In Hawaiian religion, Pele (pronounced ) is the goddess of volcanoes and fire and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands. Often referred to as "Madame Pele" or "Tà «tà « Pele" as a sign of respect, she is a well-known deity within Hawaiian mythology and is notable for her contemporary presence and cultural influence as an enduring figure from ancient Hawaii. Epithets of the goddess include Pele-honua-mea ('Pele of the sacred land') and Ka wahine ûai honua ('The earth-eating woman').
In different stories talking about the goddess Pele, she was born from the female spirit named Haumea, a descendant of Papa, or Earth Mother, and Wakea, Sky Father, both descendants of the supreme beings. Pele is also known as "She who shapes the sacred land," known to be said in ancient Hawaiian chants. The first published stories about Pele were written down by William Ellis.
Këlauea is a currently active volcano that is located on the island of Hawaii and is still being extensively studied. Many Hawaiians believe Kilauea to be inhabited by a "family of fire gods," one of the sisters being Pele who is believed to govern Kilauea and is responsible for controlling its lava flows. There are several traditional legends associated with Pele in Hawaiian mythology. In addition to being recognized as the goddess of volcanoes, Pele is also known for her power, passion, jealousy, and capriciousness. She has numerous siblings, including KÃÂne Milohai, Kamohoalii, NÃÂmaka, and numerous sisters named Hiiaka, the most famous being Hiiakaikapoliopele (Hiiaka in the bosom of Pele). They are usually considered to be the offspring of Haumea. Pele's siblings include deities of various types of wind, rain, fire, ocean wave forms, and cloud forms. Her home is believed to be the fire pit called Halemaûumaûu at the summit caldera of Këlauea, one of the Earth's most active volcanoes, but her domain encompasses all volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Pele shares features similar to other malignant deities inhabiting volcanoes, as in the case of the devil Guayota of Guanche Mythology in the Canary Islands, living on the volcano Teide and considered by the aboriginal Guanches as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano.
Legend told that Pele herself journeyed on her canoe from the island of Tahiti to Hawaiûi. When on her journey, it was said she tried to create her fires on different islands, but her sister, NÃÂmaka, was chasing her, wanting to put an end to her. In the end, the two sisters fought each other and Pele was killed. With this happening, her body was destroyed but her spirit lives in Halemaûumaûu on Kilauea. They say, "Her body is the lava and steam that comes from the volcano. She can also change form, appearing as a white dog, old woman, or beautiful young woman."
In addition to her role as goddess of fire and her strong association with volcanoes, Pele is also regarded as the "goddess of the hula." She is a significant figure in the history of hula because of her sister Hiiaka, who is believed to be the first person to dance hula. As a result of Pele's significance in hula, there have been many hula dances and chants dedicated to her and her family. With hula being dedicated to Pele, the dance is often performed in a way that represents her intense personality and the movement of volcanoes.
In one version of the story, Pele is the daughter of Kanehoalani and Haumea in the mystical land of Kuaihelani, a floating free land like Fata Morgana. Kuaihelani was in the region of Kahiki (Kukulu o Kahiki). She stays close to her mother's fireplace with the fire-keeper Lono-makua. Her older sister NÃÂ-maka-o-Kahai, a sea goddess, fears that Pele's ambition would smother the homeland and drives Pele away. Kamohoali'i takes Pele south in a canoe called Honua-i-a-kea, along with her younger sister Hiiaka and with her brothers Kamohoalii, Kane-milo-hai, Kane-apua, arriving at the islets above Hawaii. There Kane-milo-hai is left on Mokupapapa, just a reef, to build it up in fitness for human residence. On Nihoa, 800 feet above the ocean, Pele leaves Kane-apua after her visit to Lehua and after crowning a wreath of kau-no'a. Pele feels sorry for her younger brother and picks him up again. Pele used the divining rod, PaâÂÂoa, to pick a new home. A group of chants tells of a pursuit by Namakaokahaûi, who tears Pele apart. Her bones, KaiwioPele, form a hill on Kahikinui, while her spirit escaped to the island of Hawaii.
In another version, Pele comes from a land said to be "close to the clouds," with parents Kane-hoa-lani and Ka-hina-lii, and brothers Ka-moho-alii and Kahuila-o-ka-lani. From her husband Wahieloa (also called Wahialoa) she has a daughter, Laka, and a son Menehune. Pele-kumu-honua entices her husband and Pele travels in search of him. The sea pours from her head over the land of Kanaloa (perhaps the island now known as Kahoolawe) and her brothers say: <blockquote></blockquote> The sea floods the land, then recedes; this flooding is called Kai a Kahinalii ("The sea of Ka-hina-lii"), as Pele's connection to the sea was passed down from her mother Kahinalii.
Pele is considered to be a rival of the Hawaiian goddess of snow, Poliûahu, and her sisters Lilinoe (a goddess of fine rain), Waiau (goddess of Lake Waiau), and Kahoupokane (a kapa-maker whose kapa-making activities create thunder, rain, and lightning). All except Kahoupokane reside on Mauna Kea. The kapa-maker lives on HualÃÂlai.
One myth tells that Poliûahu had come from Mauna Kea with her friends to attend sled races down the grassy hills south of Hamakua. Pele came disguised as a beautiful stranger and was greeted by Poliûahu. However, Pele became jealously enraged at the goddess of Mauna Kea. She opened the caverns of Mauna Kea and threw fire from them towards Poliûahu, with the snow goddess fleeing towards the summit. Poliûahu was finally able to grab her now-burning snow mantle and throw it over the mountain. Earthquakes shook the island as the snow mantle unfolded until it reached the fire fountains, chilling and hardening the lava. The rivers of lava were driven back to Mauna Loa and Këlauea. Later battles also led to the defeat of Pele and confirmed the supremacy of the snow goddesses in the northern portion of the island, and Pele in the southern portion.
In one account of the Pele myths, she is banished from her home in Tahiti for creating hot spots by her older sister, Namakaokahaûi, who also convinced the rest of her family that Pele would burn them all. Then, Pele travels on the canoe Honuaiakea to find a new home with her brother Kamohoaliûi. Her mother gave her an egg to take care of and it later hatches into a baby girl whom Pele names Hiûiaka-i-ka-poli-o-pele (Hiûiaka in the Bosom of Pele) or Hiûiaka for short. She is her favorite sister and encouraged her to befriend the people of Puna. However, when Hiûiaka became best friends with a girl named Hà Âpoe, Pele became jealous of their friendship. Pele saw Lohiûau, a chief of Kauaûi, in a dream, sending Hiûiaka to bring him to her in forty days or else she would punish them. When Hiûiaka seeks out Lohiûau, she discovers he is dead but she calls upon the power of the sorcery goddess Uli to revive him. As Hiûiaka is on her journey, Pele grows impatient and sends a lava flow to Hà Âpoe's home before the forty days were up. When Hiûiaka returns to Hawaiûi with Lohiûau, she saw Hà Âpoe covered in stone and knew Pele was behind this. Hiûiaka spitefully embraced Lohiûau in Pele's view, which further angered Pele, who then covered Lohiûau with lava as well. The sisters saw that their anger led to the death of the two people who meant the most to them, so Pele apologetically brought Lohiûau back to life and let him decide whom he would choose. Unfortunately for Pele, Lohiûau ended up choosing Hiûiaka, yet Pele gave them both her blessing.
In another version of the myth, Pele hears the beating of drums and chanting coming from Kauaûi while she is sleeping and travels there in her spirit form. She disguises herself as a beautiful young woman and meets Lohiûau in this way. After three days of making love together, Pele goes back to Hawaiûi and Lohiûau dies from a broken heart.
Belief in Pele continued after the old religion was officially abolished in 1819. In the summer of 1823 English missionary William Ellis toured the island to determine locations for mission stations. After a long journey to the volcano Këlauea with little food, Ellis eagerly ate the wild berries he found growing there. The berries of the à Âhelo (Vaccinium reticulatum) plant are considered sacred to Pele. Traditionally prayers and offerings to Pele were always made before eating the berries. The volcano crater was an active lava lake, which the natives feared was a sign that Pele was not pleased with the violation. Although wood carvings and thatched temples were easily destroyed, the volcano was a natural monument to the goddess.
In December 1824 the High Chiefess Kapiolani descended into Halemaûumaûu after reciting a Christian prayer instead of the traditional Hawaiian one to Pele. As it was predicted, she survived and this story was often told by missionaries to show the superiority of their faith. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809âÂÂ1892) wrote a poem about the incident in 1892.
An urban legend states that Pele herself occasionally warns locals of impending eruptions. Appearing in the form of either a beautiful young woman or an elderly woman with white hair, sometimes accompanied by a small white dog, and always dressed in a red muumuu, Pele is said to walk along the roads near Këlauea, but will vanish if passersby stop to help her, similar to the Resurrection Mary or vanishing hitchhiker legend. The passerby is then obliged to warn others or suffer misfortune in the next eruption. Another legend, Pele's Curse, states that Pele's wrath will fall on anyone who removes items from her island. Every year numerous small natural items are returned by post to the National Park Service by tourists seeking Pele's forgiveness. It is believed Pele's Curse was invented in the mid-20th century to deter tourist depredation.
When businessman George Lycurgus ran a hotel at the rim of Këlauea, called the Volcano House from 1904 through 1921, he would often "pray" to Pele for the sake of the tourists. Park officials frowned upon his practices of tossing items, such as gin bottles (after drinking their contents), into the crater.
William Hyde Rice included an 11-page summary of the legends of Pele in his 1923 collection of Hawaiian legends, a reprint of which is available online from the Bernice P. Bishop Museum's Special Publications section.
In 2003 the Volcano Art Center had a special competition for Pele paintings to replace one done in the early 20th century by D. Howard Hitchcock displayed in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park visitors center. The existing portrait of what looked like a blond Caucasian as the Hawaiian goddess had been criticized by many Native Hawaiians. Over 140 paintings were submitted, and finalists were displayed at sites within the park. The winner of the contest was artist Arthur Johnsen of Puna. This version shows the goddess in shades of red, with her digging staff PÃÂûoa in her left hand, and an embryonic form of her sister goddess Hiûiaka in her right hand. The painting is now on display at the Kilauea Visitor Center.
The religious group Love Has Won briefly moved to Hawaii and sparked violent protests from locals after claiming their founder Amy Carlson was Pele.
Pele is among the gods and goddesses depicted in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room at the Disney Parks. She is voiced by Ginny Tyler.
In June 2025, Austrian violinist Markus Mars released "Pele's Fire", an experimental looping piece based on recording environmental sounds of the Hawaiûi Volcanoes National Park while Këlauea was erupting earlier the same year.
Pele's other prominent relatives are:
Both of the chants above were performed at Halemaûumaûu, where it is said Pele currently resides.
Pele shares features similar to other malignant deities inhabiting volcanoes, as in the case of the devil Guayota of Guanche Mythology in Canary Islands (Spain), living on the volcano Teide and was considered by the aboriginal Guanches as responsible for the eruptions of the volcano.
Several phenomena connected to volcanism have been named after her, including Pele's hair, Pele's tears, and Limu o Pele (Pele's seaweed). A volcano on the Jovian moon Io is also named Pele.
Myths about Pele encode dateable natural events. The chronology of Pele's journey corresponds with the geological age of the Hawaiian islands.
In 2006, one volcanologist suggested the battle between Pele and Hiûiaka was inspired by geological events around 1500 AD.