Kīlauea Update, Saturday, June 23, 2018, Rocking and Rolling yesterday, and...

Eō Pelehonuamea!

Starting at 5 yesterday morning, and continuing till 7p, shakeshakeshake.  And seems that a similar sequence is happening today.  Kinda tiring.  But Iʻll be headed to Hilo for the closing of Ka ʻAha Hula ʻO Hālauaola, and pray that the ground there will be stable.

Observation:

Kaluapele (Kīlauea Caldera) is in settling mode.  The whole thing.  And areas adjacent, like the communities up here in Volcano...we all shake to varying degrees.  Think plopping down on waterbed (they still make those?) and waiting for the waves to subside.  Takes awhile.  And itʻs taking awhile for Pele (and us) to become accustomed to her new home and surroundings as her remodeling project continues.  Whew.

I look at the HVO Seismic page to try to make sense of all the various ʻōlaʻi, and too, for reassurance that all will, in fact, be fine.

HVO ʻŌlaʻi (earthquakes)

Yesterday was one of busyness.  It seemed that the entire floor of Kaluapele was groaning, reverberating, settling...it went on and on and on.   That "pattern" of ʻōlaʻi ʻōniu (exploquakes) some had come to recognize, seemed to be off schedule.  And we waited and  waited and waited.  And kept looking at the red dots, scattershot on the floor of Her house.  And, finally, at 652p, ka rattle nui!  Was biggish.  And a "real" ʻōlaʻi, it seemed.  Not the relief of soft squishy ʻōlaʻi ʻōniu, but a good shake.  It took awhile for the info to be posted.  This from this morning.  The ohhhhh....OK.  An actual 5.3 earthquake.  No wonder was big and shaky.  And please note, for The Record, again, that orange dots are for the last two days, and red, the last two hours. Screen Shot below at 625a today.  Try imagine...

And this one from 745a today...and they continue. 3.5, 3.5, 3.7, 3.what-la...

And weʻre enjoying the cool drizzles and mists in the forest.  A relief after the heat of the last few days.

And at Keahialaka, she still going...black and white, or living color...you choose...bright white areas to right of Māwae ʻĒwalu in b/w pic is sun shining on mostly leafless forest.

and the river to and into the Pacific continues unabated.

I wonder...should I throw this out there???  Someone asked about names and naming, and I kinda went off.  Too much coffee, tired, general crankiness...

QUESTION from reader:

I was wondering if you could share with us how places and features get their names.  I've seen recently that Paradise Helicopters is floating the idea of fissure 8 being named Pu'u 'Ai La'au in reference to 'Ai La'au the forest eater driven out by Pele.  It got me wondering how did Pu'u O'o get its name, and whether or not calling fissure 8 was culturally relevant or
even appropriate.

ANSWER from Bob:

Great questions.

Itʻs like naming a child.  Names are given based on characteristics of the feature or its surroundings.  Naming anything while the eruption is active is not a good idea, because we donʻt know what itʻll be like when the activity there ends.  I know that these days many like naming babies, having parties, etc., before the kid is even born.  How can you name something you havenʻt met?  Unless, of course you dream the name.

ʻAilāʻau was the "forest eater" and fled when Pele and her clan arrived.  On the island of Hawaiʻi, Pele mā first stopped at Keahialaka and one of her sisters, Laka, stayed there.  There are many many chants describing their activities in the region.  Iʻm not aware of any
traditions about the activities of ʻAilāʻau down there, or anywhere.

"Fissure 8" is a practical name.  If folks need a Hawaiian name, "Māwae ʻEwalu" is the same thing.  Building houses, roads, etc., on the rift wasnʻt particularly culturally relevant or appropriate.  Mining and destroying Puʻu Laimana wasnʻt culturally appropriate either.

People need to give it a rest, be patient, and wait to see what happens.

Puʻuʻōʻō:  Eruption started in the letter "o" of "Lava Flow..." on the topo map.  It became the "O vent".  Someone said we need a Hawaiian name.  I said Puʻu Ō (to continue or endure).  Later, some got upset and said that the kūpuna of Kalapana should name it.  They decided on Puʻuʻōʻō.

Whatʻs inappropriate too is not using or acknowledging the names Keahialaka (site of Leilani Estates), Waiapele (a.k.a. Kapoho Crater, Green Lake, Green Mountain), Mālama (where MacKenzie SRA is), Kaluapele (Kīlauea Caldera...a scientific descriptor), etc...and, not reading and trying to understand the histories of these places found in the chants.  Itʻs as though folks think that "Pele and Hiʻiaka", compiled by Emerson, is a made up fairy tale.  In fact, itʻs a collection of histories transmitted orally, then written down, describing volcanic phenomena hundreds of years ago.  An amazing work, naming names, and places, and describing in quite some detail, events.  And itʻs happening again today!  History repeating itself.

Go read and be amazed.

OK.  I think I had a little too much coffee...

Bobby

BobbyC here again...a source at Paradise Helicopters said that the idea "they" wanted to name it isnʻt true...

And in case some of you missed the Don Swanson paper posted awhile ago on the "Pele and Hiʻiaka" topic, here it is again:

Swanson Kīlauea Myths

Thatʻs it for Saturday morning.  Iʻll be taking off several days next week, but will be here tomorrow.  Iʻll be taking deep breaths, eating good foods, and generally trying to relax and keep it together.

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC