Madame Pele, also known as Pele the volcano goddess, is a prominent figure in Hawaiian mythology. According to legend, she is the creator of the Hawaiian Islands and resides within the Kilauea volcano. While she is often revered and respected, there is also a belief in a potential curse associated with her. The Madame Pele curse is said to bring misfortune and bad luck to those who disrespect or harm the natural environment of Hawaii. It is believed that if someone takes a piece of volcanic rock or sand from the Hawaiian Islands, they will face a series of unfortunate events until the stolen element is returned. These unlucky events can range from financial hardships to health issues or even accidents.
Who is the Fire Goddess Pele?
As most of the world knows by now, Mt. Kilauea is certainly on a roll and Madam Pele is not in a very good mood to say the least! Have you heard of the curse that Mt. Kilauea, our active volcano holds inside of her? It is compliments of the Goddess of Fire: Pele. It seems so harmless to want to take home a small bit of lava rock from the volcano on the Big Island, but you may want to read on…
It is said that the Fire Goddess Pele considers all of those rocks her children, and should anyone abduct one of her children, they will suffer any number of maladies. It is a curse of bad luck, be it health, financial or emotional, some have said it had brought them ruin, and they mail the rocks back to the summit. Piles of lava continue to arrive in the mail every day. Some taken last week, some more than a year ago, either way, there were some serious strokes of very bad luck, and home the rocks came. There used to be several displays of these returned children, but they have since been removed.
A subliminal message? I suppose there is something to be said about the power of the mind. Someone becomes ill and recalls that cute little chunk of lava sitting on the mantle from that last Hawaiian holiday. Send Back the Rock.
Many locals insist that the curse is real. Whether it applies to only the lava rocks, or every Hawaiian grain of sand, people still speculate. The interesting thing is that this “curse” does not even have an anchor in Ancient Hawaiian Lore. It was not a part of the culture. This could be that tourism was not so much a thing centuries ago as it is now, but it certainly is an intriguing folklore! It is said that this was all started decades ago by the Park Rangers to discourage the souvenir collectors. No so sure why, it’s not like we are going to run out of lava rocks any time soon. Culturally sensitive, some native Hawaiians felt the exhibits disrespectful to the Goddess Pele and to the Hawaiian culture and they wanted the part to remove all of the exhibits of the returned lava rocks. There is a bit of an issue with this however. This “curse” has been accepted as lore by locals and visitors alike, no matter where it began, it is now a part of our Hawaiian culture, so the removal of the exhibits and no longer sharing the tale of the curse, can again be interpreted as a sign of cultural disrespect. One thing is for certain, I will not be taking any of Pele’s babies home with me anytime soon!
Should you wind up with a lava rock accidentally or intentionally and take it off of the island, you may want to add this information to your rolodex: Pele, c/o Headquarters, Volcanoes National Park, Volcano, HI 96785.
Letters to a Goddess
As humans, we seem to love stories of powers greater than us. Unseen hands shaping our lives, supernatural forces portending doom, horoscopes charting our future via the stars.
This is true in every culture throughout the world, from origin stories to beliefs that shape our everyday lives. In Hawai`i, a complex origin story involves the Fire Goddess Pele, and how through her power she created the volcanoes that formed the islands.
Even today, Pele’s power is respected and feared, as evidenced by the more than 2,000 pounds of lava rocks that are returned to Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park each year by visitors who, against all advice and park rules, took them home as souvenirs. The rocks are often accompanied by woeful letters outlining the havoc that “Pele’s Curse” caused when the misguided traveler removed them from their rightful place in the sacred lava fields.
In their book “Letters to a Goddess,” authors Linda Ching and Robin Stephens collected a sampling:
“Dear Sirs, I am returning 2 samples of lava rock from the Volcanoes National Park. I took them to demonstrate to my classes. Since doing so I have been in an auto accident, taken 2 severe falls, had my basement flooded and spent numerous hours in doctors’ offices for treatment. Currently my hand is numb and has been so for weeks. I am no longer dubious about Pele’s powers.”
The author sends “deepest apologies” for removing the rocks.
“I took this rock when I visited Hawaii in October 1974. A few months later I met the man who I eventually married. For the past 16 years this man has made my life miserable. I am truly sorry for taking the lava rock and I would like for it to be returned to its place of origin.”
There are literally hundreds of similar letters.
The Power of Belief
How did the curse get started? Is it based in some deep Hawaiian myth?
Turns out, according to research that Ching and Stephens did for their book, that the Pele’s Curse story was started by a park ranger in 1946, who was tired of visitors taking rocks as souvenirs and was trying to discourage the practice.
It is, as Ching and Stephens remind us, both illegal to remove such objects from any national park, and a form of environmental desecration.
And while that may answer the question of how the myth started, it poses another, more speculative question: If it is manufactured as a simple means of behavior control, how does it hold so much mystical power?
Authors Ching and Stephens concluded that their book was really about the power of beliefs, and that many cultures understand the power of elemental objects. They point out that the Hawaiian culture has long exhibited a reverence for pōhaku, stones. The early Hawaiian temples, heiau, were stone platforms. And stones formed the very basics of sustaining life itself, including poi pounders, adzes, weapons, and building blocks.
Around the world, many people sense power in crystals. Diamonds, emeralds, rubys … stones are held to be potent in many ways. In that context, to imbue lava rocks with power should not seem so unusual. Rocks of all types remind us of people, times, places, deeds.
The act of contrition in mailing the stones back is as powerful as the belief that the rocks have mana to begin with. “The curse is not the power, it is the belief we hold that affects us so strongly,” wrote Spencer Johnson, co-author of “One Minute Manager” and longtime Hawai`i resident. “The real message of the letters, I believe, is that it’s always better to honor a place with aloha.”
“The letters sent to the Park from believers of Pele’s Curse resonate with guilt,” wrote Dr. Mitsuo Aoki, doctor of divinity and past chairman of the department of religion at the University of Hawai`i. “The deeper the guilt, the more awesome the consequences.”
In other words, whether you believe in their power or not, don’t take lava rocks from Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
KOR Salon now open at Queens’ MarketPlace
This newly opened salon (located next to Yoga Barre in Queens’ MarketPlace) offers friendly service, a relaxing environment, and high-quality ocean-friendly Kevin Murphy products. Services include hair, nails, massage, and facials. The CBD jelly mask facial is a must! Salon owner Kristi Millar comes with a 15-year background in expert hair coloring, extensions, and styling. Clients leave feeling beautiful on the inside and out. Hair stylists service men and children too!
THE LEGEND BEHIND HAWAII’S GODDESS OF FIRE
Lighting up ancient Hawaiian legends, Pele (pronounced peh-leh) the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, dance and volcanoes is a well-known character. Otherwise known as ka wahine ai honua, the woman who devours the land, Pele’s home is believed to be Halemaumau crater at the summit of Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes. However, all of Hawaii lays the setting for her stories, so that to this day, any volcanic eruption in Hawaii is attributed to Pele’s longing to be with her true love.
Pele is renowned for her passionate and fiery temperament and many people who visit the islands will hear stories of her power and destruction. One of six daughters and seven sons born to Haumea (an ancient Earth goddess) and Kane Milohai (the creator of the sky, earth and upper heavens), Pele’s siblings include Kane Milohai, Kamohoalii, Namaka as well as 13 sisters with the same name – Hiiaka.
Behind the Legend of Pele
There are as many versions of how Madame Pele came to Hawaii as there are lava rocks on Hawaii Island. One common legend says that Pele – who was born in Honua-Mea in Tahiti — was sent away by her father because of her difficult temper and for seducing her sister, Namakaokahai’s, husband. She found her way to the Hawaiian Islands where legend after legend bubbled up around her countless lovers, infidelities and feuds and heated outbursts.
Another well-known story spins a web that Pele’s older brother Kamohoalii (the king of sharks) provided Pele with a large canoe which she and her brothers took and sailed away with – eventually coming to Hawaii. When she made landfall in the islands it was on Kauai, where she was attacked by her sister Namakaokahai and left for dead. According to legend she was able to recover and escaped to Oahu where she dug fire pits, including the crater today called Diamond Head. She traveled through the island chain to Molokai and on to Maui where she is said to have made Haleakala volcano.
Upon discovering Pele had survived, Namakaokahai traveled to Maui and the two engaged in an epic battle near Hana, where Pele was torn apart by her sister and became a god, finding a home on Mauna Kea on Hawaii Island. There she dug her final fire pit, the Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea, where many believe she resides to this day.
And yet another tale tells that Pele was married for a short — and violent — time to Kamapuaa, the god of water. This story says that Pele rerouted Kamapuaa from their home in Helemaumau and angrily chased him, with rivers of lava, into the Pacific Ocean. This story is meant to symbolize the violent and explosive experience of a hydrovolcanic eruption, though Hawaiian eruptions are much more peaceful. Pele’s loyal followers believe that the frequent eruptions of lava on Kilauea is a reminder that Pele is alive and still at home here.
Pele Parables
Pele is often portrayed as a wanderer and sightings of the familiar and popular goddess have been reported throughout the island chain for hundreds of years, but especially near volcanic craters and near her home of Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world.
In these sightings or visions she appears as either a very tall, beautiful young woman or an unattractive and frail elderly woman usually accompanies by a white dog. Those well-versed in the legend, say that Pele takes this form of an elderly beggar woman to test people – asking them if they have food or drink to share. Those who are generous and share with her are rewarded while anyone who is greedy or unkind are punished with their homes or other valuables destroyed.
The Goddess of Volcanoes
If you visit Hawaii only once, the one myth of Pele that you will likely hear and should take heed of is one surrounding the curses she inflicts on those who remove lava rocks from her island home. While many — including some kamaaina (local residents) believe that it is only legend, to this day thousands of pieces of lava rock are mailed back to the island from travelers over the world who insist they’ve suffered bad luck and misfortunes as a result.
These unlucky events can range from financial hardships to health issues or even accidents. The curse has gained attention and belief among locals and visitors alike, which has led to a practice of returning stolen items to the Hawaiian islands in hopes of reversing any negative effects. This practice is often referred to as "Pele's Curse," and it serves as a testament to the power and influence of Madame Pele in Hawaiian culture.
However, it is important to note that the curse is not universally accepted or believed by everyone. Some believe that it is more of a myth or superstition rather than an actual curse. Skeptics argue that the misfortunes experienced by individuals may be coincidental or attributed to other factors. Nevertheless, the Madame Pele curse remains a topic of intrigue and fascination for many. It serves as a reminder of the significance and respect that the Hawaiian people have for their natural environment and their strong connection to their mythology and cultural heritage..
Reviews for "From Legend to Reality: Unmasking Madame Pele's Curse"
1. Jennifer - 1 star
I was really disappointed with "Madame Pele Curse". The story was all over the place and it was hard to keep track of what was going on. The characters were poorly developed and lacked depth, making it hard to connect with them. The writing was also subpar, with many grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. Overall, I cannot recommend this book to anyone.
2. Mark - 2 stars
I had high hopes for "Madame Pele Curse" but it fell short of my expectations. The plot had potential, but it was executed poorly. The pacing was uneven, with slow and boring parts that made me lose interest. The romance subplot felt forced and unnecessary, adding little to the overall story. Plus, the dialogue was unrealistic and the author seemed to rely on clichés too much. It's a shame because the concept had promise, but the execution was lacking.
3. Samantha - 2 stars
I found "Madame Pele Curse" to be predictable and unoriginal. The storyline felt like a rehash of other supernatural mysteries I've read before, with no unique twist to make it stand out. The writing was average, lacking any real flair or style. The ending was also underwhelming, tying up loose ends too neatly and leaving no room for interpretation. Overall, I was disappointed and wouldn't recommend this book to fans of the genre.