Tag Archives: epic myths

April 13, 2016 · 4:43 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWENTY-THREE

OahuBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY-THREE

Following Hi’iaka’s triumph over the renegade shark gods named Kua and Kahole’a she decided that since she was already far up Mount Pohakea she would go all the way to the top and soak in the monumental view. In the waters below she saw the double-canoe in which Prince Lohiau and Hi’iaka’s mortal female friend Wahine were sailing along.

In some versions of the story Wahine – like Pele and Hi’iaka – is beginning to fall prey to Lohiau’s charms and begins rubbing noses with him. Causing her voice to be heard far below Hi’iaka warns the pair to cease and desist, since the prince is, after all, the intended husband of Hi’iaka’s sister Pele. Wahine and Lohiau separate and Hi’iaka uses her divine powers to extend her gaze all the way back to the Big Island. What she sees there fills her with alarm, dread and anger.    Continue reading →

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April 7, 2016 · 10:47 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWENTY-TWO

KauaiBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY-TWO

Hi’iaka and her two mortal companions – the woman Wahine and Prince Lohiau, the intended groom of Pele – departed from Haena in a double-boat. They headed west around the island of Kauai and in some versions of this tale Hi’iaka left the vessel at one point, planning to rendezvous with Lohiau and Wahine at Mana.

On her inland detour Hi’iaka said a formal goodbye to another relative of her and Pele – the mountain god Pohaku. From there she traveled on foot through the sandy domain of the Menehune, the Hawaiian equivalents of elves and dwarves. The Menehune were delighted to see the goddess and accompanied her to the beach at Mana.  Continue reading →

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April 3, 2016 · 4:58 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWENTY-ONE

Kauai 2Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY-ONE 

Hi’iaka, her mortal friend Wahine and the freshly-resurrected Prince Lohiau soaked in the praise of the throng surrounding them on the beach beneath the cliffs overlooking Haena. That crowd of Lohiau’s family and subjects felt a certain bittersweet elation. They knew that, though their prince had been restored to life they were about to figuratively lose him again when he moved away to the Big Island to become the mate of the volcano and fire goddess Pele. 

Eventually Hi’iaka led Prince Lohiau and the mortal woman Wahine through the rejoicing mob so that they could refresh themselves with the feel of the ocean waves. The trio froliced in the water for a time, then Lohiau could restrain himself no longer. He grabbed the first available surfboard and paddled out to enjoy some surfing. (Many figures in Hawaiian myths surf – even the deities.) 
Continue reading →

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March 31, 2016 · 8:52 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWENTY

Hawaii rainbowBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART TWENTY

In the aftermath of Hi’iaka’s defeat of the two sorceresses Kilioe and Kalanamainu’u, she and her mortal traveling companion Wahine were in sole possession of the battlefield: the cavern lair of the dead witches. As a bonus Hi’iaka’s divine powers had even managed to snag the wandering spirit of Prince Lohiau, which Kilioe and her ally had tried to destroy out of spite when their defeat at Hi’iaka’s hands seemed imminent. Continue reading →

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March 26, 2016 · 9:16 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART NINETEEN

Haena

Haena on the island of Kauai

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART NINETEEN

Hi’iaka and her mortal traveling companion Wahine approached the sorceresses named Kilioe and Kalanamainu’u, ready for battle. The naked sorceresses who had stolen the corpse of Prince Lohiau were fighting on their home turf there in their cavern hideaway, where they were familiar with every shadowy tunnel and corner. 

Any advantage that may have provided Kilioe and her sister witch was lost the minute Hi’iaka saw Lohiau’s corpse on the mats that lined the floor. It was then that she realized that her speculation was right – the pair of sorceresses had used their dark magic to preserve Lohiau’s body in all its male glory. They had never been able to woo the late prince in life but wanted him all to themselves in death.     Continue reading →

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March 23, 2016 · 11:17 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART EIGHTEEN

Kauai

KAUAI

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART EIGHTEEN

On the island of Kauai the goddess Hi’iaka and her female mortal companion Wahine prepared to launch their assault on the cavern lair of the evil sorceresses named Kilioe and Kalanamainu’u. The entrance to that cavern was nearly inaccessible, since it was basically just a large hole on the side of a steep mountain hundreds of feet up.

Hi’iaka and Wahine needed to reach the cave to free the corpse of Prince Lohiau from the clutches of the sorceresses so that it (the corpse) could be reunited with its wandering spirit, thus restoring life to Lohiau, the chosen mate of Hi’iaka’s sister Pele, the fire and volcano goddess. (Meanwhile, Megan’s love for Stan is still unrequited since he is obsessed with his sexy new neighbor Samantha, not realizing she is his mother’s murderer Sam after a sex-change operation …)   

When our two heroines began to climb the sheer cliff wall the sorceresses used their dark magic to create winds strong enough to knock them back to the ground. After repeatedly being hindered by this maneuver Hi’iaka used her divine powers to make Kilioe and Kalanamainu’u so sensitive to sunlight that they had to retreat to the furthest reaches of their cave to avoid the burning pain.  Continue reading →

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March 19, 2016 · 4:00 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART SEVENTEEN

Kauai 2

Kauai

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART SEVENTEEN

After the feast of dog meat served up by their mortal hosts, Hi’iaka and Wahine engaged in conversation with those hosts regarding some of the gods of Hawaii. They discussed Kahikona, the god of fishermen … Limaloa, the god of mirages and illusions … And Nomaka’o, the goddess who was the older sister of Pele but had been reduced to serving as Pele’s chambermaid after being conquered by the volcano and fire goddess. 

 Eventually the ladies went to sleep, as did the seer Malaeha’akoa and his wife, in whose Kauai home the travelers were staying.

The next morning etiquette permitted Malaeha’akoa to ask his honored guests what had brought them to his home. He was grateful to Hi’iaka for restoring his ability to walk and was anxious to offer her any help he could. The goddess explained the quest she and the mortal woman Wahine had come on – to secure and escort Kauai’s Prince Lohiau back to the Big Island of Hawaii to be the mate of the goddess Pele. Yet upon arriving on Kauai they had spotted the spirit of Lohiau roaming the cliffs above the village of Haena.  Continue reading →

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March 16, 2016 · 11:30 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART SIXTEEN

HawaiianislandsBalladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka. 

PART SIXTEEN

Hi’iaka and her mortal traveling companion the woman Wahine were startled to see the ghost of the dead Prince Lohiau roaming the cliffs above Haena. The ladies hadn’t known that the object of their quest had taken his own life a few weeks ago over his long separation from Pele, the volcano and fire goddess.  Continue reading →

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March 12, 2016 · 5:06 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART FIFTEEN

Kauai

Kauai

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART FIFTEEN

The goddess Hi’iaka continued her journey to the island of Kauai accompanied by the mortal woman Wahine. Their mission was to reach Prince Lohiau of Kauai and escort him back to the Big Island to marry Pele, the fire and volcano goddess. Little did Hi’iaka and Wahine know that the lovesick Lohiau, despairing because he missed Pele so much, had taken his own life weeks ago.

Continuing to cross the island of Oahu the traveling ladies reached Kehuohapu’u Bluff, where a rough shrine stood to the fish-god Ku’ula. From there they moved on to Ka’ena Point, the peninsula on the western coast of Oahu at the point closest to the island of Kauai. Ka’ena Point was the jumping-off point for the spirits of dead Hawaiians when they were ready to enter the land of the dead ruled by the goddess Milu.   Continue reading →

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March 9, 2016 · 4:32 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART FOURTEEN

Kaliuwa'a Valley

Kaliuwa’a Valley

Balladeer’s Blog continues its examination of the grand and exciting Hawaiian epic about the goddesses Pele and Hi’iaka.

PART FOURTEEN

Hi’iaka and her mortal companion Wahine continued crossing the island of Oahu as their quest to reach Kauai resumed after their battle with the gigantic lizard-monster Mokoli’i. The ladies arrived at Kaliuwa’a Valley where Hi’iaka encountered another of the gods who had originally arrived in the Hawaiian Islands with the goddess Pele long ago. 

Kauhi was the name of this ancient deity who ruled the rocky mountain peak that shared his name. Long ago Pele had assigned – some would say condemned – Kauhi to remain behind here serving as a sentry. The peak was often called “the watchtower of the heavens” and served as both home and prison to Kauhi.  Continue reading →

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