My home on Kaupili Street in Leilani Estates returned to Pele on May 27, completely disappearing below the lava without a trace.

I never did like the subdivision’s name. After I moved there in 1992, I discovered this area is an ahupua‘a the Hawaiians of old named Ke-ahi-a-laka — “the fire of Laka.”

According to William Drake Westervelt’s 1916 book, “Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes,” Pele first stopped at Ke-ahi-a-laka and later encountered Ai-laau, to whom Kilauea originally belonged. According to the legend, Ai-laau greatly feared Pele, quietly relinquished his claim on the land without incident, and left peaceably.

My humble suggestion would be to reclaim the original ancient name Ke-ahi-a-laka for Fissure 8, and remember the story of Pele and Ai-laau (“Kilauea lava upsurge dies down; naming new fissure heats up,” Star-Advertiser, Sept. 18).

Kevin Roddy

St. Louis Heights

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