In the time when the world was young and the Hawaiian Islands still shaped their forms from the breath of the gods, there lived Pele, the radiant goddess of volcanoes, fire, and lightning. Her home was the crater of Kīlauea, where molten rivers of lava flowed like veins of the earth, pulsing with her divine energy. From this sacred heart of fire, she ruled with strength, passion, and the fierce beauty of creation itself.
Pele was not alone in her divine dwelling. Around her lived her many sisters and brothers, each a spirit of nature with power of their own. Among them was Hi‘iaka, the youngest and dearest to Pele’s heart. Born from an egg carried across the sea in Pele’s journey from the ancestral lands of Kahiki, Hi‘iaka was nurtured in her sister’s warmth and grew into a goddess of healing, dance, and the greenforests that flourished where Pele’s lava cooled.
Though fire and forest seem opposites, the two sisters lived in harmony, Pele’s destruction made way for Hi‘iaka’s renewal. The fire burned; the greenery returned. Between them was the eternal cycle of life: destruction giving birth to growth.
One night, Pele’s restless heart was stirred by dreams. In visions as bright as the molten glow beneath her, she saw a mortal man, handsome, strong, and noble, dancing on the island of Kaua‘i. His name was Lohi‘au, chief of Ha‘ena, known for his beauty and charm. In her dream, Pele’s spirit traveled to him, and together they danced until dawn in a love that defied the bounds between mortal and divine.
When Pele awoke, her heart was ablaze not with lava, but with love. She longed to see Lohi‘au in the flesh, to bring him to her fiery home on Hawai‘i Island. Yet her body could not leave the sacred crater, her essence was bound to the volcano’s heart. So, she turned to her beloved sister.
“Hi‘iaka,” said Pele, “you, who are wise and faithful, go to Kaua‘i and bring back my lover, Lohi‘au. Guard your heart well, for he is mortal and easily swayed. But take this gift: my spirit will guide and protect you.”
Hi‘iaka bowed her head. “I will go, my sister, though the journey is long and perilous. Yet, I ask one promise, that you will guard my forest of sacred lehua trees and harm none of those who dwell within them until I return.”
Pele agreed, and Hi‘iaka set out across the islands, carrying with her the warmth of her sister’s blessing and the rhythm of the hula that was her gift to the world.
Hi‘iaka’s journey was filled with tests and temptations. She crossed stormy seas, fought spirit-creatures, and encountered rival gods. In each challenge, she showed compassion and courage, bringing healing where others brought harm. Her grace in battle and her gentle wisdom earned her friends among spirits and mortals alike.
At last, she reached Kaua‘i and found Lohi‘au, but the mortal chief had died of grief after losing Pele’s spirit that had visited him in dreams. Undeterred, Hi‘iaka used her divine power to restore him to life, calling his spirit back with chants as soft as the dawn breeze. When he opened his eyes, his heart filled with gratitude for the goddess who had revived him.
Days turned to nights as they journeyed together back toward Pele. Along the way, a deep bond grew between Hi‘iaka and Lohi‘au. Though she remembered her sister’s warning, the warmth of his eyes and his gentle words stirred her heart. She fought against it, knowing the fury that would come if Pele’s jealousy were roused.
But far across the sea, in the heart of Kīlauea, Pele’s spirit sensed their closeness. The fiery goddess, though divine, was not immune to the burning pain of jealousy. Her heart blazed hotter than her molten rivers, and in her anger, she sent fire sweeping through Hi‘iaka’s beloved forests, consuming the groves and the sacred lehua trees she had vowed to protect.
When Hi‘iaka returned and saw the blackened remains of her forests, her sacred promise violated, her grief turned to fury. In her sorrow, she embraced Lohi‘au openly, defying Pele’s wrath. “If my sister’s love can destroy all I hold dear,” she cried, “then let her destroy me as well!”
The ground trembled, the sky darkened, and molten fire burst from the earth. Pele’s rage unleashed the power of the volcano, consuming all before it. But even divine wrath cannot last forever. In time, her fire subsided, and the two sisters faced one another, Pele’s eyes like flame, Hi‘iaka’s like the green depths of the forest reborn.
Between them lay the ashes of their anger and the memory of their love. Pele, though proud, saw that her fury had cost her dearly, her sister’s trust, her forests, and the peace of her heart. Hi‘iaka, too, saw that her defiance had wounded the bond they once shared. Silence fell between them, broken only by the crackle of cooling lava.
In the ages that followed, their reconciliation came not in words, but in the land itself. The forests grew again on the cooled lava plains, green rising from black rock, Hi‘iaka’s forgiveness embodied in every leaf. The volcano continued to flow, birthing new earth, Pele’s endless creation. Their divine feud, both fierce and sacred, became the living heartbeat of Hawai‘i.
To this day, when the volcano erupts and the forest later blooms, the people remember Pele and Hi‘iaka, the sisters whose love and conflict shaped the islands, reminding all that from destruction can come renewal, and from anger, understanding.
Moral of the Story
The legend of Pele and Hi‘iaka teaches that even divine love is bound by emotion, jealousy, loyalty, and forgiveness. Through their feud, the balance of fire and forest, destruction and creation, is revealed as part of nature’s eternal rhythm. True harmony is not the absence of conflict but the renewal that follows it.
Knowledge Check (Q&A)
- Who are Pele and Hi‘iaka in Hawaiian mythology?
Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and fire, while Hi‘iaka, her youngest sister, is the goddess of healing, hula, and the forests. - What task did Pele give to Hi‘iaka?
Pele sent Hi‘iaka to Kaua‘i to bring back her mortal lover, Lohi‘au, to her volcanic home. - What caused the conflict between Pele and Hi‘iaka?
Pele’s jealousy flared when she believed Hi‘iaka had grown too close to Lohi‘au, leading her to destroy Hi‘iaka’s sacred forests. - How did Hi‘iaka respond to Pele’s destruction?
In grief and defiance, Hi‘iaka openly embraced Lohi‘au, provoking Pele’s fiery wrath. - What symbolizes their reconciliation in nature?
The regrowth of forests on cooled lava represents Hi‘iaka’s forgiveness and Pele’s endless power of creation. - What is the moral lesson of this folktale?
The story teaches balance,that creation and destruction, love and anger, are all parts of the natural and spiritual order.
Source: Adapted from Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes: Pele and Her Kin by W. D. Westervelt (1916)
Cultural Origin: Hawaiian (Polynesian)
