ʻO Pele ke akua wahine o ka lua. – “Pele is the goddess of the crater.” And those of us in Hawaiʻi know that she goes where she pleases.
This Hawaiʻian deity is embodied by the lava and all elemental forces associated with volcanic activity. She is both creator of new land and destroyer of what was once there. Her presence is not regarded with fear, but with much respect.