F.O.P (Fresh Off da Plane)

Never get between Pele and her cubs

According to the legend, Pele is a fierce mother who considers the rocks her children. And since I grew up both Catholic and playing sports, I do not step on cracks and would rather run through brick walls a' la the Kool-Aid Man (Oh, Yeaaah!) to avoid black cats.

I knew that it was considered disrespectful to the Hawaiian culture to take the mesmerizing mineral-stained rocks and smooth-yet-pocked white coral from the islands' beaches and trails. But I never knew why, except for common sense, I guess. It's illegal in numerous places to steal rocks and sand from beaches, including the Great Lakes.

For environmental law, it's a simple matter of protecting delicate ecosystems. But there is a mystique here of hexes and curses (Although, I also know of a couple places on Lake Superior and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness that are considered sacred to the Ojibwe.).

Since I've moved here, I had a couple of Mainland friends tell me that they “know someone” who took a rock or some of Maui's ubiquitous red earth (I've seen kids putting Hamoa Beach sand in Ziplock bags, which made me cringe a little.). Only later, did my friends hear that it was considered taboo or kapu and wondered what to do with them.

Send 'em to me. I'll chuck up back to Haleakala. I actually keep a two rocks on my desk, but if and when I ever leave this place, those stones are going right back where I found them.

I did some research, and there are a number of Web sites where people blame taking rocks for sick animals, failing marriages, generally unsatisfying lives and even death.

CBS News and the Los Angeles Times have detailed the horror stories, and here's a funny encounter with lava rock woe from Honolulu Advertiser writer Tanya Bricking: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Jan/28/il/il06a.html.

If you're really twisted like me, more tales of heartache can be found at www.snopes.com/luck/pele.asp and www.volcanogallery.com/lavarock.htm. The Web master for the latter site states that she will return your rock to Volcano National Park wrapped in a traditional ti leaf, which is considered spiritually pure, for $15 or whatever you can afford.

She also said that the National Park Service will accept the rocks themselves, but that the rangers just toss 'em in a pile outside the station. Hey, and why not? Pele's baby-mama drama will be over either way.

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reporterhamilton
08-07-08 8:49 PM »Report Abuse	Don't be too presumptuous, Harry. I read about the park ranger story. But I couldn't find any specifics. However, a couple locals did tell on separate occasions that taking rocks and coral was bad karma. Maybe they were pulling my leg, but I'm not gonna argue when I'm FOP and admittedly have lots to learn.
HarryEagar
08-07-08 1:32 PM »Report Abuse	You should have consulted the old-timers. The story about the rocks was concocted by a ranger to discourage tourists, nothing spiritual about it. It's like Seven Sacred Pools. Slick enough to fool the tourists.

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