Pele is the great Hawai'ian Volcano-Goddess, who is
said to live within the crater of the volcano Kilauea,
located on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Kilauea (whose name
means "spreading"), has had 61 eruptions in historical
times, including the one that began in 1983 and is still
ongoing. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the
world, perhaps THE most active. The area of Kilauea makes
for more than 13% of the area of the island of Hawai'i,
and the volcano has added more than 70 acres of new land
since the current eruption began.
Pele is said to have originally come from Tahiti, fleeing
the wrath of Her older sister Na-maka-o-kaha'i, whose husband
Pele had seduced. When She arrived at the Hawai'ian archipelago
She searched for a new home, but pursued by Her sister
She was driven south and eastwards--which is also the order
in which the islands were created, geologically, as the
earth's crust crept slowly over a fixed "hotspot" in the
earth's interior. Na-maka-o-kaha'i, as Goddess of the sea
and waters continually flooded Pele's efforts to establish
Her home, until finally the mountain of Mauna Loa on Hawai'i
proved too large to be flooded, and Pele was able to make
Her home there.
Pele has many brothers and sisters, but Her favorite
is Her younger sister Hi'iaka, patroness of the hula, though
they too quarrelled over a man. Pele is well-known for
Her fiery temper and Her many lovers and rivals, quite
a few of whom met unlucky and incandescent ends. She is
still (not surprisingly) given much respect on the islands
of Hawai'i, and traditionally She may be appeased by offerings
of 'ohelo berries or gin.
Pele is said to appear in many forms--as a beautiful
young woman, an athlete who competes against mortal chieftains,
or a fiery-eyed old woman dressed in white. In this form,
She has even acquired somewhat of an urban legend: the
tale goes that drivers on the road that cuts through Kilauea
National Park will sometimes come upon an old lady all
in white. She bums a ride and a cigarette, but later, when
the driver turns to speak to her, she has vanished.
Pele in a reading indicates great energy and destruction.
However, Her destruction also creates, as volcanoes create
new land, and returning wildlife quickly colonises the
fertile ash.
Also called: Madame Pele, Pele-honua-mea "Woman
of the Sacred Land", Pele-ai-honua "Eater of
the Land", Hina-hanaia'i-ka-malama "The Woman
Who Worked in the Moon", who is Pele in Her human
form.
