Pele, goddess of the volcano

Pele, Ka wahine ‘ai honua, “the woman who devours the land,” is the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire, and she is not a story to Hawaiians but a living presence, said to dwell in the Halema‘uma‘u crater of Kīlauea, the most active volcano on Earth. She appears as an old woman or a beautiful young one, and the lava that builds and destroys the islands is her doing. The famous “Pele’s Curse,” that those who take lava rock are followed by misfortune, keeps rangers receiving parcels of returned stones to this day. Witness the crater; take nothing.