Princess Ruth Keʻelikōlani

Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani
Written by Kristin Zambucka

This pictorial biography is a colorful account of the life and times of the controversial Princess Ruth (1826–1883), one of the last chiefesses of old Hawai‘i.

Ruth never left the islands throughout her life–Hawai‘i was her world–and stubbornly, she clung to the old Hawaiian ways, ignoring the missionaries and their growing influence.

When the lava flow of 1881 threatened the town of Hilo, the High Chiefess was credited with stopping the fiery molten rock in its tracks by interceding with Pele, the goddess of volcanoes.