Title
Rising Moon Over 'Ohi'a Lehua
Artist
Heidi Fickinger
Medium
Photograph - Photographic Print
Description
The burgeoning moon rises over an 'Ōhiʻa Lehua tree at dusk at Halemaʻumaʻu crater on the Big Island in Hawai'i. 'Ōhiʻa Lehua (metrosideros polymorpha) is native to the Hawaiian Islands and is very important to the Hawaiian culture. In Hawaiian mythology, ʻŌhiʻa and Lehua were two young lovers. The volcano goddess Pele fell in love with the handsome ʻŌhiʻa and approached him, but he turned down her advances. In a fit of jealousy, Pele transformed ʻŌhiʻa into a tree. Lehua was devastated by this transformation and out of pity the other gods turned her into a flower and placed her upon the ʻōhiʻa tree. Other versions say that Pele felt remorseful but was unable to reverse the change, so she turned Lehua into a flower herself. It is said that when a lehua flower is plucked from an ʻōhiʻa tree, the sky will fill with rain representing the separated lovers' tears. Because lehua flowers are brilliant red, orange and occasionally yellow or pink, the flowers are also thought to represent the lava that flows from Pele's volcanoes. The flowers and leaves are often picked by hula halaus and woven into crowns of flowers, known as hakus.
Featured in the following FAA group galleries:
* Experimental Artis Union
Uploaded
August 26th, 2020
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