Kiore in Māori culture

Kiore, Pacific rat, Rattus exulans

When people arrived and settled in Aotearoa, the kiore (Pacific rat) came with them. Kiore were an important source of protein for Māori, as indicated by the abundant remains of bones in sites where Māori lived.

An early Pākehā (European) explorer describes his Māori guides cooking ‘a meal of delicious little rats for dinner, which to my taste, are quite equal to the frogs in France.’(1) Like kererū (wood pigeons), kiore were harvested when they had feasted on certain berries, such as miro, which infused their flesh with a delectable flavour.

Cooked and preserved in their own fat kiore were often traded or saved for important manuhiri (guests) such as rangatira (leaders).

A vivid description of Māori eating European rats shows that kiore were also cooked in a more immediate fashion. ‘When shifting the [wheat] stack … the Māori came over…to assist in killing rats … When one was wanted for cooking he was covered with soft clay and put into the fire. When cooked he was raked out of the fire, and when cool enough to handle was knocked on a stone or hit with a stick to crack the baked cake encasing him. When opened out the hair and scarf skin adhered to the inner surface of the clay, and the flesh looked white like chicken. A dexterous twist with the thumbnail scooped out the entrails in a round ball. All was eaten save a few of the large bones and the tail.’ (2)
 
A number of whakataukī (proverbs) about kiore indicate that these creatures were an everyday part of Māori life. ‘Ko tini o parakiore’ means ‘a swarm of rats’ and refers to a place swarming with people. ‘Ka titi kiore, ka hoki mai’ means ‘When you hear the squeak of the rat, return home.’ This whakataukī directs children to come home as evening falls – the time when kiore become active.

Sometimes a person of high rank was named after the kiore. A hapū (sub-tribe) of Tūhoe from the Urewera ranges, Ngāti Kiore Kino, takes its name from the kiore.

When European rats established, kiore did not compete well with them. The ship rat or black rat (Rattus rattus) arrived first and was closely followed by the brown rat or Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus). Both species spread quickly throughout the country.

More introduced predators such as feral cats, weasels, and stoats have played a part in the decline of the kiore. Kiore are considered the third most populous rodent in the world. Still widespread throughout the Pacific, in Aotearoa New Zealand kiore are now found only on offshore islands and Fiordland.

References
1. Trotter, M & McCulloch, B. (1989) Unearthing New Zealand, GP Books: Wellington, pp 54-55
2. Trotter, M & McCulloch, B. (1989) Unearthing New Zealand, GP Books: Wellington, p 55

Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database (2006)