Kapi ai a Āhia me Te Moananui-a-Kiwa i te kiore (Rattus exulans). Ko te whakapae, i ahu mai i te tonga-mā-rāwhiti o Āhia, ka marara ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa i runga i ngā waka o ngā tāngata tōmua. Nō te rau tau 1200 ka ū ngā waka o ngā tīpuna o te iwi Māori ki Aotearoa, ko te kiore tētahi o ngā utanga.
He iti tēnei momo kiore, 11 ki te 13 henemita noa iho te roa o te tinana, kāpā te whiore, ā, e 60 ki te 80 koma te taumaha. He parauri te tinana, he kiwikiwi he mā te tae o te puku.
Ko te kiore te ingoa noa o tēnei kararehe ki Aotearoa nei, heoi, arā atu anō ngā ingoa: maunga-rua, mō te kiore rahi; tāpapa, he kiore ora te tipu; toro-kaha, he kiore nui; toko-roa, he kiore kiritea; hāmua, he tohu aituā, kīhai i kainga.
Hei ngā awatea, ka noho te kiore ki roto i te rua, ki roto rānei i te rākau hinga. Hei ngā pō puta ai ki te kai. Hei te takurua hopukina ai te kiore. Koinei te wā e mōmona ana te kiore – he tūpuhi rawa i te raumati. Ka mōmona haere te kiore, ka huri te tae o ngā huruhuru, he tohu ki te putu o te kai me te tata haere o te kōanga. He tino kai a te kiore te hīnau, inarā te whakataukī, ‘Mā wai e kai te hīnau, te kame a te kiore.’ I tua atu i te hīnau, kainga ai te miro, te tawa, te tawai, te karamū, te taraire, te kohekohe, te pūriri, te patatē. He tino kai hoki te tāwhara o te kiekie. Ko tētahi mahi ko te here i ngā rau o te kiekie ki runga ake i te tāwhara kia kore ai e kainga e te kiore i mua i te mahinga.
Ka kai anō te kiore i ngā hua me ngā pīpī o ngā manu, ngā mokomoko, ngā poraka, ngā ngārara. Nā te mahi a te kiore ka ngaro ētahi manu ki te pō.
Nō te rau tau atu i 1700 ka tae te Pākehā me ngā kiore o Nōwei (rattus norvegicus) ki Aotearoa. I te rau tau 1800 ka tae ake ngā kiore noho kaipuke (ship rat, Rattus rattus). Ko ētahi o ngā ingoa Māori mō ēnei kiore ko te pou-o-Hawaiki, ko muritai. Nā ēnei kiore me te mauhi i tutetute te kiore māori i ngā wāhi kai me ngā wāhi noho. Taka rawa mai ki te tekau tau atu i 1920, ko te whakapae kua mate ā-moa te kiore. Heoi, e ai ki te kōrero kei te ora tonu te kiore ki Te Rua-o-te-moko (Fiordland), ki Rakiura, tae atu ki ētahi atu moutere hāhā.
Ahakoa te iti, he nui te wāhi ki te kiore i ngā rangahau pūtaiao. I arumia ngā tapuwae o ngā kaihōpara tōmua ki Te Moananui-a-Kiwa, mā te tātari i ngā pītau-ira o ngā kiore mai i tēnā moutere, i tēnā moutere.
Ko te kōrero a Ngāti Wai o Te Tai Tokerau, ko rātou te iwi kaitiaki i te kiore. Whakapono ai a Ngāti Wai me te nui noa atu o te iwi Māori, me atawhai te kiore, nā tōna wāhi nui i roto i ngā kōrero tuku iho me ngā tikanga. Hāunga tēnei, kāore he paku āwhina a te ture. Kua kite a Te Papa Atawhai i ngā tūkinotanga a te kiore ki ngā manu, ngā mokomoko, ngā ngārara. Nā runga i tēnei, kua patua katoatia ngā kiore i ngā moutere kei raro i te mana o te Karauna. Heoi, kua tīmata a Te Papa Atawhai ki te aro ki ngā whakaaro o te iwi Māori mō te kiore, i runga i tēnā, ka whitiwhiti kōrero me ngā iwi i mua i te patunga.
He pānga tō te kiore ki te kūmara. Nā Rongo-māui te kūmara o te rangi i tāhae i tōna tuakana a Whānui, ka mau ki te whenua i roto i ōna raho. Ka moe a Rongo-māui i tana wahine a Pani, ka hua ko te kūmara o te whenua. E unuhia ai te tapu o te rangi, ka tunua e Pani te kūmara. Heoi, i te whānautanga a Pani i te kūmara, i reira a Māui-tikitiki-a-Taranga e mātaki ana, ka whiua e ia te kōrero ki te iwi, kei te kai rātou i ngā para o te wahine rā. Nā te whakamā, ka heke a Pani rāua ko tana pōtiki a Hinemataiti ki Mataora. Nāwai ā, ka matika a Hinemataiti hei tipuna o te kiore. Pērā i tōna matua a Rongo-māui, kāhakina ai e Hinemataiti ngā kūmara a Pani mai i ngā rua.
Ko te kōrero a ētahi iwi, ko Hinamoki te matua o te kiore. Ko hinamoki hoki te ingoa o tētahi momo kiore.
I te hoenga o Aotea, o Horouta, o Māmari ki Aotearoa, he kiore tētahi o ngā utanga. Tērā te marae o Te Ōhākī kei Ahipara, ka kōrero ngā whakairo i te matapihi o te tipuna whare mō ngā kiore a Ruanui, te rangatira o te waka a Māmari. Nō te ūnga ki te awa o Hokianga, ka tuku e Ruanui āna kiore mōkai ki Motukiore.
Maharatia ai te kiore i ngā ingoa o ngā tāngata, ngā whare nui, ngā tohu o te whenua, ngā tipu, tae atu ki ngā kararehe. He wāhi a Niho-o-te-kiore me Motu-kiore, he ingoa kōtiro a Hine-kiore, he momo tipu te tūtae-kiore. Tērā a Kiore, he kāhui whetū; tērā ngā momo tauira tā moko, whakairo, a kiri-kiore me pū-kiore.
Ahakoa tana reka hei kai, i te ao Māori, he kupu whakarite te kiore mō te ngoi-kore. Ko te kōrero ‘he uaua kiore’ mō te tangata kāore he take. Waihoki, ko te kōrero ‘he uaua parāoa’ mō te tangata kaha. Mēnā he pākiwaha te tangata, kua kīia ‘He nanakia aha tō te kiore nanakia?’
Whakahuatia ai te kiore ki ngā whakataukī, ngā waiata, ngā haka. Tērā te kōrero ‘Ko tini o para kiore’, mo tētahi wāhi muia e te tini tangata. ‘Honoa te hono a te kiore,’ te kupu whakahau a Karetehe o Ngāi Tūhoe ki āna toa. Waihoki, ka mōhio āna toa me whai rātou tētahi i tētahi, kia pakaru ai te taua o te hoariri.
Ki te Māori he kai nui te kiore māori. Kāore tēnei momo kiore i kawe mate pērā i ētahi atu kiore. Ka rāhui tēnā iwi me tēnā iwi i ētahi wāhi i te ngahere kia ora ai te tipu o te kiore, ā, hei ngā wā e tika ana ka mahia hei kai. Nō te hapū, nō te iwi ēnei rāhui kiore, kore rawa e tukua noatia tangata kē ki te whāwhā. Me whakaae rā anō te tangata whenua kātahi anō ka āhei te rāwaho kia kuhu ki te rāhui mahi kiore ai.
He tikanga kei runga i te mahi kiore. Ahakoa papatahi, ahakoa poupou, ka whakatakotoria ngā tāwhiti me ngā pokipoki ki ngā ara kiore i te wao. Keria ai he paepae-kiore kia taka ai ngā kiore ki roto, tē puta.
Ka patua te kiore, ka hūtia te kiri, ka taona ki te ahi, ki te hāngī rānei, kātahi ka huahuatia ki te tahā, ki te hinu kiore tonu. Ko te huahua kiore te tino kai hei tāpae ki mua i te aroaro o te manuhiri tūārangi.
Ko ngā whata me ngā pātaka hei pupuri kai, kei taea e te kiore. Ko te kōrero whakaōhiti ki te hunga hanga i ngā whata, i ngā pātaka, “He pou pai ka eketia e te kiore, he pou kino e kore e eketia.’ Otirā, ki te whakairotia ngā pou, ka āhei te kiore te kake ki runga. Tērā anō he whakamārama mō te kōrero nei e mea ana, kaua e whakaatu ō taonga me ō rawa ki te ao, kei haere mai he nanakia ki te whānako.
Hei ngā takurua ka puritia ngā kai ki roto i ngā whata me ngā pātaka. Ka tū ngā whata me ngā pātaka i runga pou, kia kore ai e taea e ngā kiore ngā kai.
Nā te wāhi nui o te kiore ki te Māori, ka noho hei taonga tauhokohoko. Ko te tikanga o te kaihaukai, ko te hora i ngā huahua kiore i ngā hākari i waenganui i ngā iwi ki tai me ngā iwi ki uta. Hei ētahi wā ka whakataetae ngā iwi, ka hora kaihaukai kia kitea ai nā wai te hākari nui rawa atu i hora. Ka nui atu te mana o te iwi ki te hora he hākari nui rawa atu, reka rawa atu ki mua i te aroaro o te manuhiri; whāia, ka mate taua iwi iti ki te tuku whakaaro, taonga, kai, aha atu ki te iwi hora tahua nui, tahua roa.
E ai ki ngā kōrero, tērā tētahi hākari nui whakaharahara kiīa ai ko ngā-tau-tuku-roa, nā Te Rehunga o Te Matau-a-Māui i whakataka, hei utu mō te kupu taunu. Ka horahia he huahua kiore e te rangatira rā. Waihoki, ka mihi tōna hoa tauwhāinga a Tama-i-waho ki a Te Rehunga, ka tukua he pito whenua mōna. Hei whakapūmau i tāna i tāpae, ka whakanoho e Tama-i-waho he kiore huhuti ki ngā paenga o te whenua tuku. Ka tapaina te wāhi nei ko Takapau, mō te whāriki i horahia ai te hākari a Te Rehunga.
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Best, Elsdon. The Māori. Christchurch: Kiwi, 2002 (originally published 1924).
Haami, Bradford. Cultural knowledge and traditions relating to the kiore rat in Aotearoa. Part 1: a Maori perspective. Science and Mathematics Education Papers. Hamilton: University of Waikato, 1993.
Roberts, Mere. Scientific knowledge and cultural traditions. Part 2: a Pakeha view of the kiore rat in New Zealand. Science and Mathematics Education Papers. Hamilton: University of Waikato, 1993.
Roberts, Mere, and others. ‘Whakapapa as a Maori mental construct: some implications for the debate over genetic modification of organisms.’ The Contemporary Pacific 16, no. 1 (Spring 2004): 1–28.