Poliahu- Polynesian GodDeity"Snow Goddess"

Mauna Kea

Poliahu dwells on the frozen summit of Mauna Kea, the White Mountain, where snow covers the peak year after year as the visible sign of her presence. She appears as a tall woman draped in a white mantle. Lilinoe, goddess of fine mist, and Waiau, goddess of the summit lake, keep her company in the high country above the zone where humans live. Westervelt records her traditions in Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes, and Beckwith preserves them in Hawaiian Mythology.

The Sledding Match

Poliahu loved hōlua, the Hawaiian sport of racing wooden sleds down long, steep courses of packed earth. She was skilled at it, and she was beautiful, and both drew attention. One day a stranger appeared at the sledding grounds, a woman no one recognized. She challenged Poliahu. They raced. Poliahu won. The stranger's eyes changed. The ground beneath the course cracked open, and lava poured upward through the fissures. Pele had come disguised.

Poliahu fled uphill toward her summit. As the lava followed, she seized her white mantle and flung it wide. Snow and ice blasted down the mountainside. The lava hardened. Pele sent more fire. Poliahu answered with more cold. The slopes of Mauna Kea became a battleground where fire met frost, each goddess pushing the other back but neither prevailing. The lava could not melt all of Poliahu's snow. The cold could not smother Pele's fire. The contest ended where it always ends: Pele rules below, and Poliahu keeps the summit.