The Story of Kapiʻolani’s Faith and the Overthrow of the Goddess Pele
- Cole Morganti
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
The sweat was now dripping from her body as she descended further into the volcano's crater. After her strenuous trek on foot of around 100 miles to Mt. Kilauea, there was no way Kapiʻolani could turn back, despite the pleas from her kinsmen to halt. The lava from inside the crater gave the Hawaiian High Chiefess' face a supernatural glow, which was only rivaled in beauty by her determined countenance. Just a decade prior, it was unimaginative that anyone would dare to break the Hawaiian Kapu (taboo) and challenge the the great Pele, the goddess of volcanoes and fire. But here the Chiefess was with a Bible in hand and carrying a message to give to all of Hawaii. Little did she know, it would send waves across the globe.
In 1820, the first Christian missionaries arrived on the shores of Hawaii, having traveled all the way from Boston, Massachusetts. Before their arrival, Hawaii's spiritual expression was vastly different than the Protestants who brought the first Bibles on their beaches. Hawaiians held themselves under what is called the Kapu system. This system was characterized by strict punishments, social hierarchy, gender separation, human sacrifice, and more. This system was so harsh that even accidental infractions often led to capital punishment. For instance, If a young girl ate a food she was not supposed to, or someone stepped on land that they were not allowed, they were met with death.
This system of religion and life shaped Hawaiian life for centuries before the first Christians arrived. As one could imagine, with a system so focused on punishment and the concept of grace nowhere to be found, for many Hawaiians the teachings of Jesus was like a breath of fresh air to a man who was drowning. Although the system was "officially" abolished in 1819 (one year prior to the arrival of the first missionaries), the Kapu still held its grip in the hearts of the people.
Kapiʻolani's Life and Conversion
As a High Chiefess of the Kapu system, Kapiʻolani was a big influencer and enforcer of the rigid religious practices. Many believers in Jesus today can relate to her "pre-Christ" life. It is said she was heavily addicted to alcohol, had an infamous bad temperament, and polyandrous—having multiple husbands at the same time. She was a woman who only knew the darkness of the manmade religion she was born into, but God graciously brought her the light of life.
When Christian missionaries arrived, the Chiefess was astounded by their intellect ability. Before meeting the New Englanders, Hawaii was strictly an oral society. There was no writing, nor alphabet for their language. With the help of the missionaries, they were able to create the first Hawaiian alphabet and the first work to be translated was the Bible.
The Chiefess would often cry about her past as her newfound missionary friends would comfort her. The grim reality that under the Chiefess' rule, she commanded human sacrifices and other immoral punishments weighed heavily on her. What was she to do about these crimes, especially in a system that offered no forgiveness? The missionaries felt the hurt in Kapiʻolani's heart. With great love for her, and her people, the missionaries opened their Scriptures and preached a concept she had never heard of before, grace. Soon, Kapiʻolani was met face to face with her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who offered her exactly what she needed: "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). For the first time, the Chiefess understood forgiveness and put her faith in Jesus, just as He said: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Dismantling the Kapu
4 years after the missionaries came ashore on the Big Island of Hawaii, the most active volcano, Kileaua, had erupted. As the people of Hawaii steadily increased in its devotion to the God of the Bible, it decreased in its devotion to the gods and goddesses of their ancestors. The priests (Kāhuna) of said gods and goddesses used this as an opportunity to protest the rise of Christianity among the Hawaiians. The priests claimed because the people had begun to turn away from the Kapu, they had angered the goddess Pele, whose home had become the Halemaʻumaʻu crater at the summit of Kilauea.
With the people in disarray, the former Chiefess of Kapu, set in her heart to do something that simple Sunday sermons could never accomplish. Kapiʻolani knew that in order to once and for all put to death the grip this cruel system had on the people of Hawaii, God’s power needed to be demonstrated for all to see.
Returning to the scene of the crater, Kapiʻolani prepared to defy the idol Pele. During her hike she had grabbed a handful of ʻōhelo berries which, under the Kapu system, must be offered to the goddess Pele before human consumption, or else one was met with instant death from her wrath.
With the power of the Holy Spirit inside her, Kapiʻolani stood tall and declared to those who had followed her to watch this monumentous occasion,
“My God is Jehovah. He it was who kindled these flames. I do not fear Pele. Should I perish by her wrath, then you may fear her power. But if Jehovah saves me while I am breaking Kapu, then you must fear and love Him. The gods of Hawaii are vain.”
She then ate the berries, without offering a single one to Pele. Shocked, the people waited to see what would become of her; but, as each second passed, Kapiʻolani remained alive and well. She then left the crater, and Kileaua without a scratch on her. Thus proving the God of the Bible was the only one to follow.
The Aftermath and Implications
The story of Kapiʻolani is a beautiful tale of the courage and power a believer can have when they understand who they are in Jesus. The God of the Bible commands believers to worship and serve only Him (Luke 4:8). Kapiʻolani understood in order to cast out the fear of Pele, she had to show the people that the God of the Bible is the one who controls all things, even nature.
This historical account serves as an example of what one Christian, acting out in faith, can do for the multitude. Because of Kapiʻolani‘s rebellion of Pele, the Hawaiian people in mass converted to Christianity to serve the one true God. From a hunger of wanting to know God’s Word and with a newly created alphabet, Hawaii soon became one of the most literate nations in the world, with the people reaching a percentage of 90-95% able to read. The population of Hawaii, at the minimum estimate, had 1 out of every 3 people baptized into Protestant churches.
Today, the idea of Kapu is trending back upwards by many young Hawaiians as the resistance to the idea of “colonizer Christianity” grows. Sadly, those descended of the Christians who once gave their lives to spread the gospel to the Hawaiian people, used the influence they had gained as an opportunity to take control of the Hawaiian lands and people. While this article will not get into the details of this event, it should be noted that this has impacted the people of Hawaii enough to cause a modern hesitancy to those who proclaim Jesus Christ.
May us, the Church, do our best always, like Kapiʻolani once did standing above the lava of Kileaua, to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).
