Whispering tales: using technology to enhance cultural landscapes and indigenous values

Modern lifestyles have put oral narratives in Aotearoa New Zealand at risk of being lost in a world dominated by written text. Intangible values, transmitted orally from generation to generation, in response to the interaction with nature and history, provide a sense of identity and community to indigenous Māori as they relate and experience the land based on cultural, spiritual, emotion, physical and social values. New technologies have the potential to reconnect these oral narratives with both the indigenous Māori, but also a wider public.  This research extends the biophysical template of a landscape with virtual objects or information in truly mobile settings, providing a storytelling environment which is specific to a location. It engages with the narratives of real-world objects that simulate people’s imagination of a hidden past using augmented reality. The methodology adopts a design-led collaborative participatory approach by engaging with Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa to create and visualise narratives through sketches, photographs, and computer imagery. It then tests the visual experiences and explores design decisions by mapping different context conditions at different scales and the representation of the narratives revealed. The use of augmented reality in landscape architecture allows for layering of history while retaining the existing landscape. In this way it enhances and modernises Māori oral narratives and encourages a deeper and broader engagement with landscape, promoting respect for cultural diversity through the use of mobile augmented reality.