By: Ani Dime
VOLCANO MYTHS AND LEGENDS
THE MYTH OF PELE THE HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES
GODDESS
Pele had to leave town in a hurry--her angry sister (a Tahitian sea goddess) was gunning for her.
(Some say it was on account of Pele's fun-and-games that involved her brother-in-law.) With the
angry sea goddess threatening to drown Pele with tidal waves, Pele's parents loaded her, her
brothers and her sisters into a canoe and sent them sailing in search of safety.
Eventually the siblings found a place where they could stop, a tiny string of islands that was home
to a handful of human tribes and a few snow goddesses who lived in the mountains.
Pele set about trying to make a new home for her family, but it was proving difficult because the
jealous snow goddesses kept sending blizzards her way. Hopping from one tiny island to another to
escape the hard freezes, Pele kept moving southward only to encounter tidal waves sent by her
vengeful sister.
Soon the two were waging a ferocious battle. Though she won, Pele did not emerge unscathed.
Pele’s fires rose up out of the trembling earth, spewing rivers of lava fiery lava into the ocean,
driving the sea away from the coast. As the lava cooled it added to the land mass, and the small
atoll was transformed into the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii.
After her death, she became a spirit and chose to live within the crater of a volcano; she had
become a shape-shifter, one who could assume any form she wished.
ANALYSIS OF THE MYTH
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There are new myths which say that when you take rocks from the
volcanoes, Pele will send bad luck to you until you return them.
The myths could have been to help people obey the law better because
it is against the law for people to take rocks from the volcanoes.
There was another myth that Pele was supposed to be the water
goddess but when she was a kid she was found playing with matches a
lot and was made the goddess of the fire. This could be a lesson to
younger children to always follow your heart and do what you love.
The myth of Pele also probably used to give the islanders a sense of
what the volcano was doing when it erupted, before they had the
technology to know what a volcano was or what it was doing when it
erupted.
The legend of Pele could also be used to teach the island students
about being kind to one another.
THE HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES- KILAUEA
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Kilauea is the most active volcano on earth
It is located on the south side of Hawaii islands
Kilauea is just under 4,200 feet tall
Kilauea is the home to Pele
It is a shield volcano
23000 years is oldest age of the rock
Last erupted on January 3 1983
HOW SHIELD VOLCANOES ERUPT
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On Hawaii the shield volcanoes are known as shield volcanoes
because the shape looks like a ancient warrior’s shield.
Shield volcanoes dont usually erupt explosively
They usually just pour out large volumes of lava
The Hawaiian eruptions are rarely life threatening because the
lava moves slowly so people have time to evacuate.
But they can have big eruptions
For example the eruption from Kilauea in 1983 destroyed more
then 200 structures and wrecked many towns.
PELE LEGENDS
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Hawaiian legends say that eruptions
are caused by Pele, the goddess of
volcanoes, when she is angry
She could cause earthquakes by
stomping her feet
She could cause volcanic eruptions by
digging with her magic stick (Pa’oe)
It is said that an argument between
Pele and her older sister created the
chain of volcanoes that form the
island
Described as “She Who Shapes the
Sacred Land”
Link to video on Pele 
http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/understanding-volcanoes-pele-goddess-of-fire.html
OTHER HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES
Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on our planet
 One of earths more active volcanoes
 Mauna Loa has erupted 33 times
 The oldest rocks are dated between 100,000
and 200,000 years old
 Mauna Loa means ‘Long Mountain’
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Taken January 10, 1985
PHOTOS OF PELE AND THE HAWAIIAN
VOLCANOES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Crystal links, C. L. Volcanoes and Mythology. 31/10/11, from
http://www.crystalinks.com/volcanomyth.html
The Goddess Pele. 31/10/11, from
http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/goddess-pele.htm
Betty Fullard-Leo, B. F. L. Pele Goddess of Fire. 31/10/11, from
http://coffeetimes.com/pele.htm
Science for a Changing World, USGS. Mauna Loa Earths Largest
Volcano. 31/10/11, from http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maunaloa/
Lyn Topinka, L. T. Shield Volcanoes. 31/10/11, from
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/ShieldVolcano/description_shi
eld_volcano.html