AVAIKI

[Polynesian] The Polynesian nether world, where the spirits live, who may ascend to this world through a hole in the ground. According to this view, Avaiki is the 'root of the world' from which the rest of the earth was created, the home of Rongo and his family. From there he built up the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Avaiki was constructed by the gods in a series of strata, with spaces separated by ceilings like caves, and tunnels giving access to its halls. In the lowest of these halls lives Varima-te-Takere, the Goddess of Beginning. According to some descriptions, Avaiki is a huge oven or fireplace for roasting all the dead who will subsequently be devoured by Miru, the goddess of the underworld.