Te Maramataka is a collaborative rangahau-creative arts practice-led research project that aims to explore maramataka Māori for health through the creation of a knowledge repository using spatialised sonics and lighting effects. Starting with latent potentiality we consider what we already know about the Maramataka and how spoken word whakataukī, taonga pūoro and natural sounds can be integrated into participatory interactive environments.
Existing local knowledge of maramataka is situated within the wider community with well-regarded experts. A goal of this project is to make aspects of their knowledge accessible to local community and wider communities in a manner that is readily understood. Of particular importance is to help to support the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, in order to increase understanding of the importance and applicability of mātauranga Māori for people’s wellbeing, in daily life.
Since one aspect of this project starts with the unknown, we’re not interested in defining or positioning the project by what others have done or what it is not. We’re interested in exploring a new space that has not been traversed so that the practice itself is normalised. We will portray the story as we see it unfolding, with parts of our storytelling incorporating performance and performative aspects.
Another foundational aspect is the assertion that there are things greater than us that have influence over what we are doing. Our current focus is to explore how sound performance unlocks triggers within people to help understanding. As parts of this is creative arts experimentation – where experiments are understood as improvisation – we don’t know yet if it will work.