Some of the legends say that Kapo was one of Pele’s sisters. Kapo was a vile, murderous [[71]]poison-goddess connected with the idea of “praying to death,”[1] and in the better legends is dropped out of the Pele family. There were eleven well-known brothers:
- Ka-moho-alii (The-dragon-or-shark-king).
- Kane-hekili (Kane-the-thunderer).
- Kane-pohaku-kaa (Kane-rolling-stones, or The-earthquake-maker).
- Kane-hoa-lani (Kane-the-divine-fire-maker).
- Kane-huli-honua (Kane-turning-the-earth-upside-down-in-eruptions-and-earthquakes).
- Kane-kauwila-nui (Kane-who-ruled-the-great-lightning).
- Kane-huli-koa (Kane-who-broke-coral-reefs).
- Ka-poha-i-kahi ola (Explosion-in-the-place-of-life, i.e., fountains of bursting gas in the living fire).
- Ke-ua-a-ke-po (The-rain-in-the-night, or The-rain-of-fire-more-visible-at-night).
- Ke-o-ahi-kama-kaua (The-fire-thrusting-child-of-war).
- Lono-makua (Lono-the-father-who-had-charge-of-the-crater-and-its-fire).
The Thunderer and the Child-of-War were said to be hunchbacks. According to the different legends Pele had four husbands, each of whom lived with her for a time. Two of these were with her in the ancient homes of the Hawaiians, Kuai-he-lani[2] and Hapakuela. These husbands were Aukele-nui-a-iku and Wahieloa. Two husbands came to her while she dwelt in Kilauea, her palace of fire in the Hawaiian Islands. One was the rough Kama-puaa, the other was Lohiau, the handsome king of Kauai. [[72]]
[2] See “Home of the Ancestors,” Part II., Legends of Ghosts and Ghost-Gods. [↑]
XI
PELE’S LONG SLEEP
Pele and her family dwelt in the beauty of Puna. On a certain day there was a fine, clear atmosphere and Pele saw the splendid surf with its white crests and proposed to her sisters to go down for bathing and surf-riding.