Fragrance: Spicy and Earthy Inspiration: Pele, the Fire Goddess Region: Polynesia Description: Pele, earthy and rich with bay leaf and cinnamon. Spicy geranium and lavender add a floral touch, while patchouli and vanilla round out the composition.

 

The Legend:

Described as "She-Who-Shapes-The-Sacred-Land" in ancient Hawaiian chants, Pele is the goddess of the volcano, the creator of the islands of Hawaii.

Pele was born of the female spirit Haumea (an ancient Earth Goddess) and the male spirit Milohai (the creator of the sky, earth and heavens).  She was one in a family of 6 daughters and 7 sons.  She was born in Honua-Mea, part of Tahiti, and traveled to Hawaii to make her home.  How she actually came to Hawaii depends on who is telling the story, as there are many variations of the legend. 

One of the most common stories tells that she was exiled by her father for her capriciousness and bad temper.  Also because she had been fighting with her sister, whose husband she had seduced.  Pele's oldest brother, the king of the sharks, Kamohoali'i, gave her a great canoe, upon which she traveled far from home, over the broad expanse of the seas, eventually finding Hawaii.

When Pele got to Hawaii, she first landed on Kauai.  Attacked by her older sister and left for dead, Pele quickly recovered and fled to Oahu, where she dug several "fire pits," including the crater people know of as Diamond Head, in Honolulu. After that, Pele left her mark on the island of Molokai before traveling on to Maui and creating the Haleakala Volcano.

Finally she settled on the Big Island’s Mauna Loa, which is considered the tallest mountain on the planet if measured from it’s base at the bottom of the sea.  Here she made her home on the slopes of the mountain, high enough from the sea so that it’s waves could not drown out her fire.

Respect for Pele is strong in all of Hawaii.  She has destroyed more than 100 structures on the Big Island since 1983, and even more incredible than that, she has added more than 70 acres of land to the island's southeastern coastline.