Hawaiian Legends; Legend of Pele and Hi’iaka of Hawaii
Hawaiians have a great significance of their beliefs and culture. Some beliefs are based on nature and the things within it. Native Hawaiians also have great legends that explain what they believe in. Almost everyone would say legends are only made up stories for interest or to scare people but not everyone would think that here in the Hawaiian Islands. Many people do not believe in legends; however Native Hawaiians rely on their legends which allow them to learn about their ancestors.
A well-known legend to the natives of Hawaii would be Pele and her sister Hi’iaka. Pele, the goddess of the volcanoes and fire was the one that controlled the volcano and lava on Kilauea. Hi’iaka, the goddess
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of lightning and hula was the goddess that controlled the storms and lightning. Natives dedicate hula to these goddesses as a symbol of respect and loyalty. Sometimes hula is also performed as a story of how things were created or how the gods and goddesses of Hawaii were formed. W.D. Westervelt, an Oberlin College graduate, collected some Hawaiian legends that had been told from natives and translated them into his book Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes. In one of the legends it introduced that Pele had come from the island of Tahiti and was looking for a place here in the Hawaiian Islands. A god named Ai-Laau who was already the resident of Kilauea had heard of her coming. Ai-Laau was afraid of Pele that he “vanished because he knew that this one coming toward him was Pele” (Westervelt 3). In another one of Westervelts translation it had said no one knew where Pele had come from but that she had come with the egg of her sister Hi’iaka.Pele cared so much of Hi’iaka that before she left her mother gave her the egg of Hi’iaka, so that she may bring Hi’iaka along on her journey to the Hawaiian Islands. She had raised Hi’iaka on her own on the island of Hawaii. Native Hawaiians respect Pele and Hi’iaka as creators of their home. Pele is believed to be the resident of Kilauea and the one who bring the lava onto the island. Natives respect her work as a new beginning. She covers the land with lava and her sister Hi’iaka restores the land with new plants that flourishes throughout the valley. Hi’iaka, the goddess of lightning and hula is the youngest of all the gods and goddesses. In an article The Hula Movement, by Constance Hale, she mentions how hula is a great impact to most Native Hawaiians. It mentions, many believe that hula was created by the goddess, Hi’iaka. Native Hawaiians believe Hi’iaka danced throughout her garden of Lehua and they would bloom as she danced through them. Hula is performed and mostly dedicated to the goddess, it is believed that hula comes from the core which helps you move swiftly with the flow of your arms. Hale also mentions in her article of the way hula was modified throughout time. King Kalakaua is known to be the Merrie Monarch. He is the one who had modified the hula instruments. He respected the hula as a dedication to the goddess Hi’iaka but after the missionaries had come and taught them their beliefs in christianity, the importance of hula toward the goddess was lost. As the article talks about the origin of hula it also gives the audience a different perspective on the importance it is to the Hawaiian culture. Each culture have their own significant beliefs as well as the Hawaiians.
An english professor from UH Manoa named, Ku’ualoha Ho’omanawanui wrote an article Mana Wahine, Education and Nation-building: Lessons from the Epic Pele and Hi’iaka for Kanaka Maoli Today on the importance of the Hawaiian culture. She wrote many detailed ideas of what the Hawaiian culture is and why it is important to many Native Hawaiians. She had an argument about the importance of the Hawaiian culture to be taught in schools. Her arguments were based on how they should preserve the Hawaiian culture by teaching it in schools so the culture does not die. She used Pele and Hi’iaka as an important connection to the culture.
Pele and Hi’iaka are two “skills to create and revive the ‘aina” (Ho’omanawanui 209). This is a very important line used to help understand why the goddesses are important to the Hawaiian culture. Pele and Hi’iaka are not only goddesses of Hawaii but also the unity to the culture. Pele is the creator of the islands and Hi’iaka revives the plants within the islands as a combination of
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beauty. In her article she also writes about how the Native Hawaiians respected the women. Native women are fairly respected due to the goddess Pele. Pele was believed to be the “women who ate the forest”. She could cover the land with her lava and destroy everything in her way, including her brother, Kane’s forest. She also overruns the sea which also belongs to her brother Kanaloa. Ho’omanawanui write in her article that the mana wahine (women strength) is what helps the goddess overpower her brothers. Pele is very determined to do what she wants, when she wants. This strength is what helps her get the respect from both her brothers and the people of the islands. Hi’iaka on the other hand finds her mana wahine in her ability to heal the sick. Men respect her due to her power to help them and cure them from whatever sickness they might have. A significance of the two goddesses in her article is that both resemble a sign of strength and power. A story of the two goddesses would be the time Pele had asked her sister, Hi’iaka to go to Kaua’i and bring her lover, Lohi’au. As Hi’iaka arrive at the island she finds that Lohi’au has already passed away. With the power of her mana she is able to revive him. Pele on the other hand is waiting impatiently and she feels doubt that her sister had taken Lohi’au as her own. So when Hi’iaka arrives with Lohi’au, Pele is angry and upset that she covers both Hi’iaka and Lohi’au with her lava. Lohi’au then dies but Hi’iaka doesn’t because of her mana. Native Hawaiians believed that these two goddesses were the most powerful among all the others due to the mana wahine they had for each other. Cultures all over the world have been shared and taught to be passed down each generations.
Some cultures such as the Hawaiians have tried to preserve their culture. In Ho’omanawanui article she also concentrates on why she wants to preserve the Hawaiian culture. She talks about the many ways the culture is significant in a way that students should learn. The many lesson and relations of how the Hawaiians view their beliefs today. Many people today do not always follow culture anymore. Everyone is influenced by the American life. There are not many natives due to social media and culture not being taught each generation. Personally many people in my culture, the girls specifically do not follow our culture. It is interesting that it is not only happening to my culture but also to many other cultures. The Hawaiian culture is also in the middle of that crisis today. Not many Native Hawaiians are still around. The legend of Pele and Hi’iaka mentioned in Ho’omanawanui’ s article is used to help the readers understand that these legends are not only for storytelling but also a method that could help bring the Hawaiian culture back to its
people. Ho’omanawanui explain many cultural aspects in the Hawaiian culture that have meaning to its expression. For example the grass skirts that are made for hula was also worn by the goddess Hi’iaka. She was given this pa’u as a protection or a garment. It was also the cultural object of the Native Hawaiian women as the protection of the sacred center. After the colonization of the missionaries many of these pa’u were lost and replaced with cotton dresses that covered their whole body. The missionaries not only changed the natives outfit but also their beliefs. Pele was well respected by the Native Hawaiians and she still is but most Hawaiians have converted to christianity. Ho’omanawanui also mentioned how tourist view the plastic lei’s and tiki torches as props that came from Hawaii but behind all those are the main importance of the Hawaiian culture and its significance to the legends of the island gods and goddesses. It is important that we non-natives respect the Hawaiian culture as not just legends but also as sacred lessons. Many tourist who have picked up rocks on the side of sacred landmarks have gotten into bad lucks. Tour guides have told many of them not to take anything from the landmarks because it is a sign of disrespect but they do not listen. It is also important that we do not take the Hawaiian legends as things to joke about because it is also a sign of disrespect towards the culture. Pele and Hi’iaka are two major goddesses that have great impact on the Hawaiian culture. Ho’omanawanui uses her article to explain the important connection of Pele and Hi’iaka to the Hawaiian culture, how people view this culture, and how it should be taught to teach people all around. The Hawaiian culture is something we should know and learn about because it is not just a silly prop made for decoration but a culture that has it’s own sacred and religious views. Native Hawaiians rely on the legends they are told, which gives them a view of their ancestors and their religious beliefs.
The role of a kahuna in the Hawaiian culture takes on the responsibility of keeping a balance between the people and the nation. In doing so, they apply their field of expertise towards assisting the aliʻi and the makaʻāinana. In ancient Hawai’i, there were many different types of kāhuna that had a skill set that contributed or benefited the community. In this paper I will discuss the different ways a kahuna achieves this type of balance within the lāhui. These kuleana include advising the aliʻi to make pono decisions, guiding the makaʻāinana in their daily lives and practices, and taking care of the spiritual side of the Hawaiian culture and traditional practices of the people.
The Hawaiian culture is known throughout the western world for their extravagant luaus, beautiful islands, and a language that comes nowhere near being pronounceable to anyone but a Hawaiian. Whenever someone wants to “get away” their first thought is to sit on the beach in Hawai’i with a Mai tai in their hand and watch the sun go down. Haunani-Kay Trask is a native Hawaiian educated on the mainland because it was believed to provide a better education. She questioned the stories of her heritage she heard as a child when she began learning of her ancestors in books at school. Confused by which story was correct, she returned to Hawai’i and discovered that the books of the mainland schools had been all wrong and her heritage was correctly told through the language and teachings of her own people. With her use of pathos and connotative language, Trask does a fine job of defending her argument that the western world destroyed her vibrant Hawaiian culture.
Tabrah, Ruth M. Hawaii: A Bicentennial History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1980.
Ka’ahumanu was a strong-willed woman that made a significant impact on the islands by transforming the structure of Hawaii’s society, as well as their beliefs. At one point, she was the most powerful figure in the Hawaiian islands, paving the way for a new era for the kingdom.
Sonia P. Juvik, James O. Juvik. Atlas of Hawaii. 3rd Edition. Hilo: University of Hawai'i Press, 1998.
The arrival of the missionaries in Hawaii changed the lives of the natives in huge ways that lasted forever. The introduction of western houses and culture had a big influence on Hawaii. The native Hawaiians built their houses out of grass and had very simple villages, but when the missionaries established their settlement they built more sophisticated and sturdy homes out of coral and used western architectural methods to construct buildings. The Hawaiians soon following their lead and the royalty all had western palaces for homes. This also lead to an increase in technology, such as the use of wells and water lines to store fresh water for the towns. They also began to bring in and
The most prominent deities are Lono, Ku, Kanaloa, and Kne, the creators of all that exists. Martha Beckwith states, “The Hawaiians worshiped nature gods and these gods entered to a greater or lesser extent into all the affairs of daily life.” (2). Hawaiian mythology has a unique way of incorporating itself in different forms into all facets of daily life in the past. In Hawaiian mythology, all forms of nature have their own god who represents a specific aspect.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
Kualapai, Lydia. "The Queen Writes Back: Lili'uokalani's Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen." Studies in American Indian Literatures. 17.2 (2005): 32-62.
Racism in Hawaii has caused various issues, and one of them is racial tension. It states that “ some say…”[there are]”...racial tensions between the islands white community and native hawaiians” (Hansen, paragraph 3). Well, in history, it was quite difficult for most of the
...Hawai`i’s economy is very dependent on tourism, however many locals are possessive of their land, and as they stereotype tourists, many do not accept others as they have a unity for their own. Numerous individuals feel the desideratum to fit the local stereotype because they prefer not to be labeled as a “haole”. It becomes tough and rather intense for an individual, because becoming haole betokens that you forgot and disregarded the local or Hawaiian quality values and ways of routes, as well as the flowing stream of life in the islands. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of where we emanate from, our skin tone, race, physical characteristics, and so forth, everybody ought to acknowledge just for who we/they are and treat one another like 'ohana and show "aloha", and subsequently, we can determinately verbally express "This is it. This is Paradise" (33).
Jovik, Sonia P. and James O. Jovik. (1997). “History.” Atlas of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p.408.
Pele (also called Ka wahine `ai honua, the woman who devours the land) is the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. She is very popular in Hawaiian mythology and is believed to live in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, a fire pit at the summit of Kīlauea (an active volcano). There are a few variations of how Pele actually came to the Hawaiia islands. One was through expulsion, and the other by canoe. In the canoe/flood version, Pele received a canoe from her oldest brother, Kamohoali'i, the king of sharks and travelled far away with her brothers and came across Hawaii. Upon arrival, she is attacked by her older sister, Na-maka-o-Kaha’i. Pele survived, recovered, and fled to Oahu. There, she dug a numerous amount of “fire pits,” which include the DIamond Head crater in Honolulu. After, she travelled farther southeast to Maui, and created the Haleakala volcano. In the meantime, Na-maka-o-Kaha’i discovered her location, and went to Maui to battle. The battle ended somewhat neat Hana, Maui with Pele being torn apart by her older sister. It’s said that her bon...
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.