Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth from Hawaii

Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth From Hawaii (1915) is a collection of folktales and legends by Nathaniel B. Emerson. Originally serialized in Hawaiian newspapers, Emerson's work is the result of decades of research into the goddesses Pele and Hiiaka. Translating written histories, interviewing native Hawaiians, and consulting his own knowledge, Emerson provides an entertaining and authoritative look at one of Hawaii's most cherished origin myths. "The story of Pele and her sister Hiiaka stands at the fountain-head of Hawaiian myth and is the matrix from which the unwritten literature of Hawaii drew its life-blood. [...] Hawaii rejoiced in a Kamehameha, who, with a strong hand, welded its discordant political elements into one body and made of it a nation. But it was denied a Homer capable of voicing its greatest epic in one song." As an American born in Hawaii who played a major role in the annexation of the islands as an author of the 1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Emerson likely saw himself as a unifying figure capable of interpreting for an English-speaking audience the ancient and ultimately formative story of Pele, goddess of volcanoes and ruler of Kilauea. Despite his complicated role in the history of Hawaii, Emerson offers an entertaining and lyrical vision of Pele and her sister Hiiaka, whose generative and destructive powers inform so much of Hawaiian religion and culture to this day. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Nathaniel B. Emerson's Pele and Hiiaka: A Myth From Hawaii is a classic of Hawaiian literature reimagined for modern readers.