The Burning Island Myth and History of the Hawaiian Volcano Country

by Frierson, Pamela

• ISBN13: 9781595341358
• ISBN10: 1595341358
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-29
• Publisher: Trinity University Press

Summary

The Burning Island is an intimate portrait of the Hawaiian volcano region-a land marked by a precarious tension between the harsh reality of constant geologic change, respect for mythological traditions, and the pressures of economic exploitation. Pamela Frierson's adventures at Mauna Loa and Kilauea provide a primer on how volcanoes work, surprising archaeological ruins, threatened rainforest ecosystems, and questionable real estate development. A classic of nature writing, The Burning Island sets the stage for a larger exploration of our need to respect and preserve nature, tradition, and indigenous cultures while balancing our ever-expanding use of the land. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Also the author of The Last Atoll, Pamela Frierson lives in Hawai'i.

Table of Contents

Preface to the New Edition	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Map	p. xviii
Prologue	p. 1
Volcano Country
Ten Views of Mauna Loa	p. 11
"Unstable Was the Land"	p. 31
The Lava Lake	p. 51
Volcanic Genesis	p. 67
The Volcano as Western Metaphor	p. 85
Children of the Land
"The Astonishing Food of the Land"	p. 107
Myth and History at the Scene of the Eruption	p. 117
Unredeemed Nature; Unredeemed Goddess	p. 133
The Many Bodies of the Goddess	p. 145
Pele and the Pig God	p. 161
Rift Zones	p. 175
Kilauea, Desert and Rift	p. 177
Royal Gardens	p. 187
Manual Loa, Southwest Rift Zone	p. 198
Kapu Ka'u	p. 209
Epilogue. Sacred Darkness	p. 231
Notes	p. 239
A Brief Chronology	p. 247
Glossary	p. 249
Index	p. 255
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