picture by Herb Kane
Pele, Goddess of Fire
Much has been written about Pele, the powerful goddess
of fire, in Hawaiian legend and mythology.
Her temperament, as fiery and heated as the lava she controlled, was
well known among the people, especially her lovers. One such man was a young chief on the island of Kauai,
Lohiau. Using her divine powers, Pele
transformed herself in the shape of a woman and quickly fell in love with
Lohiau. However, she could not stay
with him because she had to return to her home in Kilauea Crater on the island
of Hawaii. Still longing for Lohiau,
Pele sent her younger sister Hiiaka to fetch him and bring him to her. Hiiaka agreed to her request under the
condition that Pele would take care of her dear friend Hopoe and keep her lava
from destroying the grove of ohia trees where she and Hopoe would dance. So Hiiaka went on her quest but when she
arrived to Kauai she found that the chief was dead. But like Pele, Hiiaka was a goddess and was able to put Lohiau’s
spirit back into his body. The two
began their journey back to Hawaii but Pele’s impatience and jealousy got the
better of her. Forty days had gone by
and she assumed that her younger sister had betrayed her, keeping Lohiau for
herself. In a fit of rage, Pele sent
flows of lava into Hiiaka’s ohia forest and destroyed everything, including
Hopoe. When Hiiaka saw her dead friend
and the ruins of her ohia grove, she threw herself into Lohiau’s arms. Enraged, Pele sent lava to destroy
Lohiau. Pele and Hiiaka’s older brother
took pity on the young goddess and brought Lohiau back to life for the second
time. Lohiau and Hiiaka then returned
to Kauai to live together out of the way of Pele’s unpredictable way.
For more information
visit the following webpages:
The Official Website
of the State of Hawaii
General Info
http://gohawaii.about.com/travel/gohawaii/
How to be a Local
http://www.zippys.com/
(eat)
http://www.hawaiieventsonline.com/
(do)
(dress)
http://www.kccnfm100.com/ (sing)
http://www.hawaiian.com/sticker.html (be)
Princeton Hawaii Club
Information and images compiled from the above
mentioned webpages
Hawaii
The Aloha State
The
Eight Major Islands of Hawaii
Name
Population Area(sq.mi.)
Ni’ihau
“Forbidden Isle”
230
69
Kaua’i “Garden
Isle”
54,200 552
O’ahu “Gathering
Place” 863,100 597
Maui “Valley
Isle”
108,
000 727
Moloka’i “Friendly
Isle”
6,717 260
Lana’i “Pineapple
Isle”
2,426 140
Hawai’i “Big Island”
130,400 4,028
Kaho’olawe
Uninhabited 45
Hawaii
State Flag
State Facts
Statehood:
August 21, 1959
State Flower:
Yellow Hibiscus
State Bird:
Nene
State Fish:
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
State Motto:
Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka
pono
“The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness”
State Anthem:
Hawaii ponoi Nana i kou, moi
Kalani Alii, ke Alii.
Makua lani e Kamehameha e
Na kaua e pale Me ka ihe.
“Hawaii's
own true sons, be loyal to your chief
Your
country's liege and lord, the Alii.
Father above us all, Kamehameha,
Who guarded in the war with his ihe.”
Did
You Know…
Cool Facts about Hawaii
Measuring from base to top, Mauna Kea
on the Big Island is the tallest mountain in the world with a combined height
of 33,476 feet
The wettest place on earth is Mt.
Waialeale on Kauai with 460 inches of rain per year
The southernmost point of the United
States is Ka Lae on the Big Island
The only royal residence in the
United States is ‘Iolani Palace located in Honolulu
Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the earth being 2,390 mi from California, 3,850 mi from Japan, 4,900 mi from China and 5,280 feet from the Phillipines
There are only 13 letters in the
Hawaiian Alphabet:
A, E, I, O, U, H, K, L, M, N, P, W, and `(okina)