The Epic Tale of Hiiakaikapoliopele

This 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.

This 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.

• Ho‘oulumāhiehie, Author

• Puakea Nogelmeier, Translator

  Puakea 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.

• Solomon Enos, Illustrator

• Puakea Nogelmeier, Translator

  Puakea 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.