Pele

     Pelehonuamea, commonly known as Pele, is one of the most powerful and revered figures in Hawaiian religion and oral tradition. She is the goddess of fire, volcanoes, lava, lightning, and creation through destruction. Unlike many fire deities who symbolize light or purification alone, Pele embodies living fire—the molten, moving force of volcanic lava that shapes islands, destroys landscapes, and gives birth to new land.  In Hawaiian cosmology, Pele’s fire is sacred, creative, and dangerous, reflecting the deep relationship between the Hawaiian people and their volcanic environment. 

     Pele is not merely associated with fire—she is fire in motion. Her presence is manifested through volcanic eruptions, flowing lava, underground magma, and volcanic heat and steam. Her home is traditionally identified with Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, among the most active volcanoes on Earth. When lava flows, it is understood as Pele’s body and will made visible. Fire, in this context, is not symbolic abstraction but an immediate, physical reality experienced by the land and its people.

     Pele’s fire can: consume forests and villages, reshape coastlines, and drive people from their homes.  Stories describe Pele as fierce, passionate, and easily angered. Disrespect toward the land or her authority can provoke her flames, reinforcing the idea that sacred fire demands reverence.  Yet Pele’s fire is equally creative. Lava flows cool and harden into new land, expanding the Hawaiian Islands themselves. In this way, Pele is a creator goddess, forming land where none existed before. This dual role reflects a key Hawaiian worldview that destruction and creation are inseparable.  Sacred fire clears space for renewal, making Pele a force of ongoing cosmic balance.

     Hawaiian chants (mele) and legends place Pele in direct relationship with mountains, craters, and volcanic features. Her journeys across the islands explain the origins of volcanic chains and calderas.  Volcanoes are not inert objects but sacred bodies, animated by Pele’s fire. This understanding encourages a deep respect for nature, ritual offerings, and prohibitions against taking volcanic stones or lava.  Even today, many Hawaiians believe removing lava invites Pele’s displeasure.  Pele’s fire is also emotional and spiritual. She is described as passionate, jealous, creative, and quick-tempered.  Her inner fire mirrors volcanic behavior—long periods of calm followed by sudden eruptions. This makes Pele deeply humanlike, yet awe-inspiring, and reinforces fire as a force of feeling, not just physics.

     Traditional offerings to Pele include ʻŌhelo berries, flowers, chants, and prayers.  These acts are meant to honor and calm her fire, not control it. Fire is not mastered but respected and negotiated with, reflecting Hawaiian values of balance (pono) and harmony with nature.  Pele remains culturally significant today. She appears in chants, hula, and storytelling and her presence is acknowledged during volcanic events.  She symbolizes Hawaiian identity and connection to land (ʻāina).  Modern interpretations often view Pele as a reminder of nature’s sovereignty, warning against exploitation and disrespect of the environment. 

Unlike solar or hearth fire deities, Pele’s fire is geological, not celestial. 

    Her flame is uncontained, not ritualized as she is both goddess and landscape.  In this way, Pele stands apart as a deity whose sacred fire is visceral, uncontrollable, and continuously creative.  Pele embodies one of the most profound expressions of sacred fire in world mythology. Her volcanic flame is destructive yet creative, terrifying yet life-giving, and Divine yet deeply connected to the natural world  Through Pele, fire becomes not just a symbol, but the living heartbeat of the Earth itself.

 

References:

  • Chants recorded by David Malo and Samuel Kamakau

  • Encyclopedia Britannica, “Pele”

  • Hawaiian oral traditions (mele and moʻolelo)
  • Lilikalā Kameʻeleihiwa, Native Land and Foreign Desires

  • Martha Beckwith, Hawaiian Mythology

  • Mary Kawena Pukui, ʻŌlelo Noʻeau

  • Mircea Eliade, Patterns in Comparative Religion (fire symbolism)