Abstract
Pōwhiri is a traditional welcoming ceremony in Māori culture, and with the pōwhiri comes the tikanga, or the protocols, associated with it. Pōwhiri is essential in establishing the relationships between the two parties involved and in the past determined whether the visiting party is coming in peace or not. However, pōwhiri is not a common event, leading to a lack of understanding and confidence surrounding tikanga pōwhiri. To help with this lack of understanding and confidence surrounding tikanga pōwhiri, Virtual Reality (VR) can be used as a tool to increase understanding and confidence. This research aims to use VR to address these issues surrounding tikanga pōwhiri. We will do this by creating an immersive VR Pōwhiri experience which will focus on the fundamental tikanga pōwhiri followed by Te Rau Aroha marae in Bluff. We can then use this VR Pōwhiri experience to assess any improvements of understanding and confidence surrounding tikanga pōwhiri. Through conducting multiple studies, culminating in a user study of the VR Pōwhiri system, we aim to determine the extent of understanding and confidence gains surrounding tikanga pōwhiri. Key findings from these studies can be used to drive further development of VR tools with the focus of increasing understanding and confidence surrounding cultural ceremonies.