Hi'iaka

Aloha! My name is Hi'iaka, and I live among the warm, sunny islands of Hawaiʻi, where red rivers of lava meet the bright blue sea. My older sister is Pele, the powerful goddess of the volcano, and she can be as fiery as the mountains she calls home! She has a temper like a rumbling volcano, sometimes gentle and warm, but other times explosive and hot. One day, Pele asked me to go on a very important journey, a quest that would test all my strength and courage. This is the story of that adventure, known as the Journey of Hi'iaka.

My sister Pele had fallen in love with a handsome chief named Lohiʻau, who lived on a faraway island called Kauaʻi. 'Please, little sister,' she begged me, 'go and bring him back to me. I must see him again.' I love my sister, so I promised I would. I knew it would be a long and dangerous trip. 'But you must promise me something too,' I told her. 'While I am gone, you must protect my special forest of beautiful ʻōhiʻa lehua trees.' Pele agreed, and so I set off with my good friend, a woman cloaked in ferns named Pāʻūopalaʻe. Our journey was not easy. The seas were rough, and the lands were guarded by moʻo, which are giant, lizard-like monsters that tried to stop us. One moʻo was as long as a river and had gleaming green scales. But I am the goddess of healing and dance, and I know the secrets of the forest. I chanted to the plants to make them grow strong and clear a path for us. I danced to give myself courage and to soothe the spirits of the land. We climbed steep cliffs that scraped the clouds, crossed deep valleys filled with mist, and faced every challenge together, always remembering my promise to Pele.

The journey took a very long time, and when I finally returned with Lohiʻau, there was a terrible misunderstanding. My sister Pele grew impatient and angry. She thought I had decided to keep Lohiʻau for myself! In her fiery rage, she forgot her promise to me and burned down my favorite forest of beautiful ʻōhiʻa lehua trees. My heart was broken to see my beloved trees turned to black lava rock. But even in sadness, there is hope. I used my powers of healing to bring life back to the land. From the hard, dark rock, the first green shoots of new ʻōhiʻa trees began to grow, with bright red flowers like little flames of hope. My story teaches us about loyalty, forgiveness, and how even after a fiery argument, love and life can grow back stronger than before. Today, when people in Hawaiʻi see the ʻōhiʻa lehua tree growing on old lava flows, they remember my journey. They tell my story through the graceful movements of the hula dance and in beautiful songs, reminding everyone to care for the land and for their family, their ʻohana.