Welcome to Metawhenua

A virtual world dominated by digital natives

As technological advancements in the Metaverse emerge in the near future, Metaverse characters may soon be able to leave their virtual worlds and enter into other Metaverse spaces. We want to be there when this happens. We want to open the Ngāti Verse to other worlds, enabling Ngāti Verse avatars (tāngata Metawhenua) to enter other Metaverse environments and vice versa.

The title 'Ngāti Verse: Metawhenua' is a portmanteau that takes the Māori language word 'Ngāti' (referring to the descends of an eponymous ancestor) and 'whenua' (referring to land and blood bonds) and combines them with the current Web3 buzz word 'Metaverse". We have used this title to ground this project in a kaupapa Māori digital environment. As we develop this space, we will prioritize Māori art, design, language, narratives, research methodologies and environmental concerns.

To explore this idea, we will utilize artwork created for the first two Ngāti Verse games (using the digital landscapes, background art and characters) and exhibit these art assets as NFT artworks within Metawhenua. Characters can view and purchase these artworks within this virtual world. Expanding this idea beyond NFTs, the Ngāti Verse will explore the idea of virtual land sales. By posing this idea of land sales in Metawhenua, we create a basis through which to experiment and facilitate a discussion around the ethics and dynamics of selling virtual land assets to buy land in the real world. In this way, Metawhenua becomes a testing ground for conversations and negotiations around raupatu and the increasing unaffordability of land in the physical world.