Description:

As Aoteaora is striving to revive Māoritanga and give mana back to Māori traditions, we challenged ourselves to lift the mana of all people living in Aoteaora by educating and empowering people to engage with Matariki. We believe that Matariki, when observed and celebrated meaningfully, has the power to bring people together and lift us up as a nation.

Matariki is a time to come together. A time for sharing and collectivity, giving back to the environment, and being thankful. It is an occasion to honour the unique qualities that define us as a nation. It is a beautiful time of year, and we want to encourage and empower the people of Aotearoa to engage with Matariki with their whanau and friends.
Our whakaaro (intention) for this project is rooted in the whakatauki (proverb) ‘Matariki hunga, Matariki hunga nui’, which translates to ‘Matariki has many admirers, Matariki brings people together.’ This whakatauki influenced us to aspire to bring people together, and inspired the name of our project.

Matariki Hunga Nui fosters whanaungatanga (togetherness) by nurturing a genuine appreciation for Matariki. It encourages people to become true admirers of Matariki, like mentioned in the whakatauki.
Using Augmented Reality, Matariki Hunga Nui creates an engaging learning environment where users learn how to use the celestial navigation tool, Te Waka o Rangi to locate the Matariki star cluster in the dawn sky. By acquiring this knowledge, we aspire for individuals to gather with those they love to admire Matariki and create lasting memories through this experience.

Our aspirational goal is that people will take this knowledge to come together with those they love to admire Matariki, creating synergistic relationships with each other, the environment, and the Atua of the season.

Ngā mihi o te tau hou!