Hawaiian Word of the Day – Pele – lanikai-beach

Pele- Aloha e nā pua lehua wewehi o Hawaiʻi. ʻO Lāiana Kanoa-Wong kēia me ka huaʻōlelo o ka lā. Our Hawaiian word of the day is “Pele” eia hou “Pele.” Hū ka nani! Pele is our Hawaiian word for volcanoes and the magma that flows from these volcanoes. Pele is also the name of the revered goddess of our volcanoes. Used in a traditional ʻōlelo noʻeau “Lauahi Pele i kai o Puna”, this can be translated as “Pele spreads her fire down in Puna”. Pele is described in ʻōlelo noʻeau as “Ka wahine ʻai lāʻau o Puna”, the woman who devours the trees of Puna. Our ancestors preserved the story of Pele in many songs and chants that describe her travels from Kahiki and her search for a new home from Kauaʻi to Hawaiʻi where she eventually settled in Kīlauea. E ola mau ka ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi, aloha!