Good evening. I feel like updating, but am too lethargic to tap into the River of Creativity flowing through my veins at the moment, so I'm giving into my weakness for folk tales. I realized a couple days ago (when I purused my Fairy Tales page) I've not done a Polynesian folk tale yet. I've hit on the European, the Greek, a Celtic one or two, Russian, Native American and Chinese, but not Polynesian. So, let's add to the mix, shall we?

Now, Pele wasn't worry-free after she learned those secrets. Her sister, Namaka, always pestered and blamed her for hot spots that started appearing all over the island and convinced the family that unless Pele left their island they would all be burned. After many arguments they agreed Pele should leave. One of her older brothers built a handsome and strong canoe. She named the canoe Honuaiakea.

Some of her brothers and sisters decided to go with Pele. Another older brother, Kamohoali'i, a shark god, guided the canoe. Pele's father also sent a bright, shining star to help guide the canoe at night. Before she left, Pele's uncle, Lonomakua, gave Pele a magic digging stick named Pa'oa. With that she would be able to dig deep into the earth to find the fire and lava for their new home. Pele's mother, Haumea, gave her a large egg wrapped in tapa. Pele held it close to her to keep warm. Pele packed her belongings into her canoe and set off for an island she had never seen before.

Pele and her family sailed northeast of Tahiti for a long time before they came upon the Hawaiian Islands. They quickly passed by the small northern islands because they were too flat for any of them to find any mountains that would hold fire. Even on Ni'ihau the big pit that Pele dug was a failure.

Upon arriving on the shores of Kaua'i, Pele felt more confident because of its high mountains. She went in search of a dry place for a home. She dug an even bigger fire pit than on Ni'ihau. But it too failed and the waters from Mount Wai'ale'ale drained into it.

Finding this island too wet, Pele came back to the shore to discover that one of her brothers had let the strong waves destroy their canoe. So she had a new canoe built. Upset at her inattentive brother, she left him behind on Kaua'i as the rest of them set sail in search for a home.

Pele arrived on the island of O'ahu and began to search longingly for a home to settle in with her family. Close to the hill Kapolei she began digging for a fire pit. Before long she struck water. Discouragement filled her heart, for how could she start her fire pit in a place full of water?

Pele continued walking through some wiliwili trees. Then she took her sister-like egg, Hi'iaka, from her pau (dress) and placed it on the ground while she went back to the sea for the juice of the limu (seaweed). Because Pele was so tired from searching for a home she decided to spend the night there. She decided to call the flowers that grew there "the pau of Hi`iaka" and she crowned her fiery head with a lei of them. She went to sleep and early in the morning she and her family hurried on their way.

On the heights of Moanalua, near Honolulu, Pele tried once more to find a home. She dug and dug. But again she struck salt water. She called this place "Aliapa'akai," the Salt Lake. Pele also tried digging at Le'ahi, which is now known as Diamond Head, at Puowaina or Punchbowl, at Hanauma which is now a popular bay, and at Makapu'u.

But everywhere Pele dug, her sister Namaka always put out the fire with water. Pele realized that O'ahu wasn't the place to stay, so she boarded her canoe with her family and sailed on to Moloka'i in search of a home.

Pele departed O'ahu at the shores of Hanauma Bay, where her canoe awaited her. Once again, she and her family sailed in search of a home. This time she headed for the island of Moloka'i. Pele used her digging stick, Pa'oa, at Kalaupapa, but her sister, Namaka, again flooded the earth with sea water. Pele moved on to Maui.

There she found a huge crater called Haleakala meaning the "House of the Sun." Pele tried to use her magic digging stick, Pa'oa, to find the fires deep within the center of the earth. She found some fire, but quickly got cold because Haleakala was so big.

Meanwhile her sister, Namaka, who had followed her during her voyage from Tahiti, saw the smoke rising from the crater and with her vicious sea monsters attacked Pele. They tore Pele's body apart and threw her pieces into a pile. The pile was named Na iwi o Pele, meaning "the bones of Pele." Namaka felt victorious and proclaimed that she had finally killed Pele.

But one of Pele's brothers, Kanemiloha'i, pointed to the sky above Moana Loa and Mauna Kea, the two high peaks on the Big Island of Hawai'i. There glowing in the sky was Pele's spirit body! Namaka tried to chase after her, but Kanamiloha'i declared, "Pele is invincible, she has become a spirit!" Pele had finally found a place to settle--on the island of Hawai'i.

When Pele was defeated on Maui, her spirit drifted south to the island of Hawai'i, also called "the Big Island."

A fire god was already living there. His name was 'Aila'au and he lived in Kilauea. Pele wanted to go visit and possibly stay with 'Aila'au. When Pele got to the top of Kilauea, he was nowhere in sight. The reason he wasn't there was that when Pele arrived on the shores of the Big Island, 'Aila'au knew who Pele was. He had heard stories of her, and he was overpowered with fear. He ran away and got lost forever in a forest.

Since 'Aila'au was gone Pele decided to make her home in Kilauea Volcano, in a large pit called Halema'uma'u. Here she dug deep to make her fires and settled in with her brothers and sisters who had traveled with her.

Pele still resides there today and makes her presence known through Kilauea's ongoing eruptions.

moon phase