2. The last efforts of the king, Hotu A Matua, were directed towards digging wells (aga i te vai). Then he enjoyed a drink of fresh water (vai mauga mo unu) at Hua Reva. These two activities were announcing which way he was going, he was going down.

Next in the chain of events must come his death and being buried:

... They buried him in Hare O Ava. They dug a grave, dug it very deep, and lined it with stones (he paenga). When that was done, they lowered the dead into the grave ...

The grave is the nadir of living. Gravity will sooner of later pull everyone down. It is a necessary step in preparing for next generation. A grave down in Mother Earth is like the womb of a gravid woman.

From the bottom station new life will grow. Inside a juicy fruit there is a kernel and it must be put down into earth in order to succeed.

The experiences of early agriculture identified a connection with what happens above: Excepting the circumpolar stars, which are of a special kind, all stars rise up in the east and descend in the west. They come from somewhere below the horizon, from some cave (ana), and they are swallowed again after their cycle of visibility has been completed. Then follows another cycle down below before it is time to rise again.