Two Girls Roasting Breadfruit

From "Two Girls Roasting Breadfruit" inFolktails of Hawaii by Mary Kawena Püku‘i and Laura C.S Green.

Retold here by Cady

INTRODUCTION:

Do you enjoy breadfruit? Breadfruit is what decides one girl’s life in this story about what one god will do out of jealously because she is not worshiped by everyone. This god has been in many other stories because of her jealously. Do you have any idea who she is?

In this legend a fire god named Pele traveled thousands of miles from the volcano, Kilauea. She left her volcano disguised as an old woman with long gray hair. A couple of days later she was seen walking on a beach looking for food. There she saw a man fishing for his family, but he could give her no fish. Later that day on Pele’s way home she mysteriously disappeared into the forest

Later she appeared in an almost barren town called Manuahi. There, before her, two girls roasted breadfruit. Pele walked up to them and humbly, not showing too much hunger, asked for whom they were roasting the breadfruit? One girl named Kolomuo said it was for her god, Lai. Another girl named Pahinahina said she was roasting it for her god Pele. That was music to Pele’s ears. After the breadfruit was cooked they all enjoyed it peacefully. Before Pele left she asked the girls were they lived. They told her about their home on the Hualalai Mountain. The old woman told Pahinahina to have her parents put a sign on their half of the house. When Pahinahina’s parents came home they followed the instructions because that was the custom in ancient times. That night something mysterious happened. What happened that night on Hualalai Mountain. Listen to this legend of Pele to find out.