Experts say the kuranui, otherwise known as moa, played a vital part in sustaining rākau Māori, crucial to the wellbeing of the taiao and the Māori language.
Experts say the kuranui, otherwise known as moa, played a vital part in sustaining rākau Māori, crucial to the wellbeing of the taiao and the Māori language.
A study found ancient moa droppings helped spread fungi crucial to native forest ecosystems.
The extinction of moa may be disrupting fungal spread and affecting forest health.
Ngāti Tarāwhai’s Tame Malcolm highlights the moa’s significance in mātauranga Māori and te reo.
The kuranui, otherwise known as moa, played a vital part in sustaining rākau Māori, crucial to the wellbeing of the taiao and the Māori language, experts say.
A new study by Manaaki Whenua–Landcare Research analysed ancient moa droppings from Te Waipounamu that showed traces of fungal DNA. Kairangahau suggests thesefungi relied on moa for spore dispersal, meaning their extinction may be disrupting both fungal spread and Aotearoa’s native forest ecosystems.
Ngāti Tarāwhai pest controller Tame Malcolm says this rangahau is complementary to mātauranga Māori about moa.
“Ehara tēnei whakaaro i te tauhou ki roto i a mātau, engari [he] taunakitanga o te hononga o te Moa ki [te] whare atua.”
“He hononga tō ngā mea katoa ki ngā mea katoa. Ki te hapa, ki te hē, ki te tūkino i te mea kotahi, ka riporipo ngā tūkinotanga ki te oranga katoa o te ngahere.”
“This idea is not new to us, but [it is] evidence of the moa’s relationship with [the] house of God.”
“Everything is related to everything. If there is a mistake, if there is a mistake, if there is damage to one thing, the damage will spread to the entire life of the forest.”
Gallacea scleroderma, the fruit-like fungi eaten by moa over 600 years ago. Photo / Noah Siegel
Researcher Alex Boast says the samples were found in Hodge Creek and Takahe Valley, though it is unclear which species of moa they belong to.
“Until now, we’ve had no evidence that any bird consumes them – including moa.”
There are believed to be at least nine species of moa, ranging from small birds under 50kg to large ones over 3m tall and 250kg. These flightless, herbivorous manu went extinct about 600 years ago.
“Tae atu ki te 1500s, i mōhio ngā tūpuna ki te Moa. Ā, tae atu ki te rautau tekau mā whitu, i kite kua mate haere.”
“Until the 1500s, the ancestors knew about the moa. And until the 17th century, it was seen to be dying out.”
Ngāti Tarāwhai pest controller Tame Malcolm says the moa has a lot of mana within the taiao and te reo Māori. Photo / Facebook
Malcolm also says the moa’s legacy lives on through te reo Māori.
“I roto i tērā waiata rongonui – Tōku Reo Tōku Ohooho – kia kore tō tatau reo e mate pera ki te Moa. E hāngai ana taua kōrero rā ki te ngaronga o te Moa, kia kaua tō tātau reo e pērā.”
“[Ka] ora tonu te Moa ki roto i te mahara o te Māori ki roto i ngā momo kupu pērā i te rau o Tītapu.”
He says tīpuna in Hawaiki enjoyed the taste of moa and wanted to know where it came from.
“Mō ngā tau 200 pea i te whakahoki [i] te kiko o te mīti o te Moa ki Hawaiki, ā, i hoki mai ētahi nō Hawaiki ki te kimi i aua reka.”
In that famous song – Tōku Reo Tōku Ohooho – may your language not die like the moa. That story is related to the loss of the Moa, so our language should not be like that."
“[Moa] lives on in the memory of the Māori in words like the tītapu leaf.”
However, Malcolm says their hunting strategies were suited to Hawaiki’s environment, not Aotearoa.
“[I] pērā tō rātau tirohanga ki te ao – [ka] kite te manu, me kapo, me aruaru, me whakapōhā hei kai mō te hōtoke.”
“[That’s] how they view the world – [when] a bird sees, it needs to be caught, it needs to be hunted, it needs to be fed for winter.”
It was here, Malcolm says, that the tīpuna noticed the birds were starting to die off – unlike in Hawaiki, which he describes as a migratory path, in contrast to Aotearoa where the birds originated.
“Tōna 200 tau i wāia a Ngāi Māori ki taua tikanga, [ka] mutu, i hurihia ngā tikanga [mō] te aru i ngā manu. I taua wā kua ahua tūreiti, [nō] reira i pērā te moa – i mate rātau.”
“It took 200 years for Māori people to get used to that practice, [and] eventually, the methods [of] following the birds were changed. At that time, it was a bit strange, [that’s] where the moa was like that – they both died.”
Malcolm says we’ve had plenty of time to adjust to our environment and now we need to learn more about how to protect it.
“Kua kite tātau i te matenga o te moa, nō reira he aha hoki ngā momo ririki o Tāne kua pērā te haere ināianei, he aha hoki ngā mahi kia kaupare i tērā āhuatanga kia kore tātau e kite i tērā i tēnei ao.”
“We have seen the death of the moa, so why are the small species of tane going like that now, and what should be done to avoid that situation so that we don’t see that in this world.”
More study is needed as this gradual turnover of fungal communities continues. What is clear, the scientists say, is the long-term consequences of moa loss on the overall health of native ecosystems are still unfolding, some 600 years down the track.
