Tutu and Madam Pele
50 years ago or so, my great grandma Winona lived on the Big Island of Hawaii, in old Hilo Town. She was out driving late one night, on her way home from a party in Kona. She was going to stay at her friend’s house that night but her children had school the next day and would need her in the morning. As she was driving along the deserted road in and out of Kona, a virtual lava field with lava rock and boulders on either side, she saw a little old women walking down the street wearing the most magnificent white dress, when the headlights of my tutu’s car hit it, it gave the illusion that it was glowing. Being the kind person that was always part of her nature, she stopped to offer a ride…
"Excuse me ma'am! Can I offer you a ride somewhere?" my tutu called out the window as she rolled to a stop. Though she had grown up in Hawaii, she rarely spoke Pidgin-English, she thought it was not proper. She was also very kind to every one, an old-time Hawaiian tradition.
"Yes, thank you very much for your kindness." The old women answered with a croaky voice.
Now, having grown up in Hawaii all her life, my tutu knew the stories about Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire and volcanoes. She knew that Pele would take the form of an old Hawaiian woman, and walk the streets at night waiting for someone to give her a ride. My tutu was a very suspicious woman. She knew Pele liked to smoke and drink gin, so she always carried a pack of cigarettes in her car, even though she had never smoked a day in her life.
"Where may I take you tonight?" would she be this polite?
"Volcanoes National Park please."
This statement stunned my tutu. Where they were right now they were about 50 miles from Volcanoes National Park. Not only had this old women been walking, it was almost 1:00 in the morning, a very lonely night on the main road in Kona. No one in their right mind would go there at 1:00 in the morning. So my tutu could only come to one logical conclusion. It was Madam Pele! My tutu was very frightened. She couldn’t think straight. When she came to her senses the first thing that she did was reach for the cigarettes.
"May I offer you a cigarette?"
"Oh yes, I would love one." Said the old women, a glint in her eye that frightened my tutu even more.
Even though she did not smoke, my tutu decided to join her as to not offend the goddess. As they drove along, my tutu remained quite. The old women sat quite too, listening to “Puu ahihi” the old time Hawaiian music my grandma had on the radio. When they finally reached the park, my tutu was so relieved. She had made it all the way there with out being killed.
"Thank you so much for the ride, I will never forget this."
"Oh your welcome, anything to help."
Suddenly, a noise on the other side of the car made my tutu jump. When she turned around she saw a cat jumping out of the bushes. Now, when my tutu turned back around to face the women, there was no one there. Only a faint shadow in the distance, like the glowing light of the dress when my tutus headlights had made it glow before. My tutu then jumped in her car and drove home as fast as she could.
A few weeks later, my tutu heard that there was a lava flow that was destroying homes near Hilo. My tutu was horrified to find out that her best friends house was directly in the path of the slow moving lava. She was mortified. Her friend's whole life was in that house. She decided she should pray for the family.
"Oh great goddess Pele, I beg you. Spare her house. She is a good woman and her life and family are tied to that house. I beg you to spar them from your wrath."
In the next few days, my tutu went to go visit her friend whose house had been destroyed by the lava. When she got there, she was shocked into complete stillness. The house was completely untouched! The lava had stopped right in front of the front yard and continued along the side of the property. But nothing was damaged. My tutu could not believe it. She knew Madam Pele had to have heard her call and answered it. So the first thing my tutu decided to do was to go to the store, buy the best cigarettes and gin there was and take it to The crater to offer to Pele.
This story is one of my favorite stories told to me by my family. It is both interesting and it deals with someone I am very close to. As with all of the stories I have been told by my parents, it has a moral. "Be kind to every one, you never know who it could be, your relative, or even a god."
