Revenge of a Hawaiian Goddess

This is for a post by @good-vibes,
"Color Challenge - Monday Red - Ohia"
I wanted to share the Hawaiian legend behind the flowering tree Ohia Lehua

Hawaiian Goddess, Pele
Pele's Revenge

A Hawaii Legend retold by S.E. Schlosser

Ohi'a and Lehua fell in love with each other at a village dance. Ohi'a was a tall strong handsome man. He was somewhat of a trickster and won first in all the sports played by all the young men. Lehua was gentle, sweet, and as fragile like a flower. Her beauty was the talk of the island.

When Lehua saw Ohi'a speaking with her father beside the bonfire, she blushed, unable to take her eyes from the young man. At the same moment, Ohi'a glanced up from his conversation and his mouth dropped open at the sight of the beautiful maiden. He was unaware that he had stopped speaking in the middle of his sentence and became so overwhelmed by the sight of the fair maiden, Lehua.

Lehua's father nudged the young man, recalling him to his duties as a guest. Ohi'a stuttered and stammered apologies, attempting to continue his conversation while keeping an eye on the fair Lehua. Lehua's father was amused by the young man's obvious infatuation with his daughter. He really liked this bold trickster, and so he offered to introduce Ohi'a to his daughter. The young man almost fell over as they walked across the clearing to where Lehua stood with her friends.

From that moment, there was no other woman for Ohi'a but Lehua. He had eyes only for her, and courted her with a passion that won her heart. Her father gave his only daughter to the strong young man, and the young couple lived happily in a new home Ohi'a built for his bride.

One day, goddess Pele was walking in the forest near the couples home and saw Ohi'a at work. Pele was smitten by him and went to speak with him. Ohi'a spoke politely to the beautiful woman, but did not respond to her advances. This infuriated Pele. She was determined to have this young man for herself. But before Pele could make more effort, Lehua came to bring Ohi'a his midday meal.

Ohi'a's face lit up with love when he saw his beautiful wife. He dropped everything at once and went to Lehua's side, leaving a fuming Pele to stare in jealous rage at the young couple. Dropping her human disguise, the goddess transformed into a raging column of fire and struck Ohi'a down. Pele transformed him into a twisted ugly tree in revenge for rejecting her advances.

Lehua fell to her knees beside the twisted tree that had once been her husband. Tears streaming down her lovely face, Lehua begged the goddess to turn him back into a man or turn her into a tree, as she could not bear to be separated from her lover. Pele ignored the girl, taking herself up to the cool heights, her anger satisfied. But the gods saw what Pele had done to the innocent lovers and became angry. As Lehua lay weeping in despair, the gods reached down and transformed the girl into a beautiful red flower, which they placed upon the twisted Ohi'a tree, so that she and her husband would never be apart.

From that day to this, the Ohi'a tree blossoms with the beautiful red Lehua flowers. When the flowers remain on the tree, the weather remains sunny and fair. But when a flower is plucked from the tree, heavy rain falls upon the land like tears, for Lehua still cannot bear to be separated from her husband Ohi'a.

Sources

Beckwith, Martha
Hawaiian Mythology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1982.

Mullins, Joseph G.
Hawaii's Volcanoes Legends and Facts. Honolulu: Aloha Graphics and Sales, 1980.

American Folklore: Myths and Legends