Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 19, Number 9, 1 September 2002 — ʻIole -- the Hawaiian rat -- figures prominently in ancient stories [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻIole -- the Hawaiian rat -- figures prominently in ancient stories

£ 1 ^kolu "iole makapō, 'ekolu 'iole |H makapō, 'ekolu 'iolemakapō ... thatis /all I ean remember of ihe childhood rhyme that was so mueh fun to sing. There probably are very few who are amused to recall this song right now, as ihe ciole are causing mueh distress on all islands. Recent drought condi-

tions throughout the state have caused ihe 'iole to venture ever closer into human living areas in search of food. The great pilikia is that'iole may be infected wilh

typhus. Fleas that live on infected rodents ean bite humans and

spread this disease. Typhus causes flu-like symptoms, headache, body aches, fever, nausea, vomiting and rash. Anyone wilh these symptoms needs to see a

doctor immediately for antibiotics. Kupuna and keiki are especially vulnerable. Controlling ihe rodents and fleas

difficult, particularly if you have pets and if there are areas in your yard where ihe 'iole ean hide and nest. Dead miee may still be full of fleas. To protect yourself from these pests, you must have rodent traps in ihe areas where miee and rats are

plentiful and a way to eliminate the trappedones; elean up ihe pet areas regularly; do not leave uneaten food in pet disb.es and store all pet food in metal containers wilh a tight fitting lid (rats have been known to eat through lighter weight plastic containers); and clear ihe yard of breeding areas, like clumps of long grasses and weeds, over-grown low plants and clutter of all kinds.

These nocturnal creatures love to e a t

fruit off trees or on ihe ground. In He'eia there is a plaee called 'Iolekah. It is a pali with a small pool at its base. A eouple of mocolelotell how ihe name "rolling rat" eame about. One story talks of

Pi'koiaka'alalā, a little boy who saw a big rat at ihe ton of the nali while «ailinp-

with friends in ihe oeean outside of Kualoa. His friends did not believe him when he insisted that he could see the rat had nibbled on 'awa root and was drunk. Pi'koi shot one arrow wilh his bow and hit the rat. He challenged his friends to send a man to ihe pali to look for ihe

'iole. One of ihe paddlers went ashore and ran to He'eia. To his amazement he found ihe anow hadbeen shot through ihe rat's nose and ihe "iole was pinned to ihe base of ihe pali. Another mocolelo tells of an on-going feud between ihe kama'āina rats of He'eia and those that lived in other areas of ihe island, such as 'Ewa, Honolulu and Waialua. The malihini rats frequently went up ihe trail to ihe top of ihe Ko1 olau mountains overlooking He'eia to snoop and look down on the kama'āina rats. The kama'āina rats were always friendly andpleasant to ihe newcomers and offered to show ihem a safe route down ihe dangerously steep trail on

the Heceia side. The kama'āina rats would take the newcomers about halfway down the trail until they reached a green, mossy rock, wet from water that seeped out of ihe pali. "This is not dangerous,"

they would say as they stepped wilh ihe malīhini onto ihe slippery rock. Then, the cunning kama'āina rat would jump onto a small ledge on ihe side and watch ihe malihini rat slip, fall and tumble down ihe steep pali. At ihe bottom of ihe pali was a deep pool. On the way down, ihe malihini rat would be knocked unconscious, would fall into ihe pool and drown. The saying was that you could always tell ihe rats from Heceia because ihe soles of their feet were red from ihe soil, while ihe malihini rats had feet that were white or black. The 'iole is known for its quick movements and, as ihe second mo'olelo shows, its quick wit and cunning. Today, we also know to watch out for ihe potential danger this rodent canies wilh it. ■

Mf>T)I F' o \A]oxO O

By Claiie Hughes, Dr.P.HJR.D. - Devartment of Healih