A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

The rat lives in a burrow at Taanea in Vavaʻu. On the arrival of the two Maui figures it rushes from the entrance toward them, is struck and retreats underground. The narrative says it has eaten so many people that nobody can live nearby. This establishes an extraordinary human predator in a specific place, while leaving its measured size, colour and individual name unstated.

The hunters argue over which of them will dig at the entrance and which will wait at the breathing vent. Atalanga eventually digs while Kijikiji watches the secondary exit. The rat emerges there and is seized and choked. The episode is brief and its profile stays proportionate to the evidence; it does not invent a prolonged reign, further victims or an origin through a curse. Its defeat is part of a larger account of the Mauis removing dangers from inhabited land, but it remains distinct from their later encounters in ʻEua.

Human-eating behaviourBurrow with a breathing ventDefeated during a coordinated hunt
01

Origins & earliest records

The selected witness is E. E. V. Collocott’s 1921 article in Folklore, volume 32, pp. 45–58. The eHRAF catalogue identifies a Tongan-language missionary journal as the immediate collection context. The English publication dates this witness rather than the oral beginning; that earlier journal text has not been independently collated here.

02

Records & interpretation

The burrow, two entrances and coordinated killing are narrated evidence for a dangerous rat. The source gives no dimensions or natural-history identification; its human predation is a story claim, not an observation of ordinary rats.

In the literature

“choked to death”
E. E. V. Collocott · Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32
p50; pp49–50; Dangerous Creatures, Taanea rat

The creature’s narrated defeat.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui, pp. 49–50

    E. E. V. Collocott (printed signature Collcott) · 1921

    Selected public primary pages read in full, including continuations. English missionary-era presentation is attributed, and its judgments are not treated as community consensus.

  2. 02

    Legends from Tonga. The Maui

    Ernest Edgar Vyvyan Collocott (E. E. V. Collocott) · 1921

    E. E. V. Collocott, Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32 (1921), pp45–58; proofread Wikisource page transcription inspected, facsimile not independently checked.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Primary source witness

E. E. V. Collocott, Legends from Tonga. The Maui, Folklore32 (1921), pp45–58; proofread Wikisource page transcription inspected, facsimile not independently checked.

  1. Atalanga digs while Kijikiji intercepts the escaping man-eating rat at its ventilation opening and strangles it.

    pp49–50; Dangerous Creatures, Taanea rat

Printed45–57 selected narrative pages inspected; sacred descendant catalogue and ceremonial formula excerpts excluded. No uninspected original informant identity or facsimile verification claimed. No global public-domain claim. Author died1970, independently verified in Australian Dictionary of Biography / National Library of New Zealand. Underlying1921 text treated conservatively as protected; site footer is not proof of globally free underlying copyright. Shared article budget24 words including duplicate short quotations/evidence in both outputs; no further excerpts.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 49Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. Primary textLegends from Tonga, Folklore 32 (1921), printed p. 50Research access: 2026-10-05
  3. ReferenceeHRAF catalogue: Legends from Tonga, 1921, collection contextResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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