Rarohenga is the subterranean realm where spirits of the deceased dwell after death, according to Māori oral tradition.[1] The underworld is ruled by Hine-nui-te-pō, the goddess of death and night. Additional occupants include guardians, gods, goddesses, holy chiefs and nobles (rangatira), and the tūrehu, who are described as celestial, fairy-like people.[2] Rarohenga is predominantly depicted as a place of peace and light.[3] As articulated by Māori ethnographer Elsdon Best: It is a place where darkness is unknown.[3] "This is the reason why, of all spirits of the dead since the time of Hine-ahuone…, not a single one has ever returned hither to dwell in this world".[3]
In contemporary Māori society, Rarohenga continues to hold a collective, cultural significance.[2] This is a result of several prominent rituals that originate from the underworld, that are still commonly practiced today. This includes facial tattooing (ta moko), finger twining (taniko), tribal woodcarving (moko whakatara), and the art of weaving (raranga).[4][5] It is recorded that these art forms were first introduced to the human world by figures who travelled into Rarohenga and were bestowed with the sacred techniques to improve the secular world.[5]
Contemporary texts suggest that traditional records and accounts of Māori mythological sites, like Rarohenga, experienced substantial modification to accommodate the dominant missionary scriptures that were introduced during 19th century colonisation of New Zealand.[4] It is argued that these alterations occurred during translation by non-Māori authors, resulting in variations of Māori mythology to be extremely common.[4] The geography of Rarohenga incorporates several different non-physical, immaterial locations that are recorded in myth. There are also several material locations scattered across both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.