A misty rainy day here, and it seems the chill is always exacerbated by damp airs. Heard the first ʻapapane at 639a, along with cooing doves. Coqui are winterquiet, so the hum of crickets and plop of raindrops accompany us to dreamland.
Greyness extended up to the Lua this morning. A flat monochrome of greys; mists and steams and plumes of uahiʻawa mingle.
Iʻll take a chance and dip my toe into the realm of moʻolelo, an ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi with subtleties of meaning.
moʻo.lelo
n.. Story, tale, myth, history, tradition, literature, legend, journal, log, yarn, fable, essay, chronicle, record, article; minutes, as of a meeting. (From moʻo ʻōlelo, succession of talk; all stories were oral, not written.) Puke moʻolelo aupuni, public records. hoʻo.moʻo.lelo Caus/sim. (For. 6:523.)
The "dipping" is because Iʻm most comfortable with touch and feel, as in rocks and plants. "Stories", along with genealogies, canʻt be touched or seen. They require imagining. And my brain doesnʻt cling to the imagined. Of course I have an imagination, and can think of, and fabricate in my mind, but without physical substance, they donʻt seem to stick.
Some of us have been discussing notions of islands, rafts, moku, lana au-ing. Iʻm of the belief that the dark accumulation of tephra we see on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu is an island. Yes, it floats and drifts, as do icebergs, but lavaberg doesnʻt sit right. And there are traditions of mysterious places and mythical lands running through narratives of many many cultures. As one, just one, example, we have Kānehūnāmoku, from Martha Beckwithʻs "Hawaiian Mythology".
Beckwith: Hawaiian Mythology
Those who have capacities to read, understand, and enjoy, will likely find fascinations.
Too, in my Think-Out-Loud mode, Iʻve mentioned Kamapuaʻa. The eight-eyed puaʻa (pig) who has desires for Pele.
View above was at Akanikōlea in January 2018. The area is temporarily CLOSED because of volcanic hazards, though the scene looks vastly different now.
And Iʻve shared these too: Kama visiting Pele. Same image, right-side-up, then upside-down.
Methinks the upper image looks more fearsome (thanks fat).
And again, in think-out-loud mode... Attentive readers noticed that the names Iʻve suggested for phenomena in and around the Lua have morphed over time. Thinking and conversations about these matters evolve, as they do for other things in real life. Experiences grow, insight is hopefully gained, and adjustments are made. Witness: The collapse-event shakings in 2018 ended up being termed lūʻōniu, after dalliances with various ʻami. The hovering cloud went from an ao lewa to ao māhu. Much more recently (yesterday!) we learned that rather than the relatively obscure loko pele (lava lake), ng pointed out and shared many more references to loko ahi. The "ahi" being fire, rather than ʻahi the tuna. "Loko ahi" is much more poetic, and is, I think, descriptive of the way people may have viewed a feature such as a lava lake. Different mindsets have and use different vocabularies.
And so we learn, we adjust, and we honor, all in the spirit of educating and sharing. Itʻs clear that I donʻt know everything, but Iʻm happy to explore, muse, and wonder.
The oia mau nō UPDATE...though the loko ahi went from 627ʻdeep on 1/4, to 630ʻdeep on 1/5.
TILT at 1250p today...
And, despite the turmoil in our country, We Shall Endure! May cooler heads prevail, and wisdom rain on everyone.
As always, with aloha,
BobbyC
How long does it take 630 foot deep lava to cool?
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