martha Warren Beckwith (1940). Hawaiian Mythology. Forgotten Books. ISBN 9781605069579.
  3. ^ a b c William Ellis (1823). "A journal of a tour around Hawai'i, the largest of the Sandwidch Islands". Crocker and Brewster, New York, republished 2004, Mutual Publishing, Honolulu. ISBN 1-56647-605-4. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ Penrose C. Morris (1920). "Kapiolani". All about Hawaii: Thrum's Hawaiian annual and standard guide. Thomas G. Thrum, Honolulu: 40–53.
  5. ^ Alfred Lord Tennyson (1899). Hallam Tennyson (ed.). The life and works of Alfred Lord Tennyson. Vol. 8. Macmillan. pp. 261–263. ISBN 0665790929.
  6. ^ "The Volcano House". Hawaii Nature Notes. 5 (2). National Park Service. 1953.
  7. ^ William Hyde Rice, preface by Edith J. K. Rice (1923). "Hawaiian Legends" (PDF). Bulletin 3. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu,. Retrieved 2010-01-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  8. ^ Rod Thompson (July 13, 2003). "Rendering Pele: Artists gather paints and canvas in effort to be chosen as Pele's portrait maker". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  9. ^ "Visions of Pele, the Hawaiian Volcano Deity" (PDF). Press release on Volcano Art Center Gallery web site. August 2003. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  10. ^ {{cite web |title= Arthur Johnsen: Painter |work= Arthur Johnsen Gallery web site
  11. ^ Radebaugh, J. (2004). "Observations and temperatures of Io's Pele Patera from Cassini and Galileo spacecraft images". Icarus. 169: 65–79. Bibcode:2004Icar..169...65R. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2003.10.019. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #35-36
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