PE-LE; A TRICKSTER

Pe-le; a trickster

Pe-le; a trickster

Introduction

Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanic fires, symbolised woman at her most destructive. Like many other beings of Polynesian myth she was a great voyager. She was said to have come from Kahiki (Tahiti). Some say she was driven out by her elder sister whose husband she stole, or that she was driven towards Hawaii by a flood. Others say that she simply longed to travel and, tucking her little sister Hi'iaka (who was born in the shape of an egg) under her arm, she set off on the journey to Hawaii.

Discussion

The chapter 5 ...