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Search Marsden awards 2008–2017

Search awarded Marsden Fund grants 2008–2017

Fund Type: Marsden Fund

Category: Standard

Year Awarded: 2014

Title: Te Mauria Whiritoi: the sky as a cultural resource - Maori astronomy, ritual and ecological knowledge

Recipient(s): Dr RL Matamua | PI | University of Waikato
Dr P Harris | AI | Victoria University of Wellington
Dr HP Whaanga | AI | University of Waikato
Dr CMK Baker | AI | University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
Dr A Hardy | AI | University of Waikato
Professor R Hannah | AI | University of Waikato

Public Summary: The human race has always used the canvas of the night sky to embed historical, scientific and cultural knowledge. Early cultures orientated their beliefs, practices and understandings around the movement of the celestial bodies. Their detailed observations were interlaced with ecological and environmental information that was manifested and reaffirmed in ceremony and cultural practice. This project, Te Mauria Whiritoi, is an examination of Maori beliefs, practices and observations in relation to astronomy, ecology and ritual. Using archaeoastronomy, cultural astronomy, oral history, semi-structured interviews, surveys, Wananga and environmental observations, we investigate how astronomy impacts upon ritual practice and is influenced by ecological and societal change. We will explore the interconnectedness between multiple disciplines from a traditional context, while also examining its contemporary application in our modern society through celebrations such as Matariki. This project will identify the sophisticated knowledge that is still encoded and integrated across many aspects of Maori life and is embedded within the Maori landscape. We will collect and preserve a significant body of Maori astronomical knowledge that might otherwise be lost, benefiting cultural and linguistic sustainability and environmental practice in Aotearoa.

Total Awarded: $710,000

Duration: 3

Host: University of Waikato

Contact Person: Dr RL Matamua

Panel: SOC

Project ID: 14-UOW-004


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