Kererü featured in traditional Mäori legends, waiata (songs) and whakataukï (proverbs). The story of Mäui (Mäui-pötiki), the mischievous man-god, dressed in his mother's apron to imitate the kererü and following her into the underworld is well known. Mäui wanted to know where his mother, Taranga, went every day at dawn so to slow her departure he hid her clothes one night. In the morning Taranga had to leave hastily without them. With Mäui watching her, she disappeared into a secret hole in the earth. Wearing Taranga's apron he transformed into a kererü and followed her. It is now thought the beautiful colours of the kererü are Taranga's clothes.

Mäori were very familiar with their surroundings but when something abnormal appeared in the forests, like a white (albino) kererü, a manu teko was thought of as an omen and incredibly sacred or tapu. Generally this bird would not be hunted or eaten unless specific karakia (incantations) were first used as a protection against any unforeseen consequences for taking it.

Over generations Māori accrued knowledge on the ecology, hunting, and preparation of kererū, referred to today as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). This knowledge requires an understanding of forest ecology such as tree location and seasonal variation of food, the general biology of the kererū, the food preferences and feeding behaviour of the pigeon.

The taking of kererū was generally restricted to men and required much ritual. Kererü were taken throughout summer, but were in the best condition in late summer and early autumn when the Orion constellation appears in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere. Fowlers would return each year to the favourite foods of the kererü to guarantee plump, nice tasting birds. Fowlers took only what was needed to ensure sufficient birds remained for the next season. If bird numbers were low, a rāhui (ban) was put in place until the population increased.

Hunting methods differed between iwi. Some fowlers used long sharpened birding spears to catch kererū while they fed on miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) or kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) fruits. Nooses hidden high in the foliage of food trees were effective, or placing the snares next to rivers or at the ends of spears was another method to capture the birds. A waka kererū (pigeon trough) had snares along the sides that entangled kererū around the neck as they drank the water placed in the trough by the fowlers. The first bird taken would be offered to the God of the forest and birdlife, Täne Mahuta, to keep in good stead for the remaining hunting season.

Once taken, kererü were either eaten by the fowlers, their whänau (family) or hapu (sub-tribe) or traded for goods such as other birds, seafood etc. Kererū were a substantial meal for Māori. They were considered a delicacy especially if the birds had fed on miro fruit as the juices of the berry flavoured the meat and made it tender. Kererū were cooked and eaten at the time of hunting or preserved for later eating. For special occasions the birds were presented in pots known as tahā huahua (calabashes). Bunches of feathers adorned the outside of the calabash to indicate that kererü was inside. The left over fat drained from the bird served as a useful supplement in other foods.

The white and iridescent green kererū feathers were highly sought after for kahu huruhuru (feather cloaks); cloaks made primarily with kererü feathers were known as kahu kererü. Mäori feather cloaks were made for people of rank, gifted to important visitors, or traded. Kereru feathers were also used for adorning weapons, waka (canoes), houses, kites (manu kite) and even people. Kererū bones made useful cloak pins or weaving and fishing implements, and the bright orange colouring from the feet and beak was used to decorate the cheeks of women and children.