According to some Māori traditions, Pani tinaku, who gave birth to the kūmara (sweet potato), also gave birth to a girl, Hinemataiti. Hinemataiti became the ancestor of kiore Māori (Māori rat: Mus exulans). However, according to other iwi (tribal) legends, it was Tāne (god of the forest) who created the kiore, and, as he was also the creator of humans, there was a kinship between the two species. For example, the Ngāti Ruanui and Ngāti Wai tribes of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland) both include kiore as part of their whakapapa (genealogy).
Ancient Māori voyagers are said to have brought the kiore to Aotearoa from Polynesia aboard the Aotea waka (canoe), although other waka are occasionally said to have transported them.
The kiore ate many different kinds of berries, including hīnau, miro, kahikatea, patatē, hua tawai, and the flowers of the kiekie (tree epiphyte). The kiore were usually in good condition for catching and eating during late autumn and winter, and were a high-protein delicacy.
Māori caught kiore by the setting of paepae kiore (rat snares). Paepae kiore are made from mānuka bark, aka pirita (supplejack), and muka (flax fibre). They were baited with kūmara (sweet potato) and set on a kiore track. When a kiore entered the opening of the paepae kiore to eat the bait, its head would be caught in a snare that tightened around its neck, and its foot would trigger a spring that jerked its head up and strangled it. When many kiore had been caught, they were skinned, cooked, and preserved in their own fat in taha huahua (gourds) until needed.