Offerings to Hawaiian fire goddess attracting pests

Rangers here are launching a program to stop people from littering the summit of Kilauea with such “offerings” as incense, candles and food that attract rats and cockroaches.

Some visitors appear to be under the impression that the items are a suitable offering to Pele, the Hawaiian fire goddess. But park officials say the objects actually desecrate a Big Island 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,” Park Supt. Cindy Orlando said. “So we have to get that message out. And we have to educate them.”

Park visitors regularly leave flowers, bottles, money, incense, candles and crystals at the top of the volcano.

Rangers say they remove about 45 pounds of such offerings from Halemaumau Crater each week.

Food may be the most troublesome item because it attracts rats, flies, ants and cockroaches.

Recently a ranger found a whole cooked piglet in a cardboard box at the summit.

A papaya, an orange, an apple and a plastic container with poi -- a traditional Hawaiian staple made from the taro plant -- had been placed in the box with the pig. A finely crafted lei rested on top of the feast.

The food often poses a hazard to the endangered nene, the state bird endemic to the islands, because it often tries to eat what’s left behind..

“It’s a place that is sacred to Native Hawaiians and we want to keep it pristine and take care of that sacred landscape,” Orlando said.

She added that the park service had received numerous complaints from Native Hawaiians about the items strewn about at Kilauea’s summit.

Native Hawaiians are guaranteed access to Kilauea for traditional religious ceremonies in which offerings can be made. Some Hawaiians believe lava is the physical representation of the fire goddess Pele, making the volcano summit sacred.

Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has been in continuous eruption since Jan. 3, 1983.