Pele and Kahawali
Posted: Dec 12, 2010
Stories tell of a young chief named Kahawali, who lived in the Puna district of Hawaii. One day Kahawali met an old woman while racing his holua (narrow wooden sled, raced down steep trails created on mountain sides). The woman challenged him to a race, but he rudely refused her, and threw himself sown the hill. He heard screams from the crowd and looked back to see the old woman riding a holua of lava down the hill, chasing after him. Realizing he had offended Madame Pele, he raced down the course as fast as he could. When he reached the bottom he fled into the ocean on his brother’s canoe, and fled to Maui to avoid the wrath of Pele.
