Pele's Life In Hawaii Myths

Throughout history, humans have used imaginative stories to explain a range of things from the changing of seasons to great cataclysmic events. Of all the Hawaiian myths, the story of Pele and Hi'iaka is thought by many to be one of the most important. Historian N.B. Emerson says, "The story of Pele and her sister Hiiaka stands at the fountain-head of Hawaiian myth and is the matrix from which the unwritten literature of Hawaii drew its life-blood.”

Pele and family arrived in Hawaii at the northeast end of the island chain and looked for a home, where the ground was hot. She failed to find a suitable place on the island of Kauai but found a man named Lohi‘au whom she fancied. Pele continued searching for a home but kept Lohi‘au in mind. After a time, she reached the island of Hawaii and found a home in a crater at the top of the volcano Kilauea. The crater became known as Kalua o Pele (the pit of Pele). …show more content…
Every sister declined except the youngest, Hi‘iaka, who agreed to bring back Lohi‘au for Pele. In return, Hi‘iaka asked Pele not to destroy her beloved forest of ‘ōhi‘a lehua (a native tree) in the district of Puna. Pele promised that she would not destroy the forest provided that Hi‘iaka returned within a certain