--- title: Ai-laau, the Forest Eater — Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology) · full text with trees description: Ai-laau, the Forest Eater, «Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology)» by W. D. Westervelt: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: When Pele came to the island Hawaii, seeking a permanent home, she found another god of fire already in possession of the --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/4/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mytholo…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/) / Ai-laau, the Forest Eater # Ai-laau, the Forest Eater Ai-laau, the Forest Eater of «Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology)» by W. D. Westervelt: the whole text, 37 sentences and 618 words. 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When Pele came to the island Hawaii, seeking a permanent home, she found another god of fire already in possession of the territory.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") Ai-laau was known and feared by all the people.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") Ai means the “one who eats or devours.”[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") Laau means “tree” or a “forest.”[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") Ai-laau was, therefore, the fire-god devouring forests.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") Time and again he laid the districts of South Hawaii desolate by the lava he poured out from his fire-pits.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") He was the god of the insatiable appetite, the continual eater of trees, whose path through forests was covered with black smoke fragrant with burning wood, and sometimes burdened with the smell of human flesh charred into cinders in the lava flow.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") Ai-laau seemed to be destructive and was so named by the people, but his fires were a part of the forces of creation.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") He built up the islands for future life.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") The process of creation demanded volcanic activity.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") The flowing lava made land.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") The lava disintegrating made earth deposits and soil.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") Upon this land storms fell and through it multitudes of streams found their way to the sea.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") Flowing rivers came from the cloud-capped mountains.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") Fruitful fields and savage homes made this miniature world-building complete.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") Ai-laau still poured out his fire.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") It spread over the fertile fields, and the natives feared him as the destroyer giving no thought to the final good.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") He lived, the legends say, for a long time in a very ancient part of Kilauea, on the large island of Hawaii, now separated by a narrow ledge from the great crater and called Kilauea-iki (Little Kilauea).[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") This seems to be the first and greatest of a number of craters extending in a line from the great lake of fire in Kilauea to the seacoast many miles away.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") They are called “The Pit Craters” because they are not hills of lava, but a series of sunken pits going deep down into the earth, some of them still having blowholes of sputtering steam and smoke.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") After a time, Ai-laau left these pit craters and went into the great crater and was said to be living there when Pele came to the seashore far below.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") In one of the Pele stories is the following literal translation of the account of her taking Kilauea:[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") “When Pele came to the island Hawaii, she first stopped at a place called Ke-ahi-a-laka in the district of Puna.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") From this place she began her inland journey toward the mountains.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") As she passed on her way there grew within her an intense desire to go at once and see Ai-laau, the god to whom Kilauea belonged, and find a resting-place with him as the end of her journey.[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") She came up, but Ai-laau was not in his house.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") Of a truth he had made himself thoroughly lost.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") He had vanished because he knew that this one coming toward him was Pele.[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") He had seen her toiling down by the sea at Ke-ahi-a-laka.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") Trembling dread and heavy fear overpowered him.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") He ran away and was entirely lost.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") When Pele came to that pit she laid out the plan for her abiding home, beginning at once to dig up the foundations.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") She dug day and night and found that this place fulfilled all her desires.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") Therefore, she fastened herself tight to Hawaii for all time.”[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") These are the words in which the legend disposes of this ancient god of volcanic fires.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") He disappears from Hawaiian thought and Pele from a foreign land finds a satisfactory crater in which her spirit power can always dig up everlastingly overflowing fountains of raging lava.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") II[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [Part I. LEGENDS](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/3/) - next →: [How Pele Came to Hawaii](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/5/) - ↑ back to [Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes (mythology)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg66516/)