Maori warriors perform a Haka, meaning dance of welcome
Hine-nui-te-pō and Māui
Hine-nui-te-pō ("Great woman of night") in Maori legends, is a
goddess of night and she receives the spirits of humans when they die.
This is a carving of Hine-nui-te-pō, the goddess of death, as Māui the demigod attempts to kill her by entering her and exiting through her mouth. Māui failed to overcome Hine-nui-te-pō, meaning humans would continue to die, and be welcomed by their ancestor, the great goddess of the night and of death.
The Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand. Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350.