I think the people leaving offerings to volcanoes in Hawaii are doing it more for superstition and good luck than from a true belief in a volcano god. However, leaving food for a volcano does beat throwing virgins into them. Then again, the article does say the rangers believe it is mostly outside visitors doing it. The locals probably stopped offering things to the volcano long ago.
Some park visitors appear to be under the impression that the items are a suitable offering to Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess. But park service officials say the objects actually desecrate a site that is sacred to many Native Hawaiians.
“Many of these items are being left by people who are not from here. I don’t think that they do it to litter. They don’t know that it is disrespectful,” said park superintendent Cindy Orlando. “So we have to get that message out, and we have to educate them.”
Visitors regularly leave flowers, bottles, money, incense, candles and crystals at the top of the volcano. Rangers say they remove some 45 pounds (20 kilograms) of such offerings from Halemaumau Crater each week.
Maybe the Park should start a “say it with flowers” campaign.
Will a used condom count as an offering of love to Pele?
“Maybe the Park should start a “say it with flowers” campaign.”
Maybe a “say it with cash” might be a better idea. What a bunch of superstitious idiots.
Superstitious idiots? Nah, it’s just that these days they can’t find any virgins to throw into the volcano…
I’m not saying I live in a rough area….but…..
The definition of a virgin in the area that I live is
“a girl that can run faster than her brothers”
I always thought the idea was to wait the 20 minutes for the lava to become sufficiently hard to support one’s weight and then go for a walk on it to donate the soles of one’s feet to Pele.
#3 – Peter Rodwell,
Pele never asked for virgin sacrifice. That’s a meta myth. A myth about a myth. (Is it true that a myth is a female moth?)
#2 – hhopper,
I hope you’re not calling these people any more superstitious or idiotic than followers of any other mythology. Burnt offerings make a pleasing smell unto the lord. Spending money, time, and resources creating enormous edifices in which to worship some deity while the masses are starving is at least equally superstitious and idiotic. Burning someone at the stake because some yahoo said, “She turned me into a newt!” Stoning someone to death for working on the sabbath. Need I come up with more examples?
The advantage of worshiping a volcano is that you can actually see, hear and smell the diety. Well, hear and smell anyway. And that’s just retro.
With an invisible guy in the sky, the priests don’t have to prove anything. He’s absent – but he. will. be. back. And if you don’t send us money you. will. be. sorry. But, as George Carlin reminds us, he loves you.
Plus he doesn’t make a lot of noise and smell bad. Total win for the priests.
The Hawai’ians were making offerings to Pele long before the Park Service came into existence. This is just another Federal bureaucrat trying to force her will on the “stupid pagans.” I expect Pele to rise up and smite the Park Service like She has done so many times before.
Im many temples in Asia..
They have stalls outside the temple that SELL the offings, and Inside a place to PUT THEM…
Hmm, sounds like a GOOD idea to me..
7. it has been estimated that MOSt of the power behind the volcano, has slowly changed its position as the islands have moved…A NEW island is being built, and the pressure is Lowering in the main volcano.
#5 – Yes, I agree with you. There are MANY superstitious idiots on the planet.