Hinenuitepō
Hine-nui-te-pō
6 min read
Hine-nui-te-pō is the goddess of night and death in the Māori mythology of New Zealand. As guardian of the underworld (Rarohenga), she welcomes the souls of the dead. According to the myth, she killed the hero Māui, who was trying to win immortality for humankind.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Goddess of night and death in Māori mythology, ruling over Rarohenga (the underworld)
- Daughter of the god Tāne and Hine-ahuone, the first woman shaped from clay
- Originally named Hine-tītama, she fled into the afterworld upon discovering that Tāne was both her father and her husband
- Caused the death of the demigod Māui, who sought to make humans immortal by passing through her body
- A figure handed down by oral tradition, with no precise date, in pre-colonial Māori cosmogony
Works & Achievements
Descending into Rarohenga, Hine-tītama becomes Hine-nui-te-pō and establishes the welcoming of departed souls, founding the bond between the living and the world below.
By crushing the hero Māui as he tried to conquer death, she fixes humanity's mortal nature forever — one of the major aetiological tales of Māori culture.
She rules over the underworld and receives spirits there, ensuring continuity between the generations and the ancestors.
Her genealogy, descended from Tāne and Papatūānuku, structures the Māori creation stories passed down orally and through carvings (whakairo).
Anecdotes
Hine-nui-te-pō was not born under that name. According to the myth, she was first called Hine-tītama, daughter of the god Tāne. Upon discovering that her husband Tāne was also her father, she fled in shame to the underworld, where she became the guardian of the dead. Her former name meant “maiden of the dawn,” her new one “great woman of the night.”
The hero Māui sought to win immortality for humankind by passing through the sleeping body of Hine-nui-te-pō, hoping to emerge from her mouth. He asked the birds accompanying him not to laugh. But the little pīwakawaka (the fantail) could not hold back and chirped: the goddess awoke and crushed Māui, sealing the mortality of humankind.
In Māori tradition, the eyes of Hine-nui-te-pō are described as green jade (pounamu), her mouth as that of a barracouta fish with sharp teeth, and her hair as seaweed. This striking description underscores her role as the fearsome sovereign of the realm of the dead.
For the Māori, to die is not merely an end but a return to Hine-nui-te-pō, who welcomes souls like an ancestor. Far from being only frightening, she is also a protective figure who watches over the dead in Rarohenga, the world below.
Primary Sources
Māui said to his companions the birds: “My little friends, whatever you do, do not laugh when you see me crawl into the body of this old chieftainess; laugh only when you see me come out again from her mouth, then you may burst out laughing.”
It is taught that the soul of the dead descends to the Reinga, and from there to the Pō, the realm of night ruled by Hine-nui-te-pō, where the spirits of the ancestors dwell.
Hine-titama, having learned the truth about Tāne, told him to remain in the world of light to raise their children, while she herself would descend to receive them in the world below; and so she became Hine-nui-te-pō.
Key Places
Underground realm of the dead ruled by Hine-nui-te-pō, where the souls of the deceased are welcomed among the ancestors. A mythical place, sunless yet peaceful.
The northern tip of New Zealand from which, according to Māori belief, the spirits of the dead leap to join the world of the ancestors and Hine-nui-te-pō.
The primordial domain of darkness over which Hine-nui-te-pō reigns as the great sovereign, set in opposition to Te Ao Mārama, the world of light belonging to the living.
Land of the Māori people, where the oral tradition of Hine-nui-te-pō was born and passed down from generation to generation.