The Epic Tale of Hi‘iakaikapoliopele

About the Author\nPuakea Nogelmeier is professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where he taught Hawaiian language for thirty-five years and founded the Institute of Hawaiian Language Research and Translation. He is cofounder and executive director of Awaiaulu.\nThis ancient saga begins with the goddess Pele’s migration to Kīlauea and her spirit’s search for a lover. The story then details the quest of Pele’s younger sister, Hi‘iakaikapoliopele, to find the handsome Lohi‘auipo, and bring him back to their crater home. It is a very human account of love and lust, jealousy and justice, peopled with deities, demons, chiefs and commoners.\nThis version by Ho‘oulumāhiehie ran from 1905 to 1906 as a daily series in the Hawaiian-language newspaper Ka Na'i Aupuni. It is the most extensive form of the story ever documented, offering a wealth of detail and insights about social and religious practices, poetry and hula, healing arts, and many other Hawaiian customs.