Episode 17 ended yesterday when low fountaining at the south vent stopped. Pele’s dance sustained heights of 50-200 feet (15-60 meters) and lasted 35.5 hours. She showed a little north vent activity that stopped around 11:15 a.m. HST on April 8. The north vent pond collapsed sometime last night.
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The word “pele” can be translated as “lava flow, volcano, eruption; volcanic” as well as being the name for the akua Pele, the elemental personification of volcanic forces.
With that in mind, the mele hula, E Pele, E Pele can be translated in both a literal and a poetic sense at the same time!
Ē Pele ē Pele
Kaʻukaʻulī ana
Ē Pele ē Pele
Huaʻina, huaʻina
Ē Pele ē Pele
ʻOni luna, ʻoni luna
Ē Pele ē Pele
ʻOni lalo, ʻoni lalo
Ē Pele ē Pele
Aʻo kuli peʻe nui
Oh Pele, oh Pele
Shooshing along
Oh Pele, oh Pele
Boiling over, gushing forth
Oh Pele, oh Pele
Stirring upward, shaking upward
Oh Pele, oh Pele
Shifting downward, jarring downward
Oh Pele, oh Pele
Deafening, moving hidden underground