Matariki special build site at Victoria Park

AUCKLAND, Today: In celebration and support of Matariki, oOh!media has partnered with Māori-owned advertising and design agency Run to connect commuters with the ritual of Te Whāngai i te Hautapu.

oOh! and Run have collaborated on three bus shelter special builds across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch which will be live until Sunday 23 July.

The title of the creative Te Whāngai i te Hautapu translates to “feed the stars with a sacred offering” and draws on the Matariki ceremony of preparing and sharing kai.

Working closely with Run, Pōneke-based Māori artist Anya Greenwood was commissioned to illustrate the concept design, which was then brought to life with the installation of a sound panel at each site that plays a 30-second narration.

Co-founder/CCO Raymond Otene McKay explains: “Te Whāngai i te Hautapu is the ritual practiced by many iwi to celebrate the rising of Matariki.

“An important part of this ritual is feeding the stars to invigorate the stars for the coming year.

“An important part of this ritual is feeding the stars to invigorate the stars for the coming year.”

“This is done by making an umu kohukohu whetū, a steaming earth oven of the stars. Foods representing the four stars connected to kai are cooked in the umu – WaiY (fresh water food, such as eel), Waitā (salt water food, such as fish), Tupu-ā-nuku (food grown in the ground, such as kūmara) and Tupu-ā-rangi (food from above ground, such as birds and berries).

“Then it is uncovered, and the steam is sent up to the heavens to feed the stars.

“Although popular in Te Ao Māori, this concept hasn’t quite found its way into the vernacular of the general public yet.

“Now that Matariki is entrenched as an official public holiday and New Zealanders have embraced the basics, we wanted to take the opportunity to delve a bit deeper into our history and traditions.”

oOh!media NZ GM Nick Vile said: “It has been wonderful working alongside the team at Run to bring a deeper understanding of Matariki to fruition with these special builds.

“Being able to bring creative executions to life in a way that is both considerate and authentic to Te Ao Māori is of utmost importance to us.

“The guidance and support from the team at Run has been a valuable journey for us and was crucial in ensuring we captured the significance of the holiday and what it means to Aotearoa.”

• oohmedianz.com

About Run
The agency was formed in 2008 by husband-and-wife duo McKay and Laura Cibilich.

• runwithrun.com