Tag Archives: epic myths

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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March 2, 2016 · 9:44 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TWELVE

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

PART TWELVE

The rest of Hi’iaka and Wahine’s journey across the island of Molokai was uneventful. The goddess and her mortal traveling companion arrived in Kauna-ka-kai and from there secured passage to Oahu. The two men who crewed the ship were so awestruck by the beauty of Hi’iaka and Wahine that they left their own furious wives behind in their hurry to accommodate the pair of lovely ladies. Continue reading →

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February 27, 2016 · 3:51 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART ELEVEN

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

PART ELEVEN

The goddess Hi’iaka and her traveling companion – the mortal woman Wahine – arrived in Kapua on the island of Maui, intent on finding a ship to take them on to Molokai as their quest to reach Kaua’i continued.  Continue reading →

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February 24, 2016 · 11:09 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART TEN

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

PART TEN

Hi’iaka and the mortal woman Wahine resumed their quest to reach Kaua’i by following the northern coastline of the island of Maui. As they walked they found themselves in a kaha – an area devoid of crops or animal life and in which the residents had to depend on fishing and on deliveries of food from long distances to survive. 

Wahine was famished and tried begging some food from the inhabitants of the dry, stony area but they all curtly refused. The woman asked her traveling companion Hi’iaka to intercede for her with the recalcitrant villagers. Hi’iaka made the attempt but even her entreaties were rudely rejected. The goddess demanded to know why these people refused to grant any food to strangers traveling through their land. Continue reading →

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February 20, 2016 · 2:49 am

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART NINE

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

PART NINE

By nightfall Hi’iaka had secured passage for herself and the mortal woman Wahine in a craft bound for the island of Maui. That vessel set off the next morning. In some versions the boatman and his son refuse to take the ladies so Hi’iaka punishes them by using her powers to make their craft sink. After swimming to shore the two men were more than happy to take the ladies in their other ship. Continue reading →

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February 17, 2016 · 11:12 pm

PELE AND HI’IAKA: EPIC OF HAWAII PART EIGHT

Honoli'i River 2

*** *** *** **** *** A bridge over what remains of the Honoli’i River

 

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

PART EIGHT

We’ll begin this 8th installment at the village of Kohala on the Big Island. Hi’iaka’s traveling companion, the fern goddess Pa’u’o’pala’e, fell in love with Paki’i, a mortal Kaholan man. She stayed behind to dawdle and canoodle with her new-found love while Hi’iaka and the human woman Wahine resumed their quest to reach Kaua’i. 

Other versions of this epic instead state that Pa’u’o’pala’e stayed with the other two ladies until reaching the end of the Big Island. That was when she said goodbye and remained behind, supposedly because she was unable (for some undisclosed reason) to leave that island. 

That being the case, the fern goddess either was or was not still with Hi’iaka and Wahine as they reached the Honoli’i River (barely a stream here in the present-day). The two ladies removed their clothing and, holding their outfits on their heads above the water they set out to swim to the other side.  Continue reading →

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