After discovering Tāne was both her husband and father, Hine-tītama transformed into Hine-nui-te-pō, guardian of the realm of the dead. She famously killed Māui when he tried to win immortality by crawling through her body. In literature, she embodies the inevitability of death and the sacred boundary between life and afterlife. Poets reference her to explore mortality, transformation, and the dignity of ancestral passage.

Hine-nui-te-pō is the goddess of death, night, and the underworld, originally known as Hine-tītama until she discovered Tāne was both her husband and father. She fled to the realm of pō (darkness) and became its guardian. She is often depicted with greenstone teeth and obsidian eyes. In Māui’s failed quest for immortality, he attempted to crawl through her body but was crushed—symbolizing the inevitability of death. In poetry, she embodies transformation, ancestral memory, and compassionate finality. Contemporary Māori writers often reclaim her as a protective, not fearsome, figure. Avoid colonial portrayals of her as monstrous; instead, emphasize her role as kaitiaki (guardian) of the dead.