The Religions Book

33

See also: Preparing for the afterlife 58–59 ■ Living the Way of the

Gods 82–85

A

ccording to Maori belief,

death did not exist at the

beginning of the world but

was brought into being following

an act of incest. In one version

of the Maori myth, the forest

god Tane grew up between and

separated his parents—Rangi,

the sky god, and Papa, the earth

goddess—because they forced him

to live in darkness. He then asked

his mother to marry him, but when

Papa explained that this could not

be, Tane shaped a woman from

mud and mated with her.

The result of this union was

a beautiful child—Hine-titama.

She became Tane’s wife, unaware

that he was also her father. One

day, however, she discovered

the terrible truth, and descended

in shame to the darkness of Po,

the underworld; it was from this

moment that humankind’s descent

to the realm of death began.

When Tane visited his wife, she

told him, “Stay in the world of light,

and foster our offspring. Let me

stay in the world of darkness, and

drag our offspring down.” She then

became known as Hine-nui-te-po,

the goddess of darkness and

death. In an attempt to overturn

the course of events and regain

immortality on behalf of human

beings, the trickster hero Maui

raped Hine-nui-te-po as she slept,

believing that after this act she

would die, and that death would

also cease to exist. But Hine-nui-

te-po awoke during the attack and

squeezed Maui to death with her

thighs, thereby ensuring that

mortality would remain in the

world forever. ■

PRIMAL BELIEFS

The trees, plants, and creatures

of the forest were believed by the Maori

to be offspring of Tane, the forest god.

Before felling a tree they therefore

made an offering to the spirits.

IN CONTEXT

KEY BELIEVERS
Maori

WHEN AND WHERE
From prehistory,
New Zealand

BEFORE
2nd and 3rd millennia BCE
Ancestors of the Polynesian
people spread across the
Pacific Ocean, possibly from
origins in Asia. Their ritual
practices and mythology
develop independently but
retain parallels across this
vast region.

Before 1300 CE The Maori
people settle in New Zealand.

AFTER
Early 19th century European
settlement begins. Some Maori
convert to Christianity.

1840 The Treaty of Waitangi
formalizes relations between
whites and Maori.

Today Around 620,000 Maori
are resident in New Zealand.

WHY DO

WE DIE?

THE ORIGIN OF DEATH