An Interview with a Deity
by Bonnie Ramsburg
This mere mortal was given a great honor recently. I was allowed to sit down with the Great Pele, the Hawaiian Goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes. Below is an in depth interview with the goddess also known as Ka wahine ‘ai honua (“the earth-eating woman.”) With a smoking volcano behind me, an ocean with a lightning show going strong, I welcome Pele to our beachside table. BR: Welcome Pele. First, thank you so much for doing this interview! How are you? (She nods her head graciously) PELE: Hello Bonnie, I’m fine thank you. BR: Besides being recognized as the goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes, what else are you known for? And do you have any siblings? PELE: I am also known for my creative power, passion, purpose and profound love. I have numerous brothers and sisters. Kane Milohai, Kamohoali’I, Namaka and thirteen sisters named Hi’iaka, just to name a few. (She gives me a wry grin, as if to say, “What can I do?) BR: Where does a goddess of your stature reside? PELE: (she laughs and her laughter is like a gentle breeze) Why, in a volcano of course! The mortals believe I live in the Halema’uma’u crater at the summit caldera of Kilauea. It is one of the Earth’s most active volcanoes, but my domain really encompasses all volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaii. (She gets an angry look) Unfortunately for me, every incident with a volcanic eruption in Hawaii is blamed on me…supposedly expressing my longing to be with my true love, a young chief named Lohiau. Not only do they think this about me, they believe that I am a fickle and dangerous lover who sometimes kills my husbands. BR: Is this true? PELE: Now why would I reveal the truth about that? It keeps things interesting if nobody knows for sure! BR: True, very true! Pele, there are numerous legends about you and how you came to be a Goddess. Would you tell us about some of them? PELE: Oh my…..Let’s see….in one version, known as the Expulsion version, my parents are Kanehoalani and Haumea, we live in the mystical land of Kuaihelani, a floating free land, which was in the region of Kahiki. According to this legend, I stayed so close to my mother’s fireplace with the fire-keeper Lono-makua that my older sister Namaka-o-Kahai, a sea goddess, fears that my ambition would smother the homeland, so she drives me away. My brother Kamohoali’I uses a canoe called Honua-I-a-kea to take me, my younger sister Hi’iaka and two other brothers south to the islets above Hawaii. I use the divining rod, Pa’oa to pick my new home. But that witch of a sister pursued us and tore me apart. My bones, KaiwioPele form a hill on Kahikinui, while my spirit escapes to the island of Hawaii. BR: Oh my Goddess!!!! How horrible!!! Are the other legends any better? PELE: The Flood version is the other one I’m going to tell you about, and it is all up to the listener to decide which one is worse. In this version, I come from a land said to be “close to the clouds,” with my parents Kane-hoa-lani and Ha-hina-li’I, and my brothers Ka-moho-ali’I and Kahuila-o-ka-lani. I have a daughter Laka and a son Menehune with my husband Wahieloa (also called Wahialoa). Pele-kumu-honua entices my husband away and I travel in search of him. The sea pours from my head, over the land of Kanaloa (perhaps the island now known as Kaho’olawe) and my brothers say: “A sea! a sea! a sea of sharks Forth bursts the sea, Bursts forth over Kanaloa (Kaho’olawe), 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-li’i.
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My connection to the sea in this version is passed down from my mother Kahinalii, which is why this particular flood was named Kai a Kahhinalii. BR: I have no words for this….Which one is the true version? PELE: I would have to say that I’m partial to the Expulsion version. It makes more sense to me, but then again, why would I tell the exact truth about my origins….I am a Goddess after all! BR: Pele, it’s said that the old religion was officially abolished in 1819, but people still believed in you. What can you tell us about that time period? PELE: Oh, those stupid mortal English missionaries! They had to go and ruin everything! In the summer of 1823, William Ellis really got my temper going with his antics. He decided to tour the island to determine locations for mission stations. After his long journey to the volcano Kilauea with little food, Ellis eagerly at the wild berries he found growing there. Now mind you, the berries of the ‘ohelo plant are considered sacred to me, and traditionally prayers and offerings were always made to me before eating the berries. The volcano crater was an active lava lake at the time, and the natives feared my wrath because of this violation. Another event occurred in December of 1824. The High Chiefess Kapi’olani descended into the Halema’uma’u crater after reciting a Christian prayer instead of the traditional one to me. I still don’t know why I didn’t follow through and kill her like they all predicted. That story was often told by the missionaries to show the superiority of their faith. But my followers fooled them all. BR: What do you mean? PELE: I mean that even though Christianity has a foothold in Hawaii, there are still some Hawaiian people that pray to me, they still give offerings and such. And obviously, I’m still very much around. As long as there is a volcano, I will be here. BR: Wow! What an interview! Once again, thank you so much for allowing me to talk with you. I learned so much and am so awed by what I heard. (All of my information came from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
