Nor was the descent to Te Reinga or Hades a _facilis descensus Averni_.

After the death-chant had ceased, and the soul had left the body--left it lying surrounded by weeping blood-relations marshalled in due order--it started on a long journey.

Among the Maoris the dead were laid with feet pointing to the north, as it was thither that the soul's road lay.

At the extreme north end of New Zealand was a spot _Muri Whenua_--Land's End.

Here was the Spirits' Leap.