Idol Worship-Offerings Littering U.S. Volcano

The Associated Press:
Rangers are starting a program to stop people from leaving religious offerings at the summit of Mount Kilauea -- including food they say attracts rats and cockroaches. Visitors leave 45 pounds of offerings at Halemaumau Crater each week, including flowers, bottles, money, incense, candles and crystals, park rangers say. But food offerings are the most problematic. One ranger recently found a whole, cooked piglet replete with a papaya, orange and apple in a cardboard box. The rotting offerings pose a hazard to the endangered nene goose, the state bird, the park service said. Some Hawaiians believe lava is the physical representation of the fire goddess Pele, making the volcano summit sacred.

Posted by Editor at April 23, 2007 04:05 AM