The Burning Island: A Journey Through Myth and History in Volcano Country, Hawaii

by Pamela Frierson

Westerners—from early missionaries to explorers to present-day artists, scientists, and tourists—have always found volcanoes fascinating and disturbing. Native Hawaiians, in contrast, revere volcanoes as a source of spiritual energy and see the volcano goddess Pele as part of the natural cycle of a continuously procreative cosmos. Volcanoes hold a special place in our curiosity about nature.The Burning Island is an intimate, multilayered 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 treks up Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, and Kilauea to explore how volcanoes work, as well as how their powerful and destructive forces reshape land, cultures, and history. Her adventures reveal surprising archeological ruins, threatened rainforest ecosystems, and questionable real estate development of the islands. Now a classic of nature writing, Frierson’s narrative sets the stage for a larger exploration of our need to take great care in respecting and preserving nature and tradition while balancing our ever-expanding sense of discovery and use of the land.

Genres: Nonfiction

267 pages, Hardcover

First published June 4, 1991

Reviews

[Beth Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for research. I hoped for heavier emphasis on the mythological aspect, especially on Pele, but even so I found it to be a very intelligent, enlightening read. Frierson is not a native Hawaiian but was raised on the islands. She approaches the material with immense respect for native Hawaiians and a blunt assessment of the biases and damage done by missionaries and western encroachment. Her chapters on more modern issues are just as frank as she discusses modern developments near volcanoes that have erupted in the recent past and how the religion of Hawaiians is being ignored. I agreed with much of what she said, but even so, by the end it felt preachy.

I was also left torn. Her vivid descriptions left me with an intense desire to visit Hawaii for myself--but I want to see the real Hawaii, not the tacky version most tourists see. I don't want to be part of the problem.

Even though the book was skewed in a different way than I expected, I still made a dozen notations, and this is a book I will definitely keep for mythological reference.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read one other of Frierson's works, "The Last Atoll" which was one of the best pieces of "nature" writing that I've read. The Burning Island was also very fascinating. At this point, the book is dated in the sense that a lot more has happened to the Big Island since its publication in 1991, but Frierson approaches the subject with a nuance and interest that I haven't found in many other books. It would be wrong to say that this is just a book about volcanos, as it is also an examination of Hawaiian religion, worldview, and the failings of Western society to pay respect or try to understand nature's power.

[Caty Clifton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to “myth and history in volcano country”, read the 1991 1st edition.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to know how to describe this book, other than "nature writing". Frierson draws on her own experience staying on the volcano, volcanology and geology, Hawaiian traditions and tales and interviews with locals to write about the Big Island, and the intersection between humanity and volcanoes.
Reading this on the Big Island, while hot lave inched ever closer to a town in the Eastern rift zone, was quitte an experience. The heady mix of local planning policy, science and ecology, class and race, and above it all, the magnificent Pele, the personification of creation, destruction, lava, steam and human dependance, was playing out all around us. I truly appreciated Frierson's insight, and in some ways, her acknowledgement of lack of insight.
On the Big Island at least, living with Pele is all about accepting limitations, not only the beauty and inspiration of nature, but a sharp reminder of its stark power. Before getting to the island, I naively assumed this would be a plea to avoid development, in order not to damage the volcano. instead, it is an eloquent plea to avoid development that is likely to be wiped out, and people's lives with it, by a volcano. Pele needs minimum protection - she is pretty capable of looking after herself.
Of course, the kicker is, that's true of nature in general. When we cut down the trees, pollute the air and poison and overheat the seas, all we're doing is hastening our own demise, but the volcano just has an immediacy that speaks more loudly.

Frierson's concern is less the hard science of volcanology - go elsewhere for that - and more the social implications of it, whether that is how the Hawaiians view the land, and how they farm through fields of lava, or whether it is by interviewing the remaining residents of Royal Gardens, a subdivision marketed to mainland working class families in the seventies, which was rapidly reduced to rubble in the 1980s, shortly after insurance companies withdrew coverage. It's easy to say that building on the side of an active volcano is a risk when you are not looking down the barrel of losing your house, or possibly worse, realising you can't afford to leave and worrying and waiting for when you are next.
At the same time, the awe of watching the volcano create new land - the whole of Hawaii was made by volcanic eruption after all - is not lost on Frierson, who sees in Hawaiian traditions, a love for the creation that is entailed in the volcano, the richness of soil infused with lava, the magnificance of the mountains with their young and craggy peaks.

The book is crying out for a new edition, with an updated introduction. I can only hope it gets one.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this before my 2-week trip to the Big Island of Hawaii and finished reading it when I got back. It was wonderful to be somewhat prepared for the geography and ecology of the place so I was primed to have a greater appreciation of places like Volcano National Park and Mauna Kea. After the trip I reveled in the lyrical descriptions of things and places I had seen, knowing exactly what the author was referencing. Yes, I too know the Ohia rainforests and tree ferns and the smoking Kilauea Caldera! I have seen the town swallowed up by a lava flow and the village of shacks built afterward! I too have stood at the narrow strip of historical petroglyph field with a stupid golf course and hotel squeezing in on both sides! I particularly enjoyed her rant about the Kona-side mega-resorts, as she put into words the frustration and bafflement I had experienced on my trip.

The first part of the book is mostly about the volcanic activity and ecological information, which was my favorite part. The second half is about the culture, which is informative and interesting but I wonder if at times she strays too much into her personal experiences and speculations. It was good to learn more about the early Islanders, their historical struggles and struggles after becoming part of the United States. I think the author is too generous in her depiction of them living in harmony with the land. It was when the first people arrived with their pigs, cows, and other livestock that the native plants and wildlife of Hawaii took their first beating from exotic species and they have changed the island forever. Europeans and their stowaways probably caused more environmental damage, but the indigenous people are far from blameless. Personally, even if it's traditional, pigs and cows are not "game" to be carefully managed for hunting purposes; on Hawaii they are ecological disasters that should be eradicated to give native species something of a chance. Sorry, got off track there. I enjoyed the book, but it probably would not have made nearly such an impact for me if I hadn't visited the island myself.

[Trilby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This probably would get a higher rating if parts of it hadn't been so dated. This 1991 Sierra Club book gives excellent chapters on natural history and anthropology of the Big Island. But you can skip chapters like the one on the then-current ongoing destruction of the housing development stupidly built on the flanks of Kilauea volcano. In the intervening years, those houses, as well as a ranger station and campgrounds have been totally wiped out by lava flows.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book, in an attempt to broaden my knowledge of Hawaii Volcano's National park. The book gives a good introduction to the mythology of the region, its history, and some history of national park formation. Books on this particular National Park are somewhat limited, but the book does hold up pretty well. Would recommend this book to anyone planning a Hawaii Volcanoes National Park trip.