Hine-nui-te-po killed Maui with the obsidian teeth lining her body when the piwakawaka's laughter woke her. The fantail's failure to remain silent is blamed in Maori tradition for the permanence of human mortality.
The pīwakawaka accompanied Maui on his quest to conquer death, but its uncontrollable laughter woke Hine-nui-te-pō as Maui crawled through her body, dooming the trickster and sealing mortality for all humanity.
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