The Pele Curse is a well-known urban legend in the state of Hawaii. According to local folklore, anyone who takes a volcanic rock or sand home with them from one of the islands will be cursed by the volcano goddess Pele. Pele is revered as the goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes in Hawaiian mythology. She is believed to reside in the active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, known as Kilauea. Many locals and visitors to the islands believe in Pele's power and respect her by not taking any volcanic material from the islands. Legend has it that those who do take volcanic rock or sand will experience a series of misfortunes and bad luck until the stolen item is returned to its rightful place.
Hawaii pele curse
One of Maui’s more modern legends is about Pele, the goddess of Fire and Volcanoes and the removal of HER sand and rocks from the islands. We call it a modern legend because some people believe that a ranger in the national park system made it up in the 1930s, to stop people from taking the lava rocks. This may be true but there may be some deep roots attached to it. When we at Maui Aloha Weddings do the Sand Ceremony we aren’t using sand from our beaches… we actually purchase separate sand for our unity sand ceremony.
One thing you would have to realize, is that Hawaii is modern compared to many other states since it didn’t get its statehood until 1959 which is a controversy in itself. The Hawaiian islands are said to be discovered between 1200 and 1400 when the Polynesians were looking for a safe place to be as there was war in many of the Polynesian islands. Along with these first settlers came a rigid set of rules called the Kapu System. This directed the lives of the Hawaiians and told them what they could and couldn’t do. It wasn’t until the early 1800’s, well after Captain Cook, did people start coming to the islands. Hawaii is pretty modern! However, there is no way of knowing if the legend of Pele came from the Kapu System as it was very important to respect the “mana” of the gods and goddesses.
Legend has it that Pele, goddess of fire and volcanoes, is so angered when the rocks or sand (which she sees as her children) are taken from her that she puts a terrible revenge on the thief. She is especially protective of volcanic rock and sand, two items tourists almost unthinkingly take as a small souvenir . After all, who would miss a rock?
Of course in the famous book “All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten” expresses the sentiments “Put things back where you found them”, “Don’t take things that aren’t yours” and “Look” which the author says is the biggest and most important rule of all. Can these basic rules apply to Maui’s sand and rocks too?
Pele’s curse says that anyone who takes rock or sand away from Maui will suffer bad luck until the native Hawaiian elements are returned. Whether you believe in the myth or not, each year hundreds of people send packages to Maui full of rocks and sand to relieve their consciences and change their luck. The native Hawaiians view the taking of such items as stealing from Pele while visiting her home. Only the return of the stolen items will ease her temperament.
So are the warnings true? Maybe and maybe not. The more skeptical will think this is a bunch of malarkey but thousands of people believe that taking Maui’s sand and rock left them with a curse of huge proportions and the only way to undo the curse is to return the items.
maui beachesWhy am I writing this as a blog? Recently there was an article in a local paper that spoke about a wedding officiant/coordinator that helped the bride and groom to some sand.
“Eh Brah! Don’t steal Maui’s beach sand for your wedding!” (Borrowed from the Maui Times newspaper)
“I was on the beach at Makena Cove recently enjoying the sunset and witnessed a beautiful couple getting married in a small intimate ceremony. It was beautiful, and I was happy for them. During one point in the ceremony, a gentleman I assume was the coordinator took out a tall glass and scooped sand from inside the flower petal circle the couple stood inside. He carefully leveled the sand so it filled up the very top of the glass, and then presented it to the couple. After words were exchanged, he walked over and carefully placed the sand in a bag, which was then closed up and taken with them when they left. I almost said something, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment for the couple, who clearly had no idea that taking sand was not only bad luck, but also culturally and environmentally insensitive–if not technically illegal. Shame on the wedding coordinator and planner for promoting such unsustainable, disrespectful and karma sucking practices.”
After hearing from my officiants about this, I thought I needed to write a blog about it as this is so wrong in so many ways. First of all, you don’t take sand from the beaches. I know of people who have done this and were given fines when caught. Removing lava rocks from our parks is illegal too. Yet, Maui Aloha Weddings does the Sand Ceremony – isn’t this an oxymoron? NO – because as I mentioned earlier, we actually purchase our sand for the unity sand ceremony. To unite a couple with this ceremony, you are using two different colors of sand one in each vessel that we bring with us to the beach. The couple takes turns pouring the sand into a vessel that will be theirs to take home, layering the sand in a pattern. The idea behind the ceremony is that they are two people coming from two different lives that are now joining together. Right now you can see the two different sands in the bottle but if they were to pour it out – the sand would be joined together and you would not see it separate anymore.
My question is – how can you do that if someone picks up a handful of sand, puts it into a glass and then puts it into a bag for the bride and groom? Also – do you really want to chance the “karma” that may be attached to the sand?
Here is another thing you can ask when you are
hiring a coordinator – what color sand do you have? That’s not accusing anyone but you will definitely know if they are doing the right thing in Maui!
I hope you have a wonderful, safe and happy trip on our island – especially our newly married couples and those celebrating vow renewals. Do I believe in the curse – I would not tempt fate!
Pele’s Curse
Mario toed the piece of black lava with the tip of his shoe. The black rock glittered like a magical glass in the golden Hawaiian sunlight. The dips and curves of its surface reflected like a prism, sparkling like a million tiny gems of every conceivable color. He’d never seen a rock quite like it. Anywhere.
He bent down and scooped it up. It was no larger than a quarter, but the sharp edges bit into his tender fingers unrelentingly. He turned it so that it caught the light again. The color sparked to life. His dark eyes stared, mesmerized, at the dazzling array. Hawaiian basalt sparkling in the sunlight.
Mario had stifled a yawn as the tour guide yammered on during the short hike. Something about a curse – a myth that the goddess Pele was protective of her volcano and the lava rocks that she created and that under no circumstances were you to take one of the rocks home with you. Removing it from the volcano was like stealing it from Pele’s home. And she would exact revenge on your soul for doing so.
Mario didn’t believe in goddesses, or bad luck, or curses for that matter. What a bunch of hooey.
He glanced around at his tour group, slowing his pace so he fell to the back of the pack. When he was certain no one was looking, he slipped the little rock into his pocket. But he didn’t notice the ghostly eyes peering at him from behind the thick of the jungle. The shiver that ripped down his spine with the next gust of wind was easily ignored. After all, it was a bit chilly here on the summit this morning.
Excited as he was about his prize, he didn’t pull it out of his pocket until he was safely back on the U.S. mainland. He had been far too busy with sun, sand, and surf on his vacation. Fishing the chunk of basalt out of his pocket, he held his prize up to the lamplight. It glittered with color just as it had on the island. Satisfied with his trophy, he set it on the living room bookshelf for all to see.
It didn’t happen all at once. It was more of a slow burn, the way lava creeps across the landscape and torches the ferns, one by one. The shelf the lava rock sat on randomly came disjointed and fell. The kidney stone – the first ever in his life – hit at 2 in the morning Wednesday. He thought he was going to die until it passed. Then, he came home three weeks later to find his dog had jumped the fence and was hit by a car while he was at work. The same job that he received a layoff notice for a month after that. The woman he had intended to propose to that autumn left him for another man, and his mother was diagnosed with cancer.
When Mario came home from his last day on the job, he stopped dead in his tracks. His house had been robbed and ransacked. As he stood in the doorway, his eyes fell on the glittering piece of lava rock from Hawaii, sitting untouched on the repaired shelf, smack in the middle of the chaos. Suddenly he realized that the curse was true. Just as he had been robbed, he had stolen something too. Pele, goddess of the Hawaiian volcanoes, was indeed exacting revenge on the thief who had stolen a piece of her property.
The moment he hung up the phone with the cops, Mario snatched the rock off of the bookshelf and stuffed it into a box. He sent it back first class to Hawaii with a note of apology, and request to the recipient at the park service to return the rock to the ground from where it came.
Mario’s luck slowly began to turn its way around. But what had been done was done, and he could never get back what he had lost. Nor could he ever shrug the eerie sensation of someone always watching him.
Mario’s story is not unique. Each year, various venues in Hawaii receive countless lava rocks in the mail from people who pocketed them as souveniers and regret it. The find notes tucked into the boxes, that are full of regret for luck and lives turned sour.
Is the curse real? Or nothing but hogwash?
The flip side of this story – aka the logical side – states that park rangers created this so called curse, and began spooking tourists in order to keep them from taking rocks and minerals from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Or perhaps it was a tour guide looking for a sizzling story to enthrall his guests. Most people agree that the story is not old lore; that it was made up sometime in the 20 th century, but has certainly been adopted into urban legend.
Besides, we all deal with ups and downs in life, and unexpected twists and turns. Not all of them are good, and heartbreaking tragedy can happen to the best of people. Who’s to say that such storms of bad luck weren’t going to happen on their own to the very same people who brought Hawaiian basalt home with them?
I’ll leave it up to you to decide what you believe about Pele’s Curse. But be prepared to deal with the consequences if you do decide to bring a little chunk of lava home with you. Personally, I’d leave it right where you found it for the next person to admire.
Copyright © 2017 Volcano Hopper. All rights reserved.
Pele’s Curse – Hawaii
Growing up in Hawaii, I was told never to take any natural objects from the islands. I’m not sure when I was first told that, I just remember always being told to leave everything where it was, and to make sure what belonged on the islands stayed on the islands. I’m pretty sure tourists are told this legend, especially because when they want to bring back a cool souvenir from Hawaii they usually go for a lava rock or sand or something of that nature.
The legend goes that if you take a lava rock – I was also told not to take sand or Pele’s hair, a plant that grows on the islands – from Hawaii, Pele will curse you and you will experience bad luck until you return the rock to Hawaii. Pele is the goddess of volcanoes, and is a very jealous and bitter goddess who holds grudges. I’ve heard many stories of people who experience bad luck after taking a lava rock from the islands, and in order to break the curse and streak of bad luck they must personally take the rock back to Hawaii. There are some companies that will take shipments and return the lava rocks for people, but according to the legend the person who took it has to return it themselves or else the curse will not be broken.
This legend taught me from a young age to respect Hawaii’s natural habitat, as well as nature everywhere. People in Hawaii in general tend to have a lot of respect for nature, and I think this legend greatly contributes to that mindset.
Tasia knows quite a few Hawaiian legends, but she said that her sister is much more tied to the land than she is. They aren’t native Hawaiians, but living in Hawaii immerses you fairly wholly into Hawaiian culture (regardless of if you are a native). I go to Hawaii about 3 times a year, and have heard this legend before. I too have known from a young age not to take anything from Hawaii’s habitat. I have never experienced the curse as I have never taken anything from Hawaii, but when I used to go to the kids camps in the hotels, the people in charge would tell us stories of people who were cursed with very bad luck after stealing a lava rock from the island. I too respect Hawaii’s natural habitat, probably even more so than the environment here, which is kind of sad.
This entry was posted in Legends, Narrative and tagged curse, pele on May 2, 2013 by Marie Griffith .
Legend has it that those who do take volcanic rock or sand will experience a series of misfortunes and bad luck until the stolen item is returned to its rightful place. Stories of people who have fallen under the Pele Curse include accidents, injuries, illnesses, and even death. Many claim that these incidents were a result of angering the volcano goddess by taking something from her domain.
To undo the curse, individuals are advised to return the stolen volcanic material to Hawaii as soon as possible. One popular method is to mail the item back to the island it was taken from, accompanied by an apologetic letter or prayer to Pele. Some locals also suggest leaving an offering of flowers or other items associated with Pele's mythology as a gesture of remorse. Despite the warnings and superstitions surrounding the Pele Curse, some people still choose to take volcanic rock or sand as souvenirs. However, many locals and tour guides actively discourage this behavior, emphasizing the importance of respecting the islands' natural wonders and sacred mythology. While the Pele Curse is primarily seen as a superstition, it serves as a reminder of the deep cultural beliefs and traditions that are intertwined with the natural beauty of Hawaii. It highlights the enduring respect and awe that many Hawaiians have for the power of the land and the gods that govern it..
Reviews for "Trapped in Pele's Curse: Stories of Misfortune in Hawaii"
1. Kevin - 1/5 stars - "Hawaii pele curse was a complete waste of time. The plot was extremely confusing and poorly developed, leaving me with more questions than answers. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked any depth or relatability. Additionally, the writing style was choppy and inconsistent, making it difficult to engage with the story. Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone looking for a well-crafted and engaging read."
2. Sarah - 2/5 stars - "I had high hopes for Hawaii pele curse, but unfortunately, it fell short of my expectations. The pacing was slow, and the story lacked any real excitement or suspense. The paranormal elements seemed forced and out of place, making it hard to fully invest in the plot. Some scenes felt unnecessarily drawn out and added little to the overall story. While the setting was beautifully described, it wasn't enough to redeem the lackluster storyline. Overall, I was disappointed with this book."
3. John - 2/5 stars - "I found Hawaii pele curse quite underwhelming. The characters lacked development, and their actions often felt inconsistent and unrealistic. The writing style was mediocre, and the dialogue often felt forced and unnatural. The storyline had potential, but it was executed poorly, leaving me bored and uninterested. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for a captivating and well-written read."
4. Emma - 1/5 stars - "I struggled to finish Hawaii pele curse. The plot had promise but was ultimately confusing and convoluted. The pacing was uneven, with long stretches of nothing happening followed by rushed and unsatisfying resolutions. The characters were forgettable and lacked depth or any real motivation. The overall writing style was dull and uninspiring. I was left feeling disappointed and frustrated by the end of this book."