Pele is the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning, wind, and volcanoes. She is not an abstract deity — she lives in Halema'uma'u crater at the summit of Kilauea, and every eruption is her direct action. In Native Hawaiian tradition, Pele is a living presence, not a mythological figure from the past. When lava flows toward a community, it is Pele moving through her domain. When Halema'uma'u glows at night, she is home.

Pele arrived in Hawaii from Kahiki (a distant homeland, possibly Tahiti) after a conflict with her sister Na-maka-o-Kaha'i, goddess of the sea. Pele traveled down the island chain from northwest to southeast, digging fire pits on each island but being driven out by Na-maka's waves. She finally found a home deep enough to be safe from the sea — Kilauea on the Big Island, the youngest and most volcanically active island in the chain. This narrative mirrors the geological reality: the Hawaiian Islands were formed by a hotspot in the Earth's mantle, with islands getting progressively younger from northwest to southeast. Kilauea is directly over the hotspot.

Pele is also associated with the 'ohi'a lehua tree and flower. In one tradition, she fell in love with the young warrior 'Ohi'a, who was already pledged to Lehua. When 'Ohi'a rejected Pele, she turned him into a gnarled tree. The other gods, taking pity, turned Lehua into the bright red blossom on his branches, so the lovers would never be separated. Picking lehua blossoms is said to bring rain — Lehua's tears at being separated from 'Ohi'a.