In nearly every culture, fire and ice have been opposing forces of equal strength, trapped in a never-ending battle. Hawaiian culture is no different. Snow is embodied by the snow goddess/deity Poliʻahu, who made her home upon Mauna Kea. She is said to be the most well known of the four kupua that live on the mountain, which are human beings with supernatural powers that don’t have the status of gods. Fire and lava are embodied by the goddess/deity Pele, who resides in Halemaʻumaʻu crater in Kīlauea.
In this story, Pele is referred to as Keahilele. Depending on the source, these individuals are known as either goddesses or kupua.
The legend focuses on a holua sledding competition between Poliahu and Keahilele (Pele). Holua sledding was a hazardous sport that was also known as “land sledding” or “sled surfing.” Participants would slide down a steep, slick hill covered in dirt and kukui nut (candlenut) oil on a skinny, long sled at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.
The legend initially focuses on Poliʻahu and her three friends. The first friend, Lilinoe, embodied the mist that came down from the mountain. Waiau was the kupua (deity) of the underground reservoir collecting water from Mauna Kea, and Ka Houpo ʻo Kona was the bosom of Kāne, representing the springs of the island of Hawaiʻi. Poliʻahu and her three friends were enjoying their time holua sledding on the slopes of Mauna Kea, near Hāmākua, when they were joined by a woman visitor who claimed to be from the southernmost part of the Big Island. She indicated that her name was Keahilele and asked if she could join the competition, to which Lilinoe offered her the use of her holua (sled).
After the competition, Keahilele was described as “flying fire” while racing, but Poliʻahu was judged the fastest racer. Keahilele became furious and caused the ground to shake violently. Keahilele hurled Lilinoe’s holua into the ground, causing cracks to form over the subterranean caverns of Mauna Kea, from which smoke and fire spewed out. These events caused Poliʻahu to realize that Keahilele was Pele, after which her companions fled to safety.
A battle resulted between the two, with Pele causing a series of eruptions that eventually formed the glaciers on Mauna Kea. Poliʻahu initially fled towards the summit to escape the flames, but upon regaining her strength, she threw a mantle of snow over the summit, which cooled the lava and caused it to harden and stop flowing. Pele eventually succeeded in destroying the holua slide but was defeated by the heat of her fire. As a result, the lava that remained in the underground reservoir was turned away from Mauna Kea forever and instead filled the lava pools of Kīlauea. The cooled lava became the area of Laupāhoehoe.
The eruption of Kīlauea at Halemaʻumaʻu and snow covering the summit of Mauna Kea is thought to signify the presence of Pele and Poliahu at their respective homes. Some people, including Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at UH Mānoa’s Professor Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, believe that their presence is a sign to discontinue the construction of telescopes on Mauna Kea.
▪︎▪︎▪︎This legend describes a series of volcanic eruptions known as the Laupāhoehoe Volcanic series. It occurred after the late Pleistocene Makanaka glacial episode on the summit of Mauna Kea, and resulted in the formation of Laupāhoehoe and Onomea Arch, and was shared with you here from this original article : https://hilo.hawaii.edu/news/kekalahea/spring-2023/february/legend-of-poliahu-and-pele.php#:~:text=Poli%CA%BBahu%20initially%20fled%20towards%20the,of%20Laup%C4%81hoehoe%20and%20Onomea%20Arch. ▪︎▪︎▪︎
I MUST ADD : if belief is that "The eruption of Kīlauea at Halemaʻumaʻu and snow covering the summit of Mauna Kea is thought to signify the presence of Pele and Poliahu at their respective homes. Some people, including Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at UH Mānoa’s Professor Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, believe that their presence is a sign to discontinue the construction of telescopes on Mauna Kea. " THEN THE SAME EXACT BELIEF COVERS PUNA GEOTHERMAL VENTURE AND THE FACT THAT WE NEED TO DECOMMISSION IT due to the immense cultural erasure and desecration and ecocide , to say the least.
Tūtū Pele has been VERY active since mom filed the 2024 Hawaii Geothermal Injunction against PGV and The county of Hawaii. She started up that day in April. The same day basically she started making her presence known in THE EAST RIFT ZONE. This being THE EAST RIFT , the one included in the injunction, its basically what the entire fight is about, that is being completely destabilized and injected with cancer at a rate of 1.2 billion gallons a year, for the past 40 years (do the math. It's not pono. It's NOT aloha āina ) , and she hasn't stopped making noise since ..#AOLEPGV
This means , traditionally and culturally , that IT IS THE SIGN FROM MĀDAME PELE TO STOP THE DESECRATION 😭⚖️⚔️😔🌋. It IS her showing the support for her own cause . Any Hawaiian who is not bought and paid for by ormat would tell you that .
Contact KahuPuna to purchase a shirt by donation for the cause to help mālama tūtū Pele. #KilaueaIsNotForSale wearepuna@gmail.com . All proceeds go into KahuPuna community awareness efforts, materials for demonstration days, etc.
Recent really important eeducational videos and aole pgv cause updates from the blog here -->
"Legend of Kahavari Chief of PUNA A STORY OF THE VENGEANCE OF TUTU PELE":
"How to do geothermal and still be PONO":
"Volcanoes in Hawaiian Culture":
"Reimagining online community engagement in time of geothermal censorship":
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