I’m back from a fantastic vacation in Hawaii, so I wanted to return with a Hawaiian Goddess. We went to see Madame Pele, but alas, she seems to have been on vacation too—no lava! Ah well, we danced with Laka and reveled in the beauty of Hi’iaka. No sign of this Goddess, but maybe that’s a good thing—not sure that’s something I want my kids to see flying around!

Kapo is the Hawaiian Goddess of magic. She is the sister of Pele, Goddess of volcanoes, and mother of Laka, Goddess of the hula. Kapo was able to change her shape at will, but she is mostly known for another talent—she was able to detach her vagina from her body and send it where she liked. One time, she used her kohe lele (flying vagina) to save her sister Pele from being raped. Pele, wandering near her home at Kilauea on Hawaii’s Big Island, was being stalked by Kamapua’a, a God who was half man and half pig. Just as he was about to force himself on Pele, Kapo sensed her sister’s plight and threw her vagina past Kamapua’a’s face. He immediately forgot about Pele and started to chase Kapo’s vagina, following it all the way to the island of Oahu where it landed, forming the Koholepelepe Crater (more commonly known as Koko Crater) next to Hanauma Bay. The kohe lele then returned itself to Kapo, leaving Kamapua’a alone on the rocks. Kapo’s name, which means “darkness,” is also seen as Kapo-’ula-kina’u (red-spotted Kapo), Kapo-kohe-lele (Kapo of the flying vagina), and Kapo-ma’i-lele (Kapo of the flying genitals).

Takotsi Nakawe is the Huichol Goddess of the earth. She is the mother of all of the other Gods and of all plant and animal life on the earth. Her children include Tatevali, God of fire, and the four rain serpent Goddesses, Tate Hautse Kupuri, Tate Kyewimoka, Tate Naaliwami, and Tate Rapawiyama. Takotsi Nakawe’s name means “grandmother growth.”

Chekechani is the Anyanja Goddess of the morning star. The Anyanja people of Malawi say that she is one of the wives of the moon God—his other wife, Puikani, is the Goddess of the evening star (although sources disagree over which is the morning star and which is the evening star). The moon God lives with Chekechani for two weeks, during which time she neglects to feed him and he wastes away to nothing. When he goes to live with Puikani for the following two weeks, she feeds him very well and he grows back to his full self.