Page "Hine-nui-te-pō" Paragraph 2

One day, while Tāne was away, Hine-ata-uira began to wonder who her father was.

She was disgusted and ashamed when she heard that her husband was also her father, and she ran away.

When Tāne came back he was told that she had run off to the spirit-world, and he quickly followed after.

But he was stopped from entering by Hine herself, in her new role as goddess of the underworld.

" Go back, Tāne ", she said to him, " and raise our children.

Let me remain here to gather them in.

" So Tāne came back to the upper world, while Hine stayed below, waiting only for Māui to bring death into the world, and begin the never-ending procession of mortals to her realm ( Biggs 1966: 449 ).