Character Catalog

In Hawaiian mythology, Pele is credited with the continuous formation of the Hawaiian Islands through her eruptions. This narrative is considered the primary 'work' attributed to the goddess in the oral tradition.

A long epic poem spanning several thousand verses, passed down orally by haku mele (masters of chant), recounting the adventures of Pele and her beloved sister Hiʻiaka. It is considered the masterpiece of Polynesian oral literature.

A body of sacred hula chants and dances dedicated to Pele, performed during religious ceremonies. These performances served both as acts of devotion and as a living transmission of the myth.

Stories of the romantic relationship between Pele and the demigod Lohiʻau, exploring themes of jealousy, devotion, and divine power. These moʻolelo are among the most beloved tales in Hawaiian tradition.

Following European contact, Hawaiian music incorporated new instruments while preserving traditional themes. Many Hawaiian slide guitar pieces evoke Pele and the volcanic landscapes of the islands.

Traditional Hawaiian chant transmitted orally by kahuna (priests) and chanters, describing Pele's creative power, her journeys, and her settlement in Kīlauea. Collected and partially transcribed by missionaries and Hawaiian scholars in the 19th century.

Emerson gathered from Hawaiian chanters the epic songs recounting the adventures of Pele and her sister Hiʻiaka. He writes: 'These chants constitute the great Hawaiian epic, passed down from generation to generation by specialists in oral memory, the haku mele.'

Beckwith brought together Hawaiian mythological narratives collected from the last keepers of the oral tradition: 'Pele is described as the great ancestress, she whose body is the earth itself, and whose breath is the steam rising from the craters.'

David Malo, a 19th-century Hawaiian scholar, recorded in his work Moʻolelo Hawaiʻi fragments of Pele's mythology as transmitted by the chiefs and priests of his time, highlighting her role as the founding deity of the Hawaiian volcanic landscape.

Pele's primary home according to Hawaiian tradition. This active crater on the Big Island is considered the goddess's sacred dwelling, and the eruptions that occur there are interpreted as her manifestations.

The largest and youngest island in the archipelago, shaped entirely by volcanic activity. It is considered Pele's favored domain — the island she created and continues to mold.

Pele's journey from her earliest islands to Kīlauea mirrors the northwest-to-southeast alignment of the Hawaiian Islands, from oldest to youngest — a striking parallel between myth and geology.

A sacred area encompassing Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, it serves as a place of pilgrimage for Hawaiians connected to their traditions. Visitors are traditionally asked not to take volcanic rocks, out of respect for Pele.

According to tradition, Pele originates from Kahiki, the Hawaiian term for the distant ancestral homeland of the Polynesian people. This reference grounds the myth in the memory of the great Pacific migrations.