A journey to all of the ancestral marae of Aotearoa New Zealand will put marae on the map and help connect people with their whakapapa (history).
On Saturday, the national Maori Maps website was launched at www.maorimaps.com.
The website takes visitors to the location of almost 750 marae throughout the country.
It was the brainchild of Otago University professor Paora Tapsell and broadcaster Rereata Makiha.
From 2008 Dr Tapsell led a research team made up of photographer Krzysztof Pfeiffer, kaumatua Renata Tane and Ike Reti and a group of volunteers to visit and document all of the tribal marae.
The team drove thousands of kilometres around New Zealand to locate and photograph each site from the gateway.
On the way they relied on local knowledge to direct them, often discovering marae they didn't know about, or ones never documented before.
The reason, marae were "in crisis," Dr Tapsell said.
"They have never been mapped and can be really hard to find. New generations of Maori are growing up without any connection to their home marae, lacking a key to identity and well-being.
"If our grandchildren fail to reconnect, the marae and all they represent will become extinct. That would be a loss to all humanity - New Zealand is the only culture left with an active marae culture."
The website is an interactive one, based on Google Maps, letting users navigate by a range of filters to locate marae.
"We have about 98 per cent of the ancestral marae around the country listed on the site."
Maori Maps provided an archive of information and photos while respecting that marae were homes, by taking the visitor only as far as the kuwaha (marae gateway), he said.
The Auckland-based Te Potiki National Trust, a registered charity, manages the project.
It will link Maori ancestrally to their whakapapa, Mr Tapsell said.
"Many of our young people are completely disconnected from their ancestry and Maori traditions.
"If we successfully reconnect descendants back to their marae, it's like turning on the oxygen. They will know more about themselves and where they come from - they will flourish and so will their communities."
Marae too are in desperate need of support from their offspring. "About a third of the marae we visited were in a state of disarray, a third were struggling, and a third were doing well. They need people."
Te Potiki National Trust is now seeking support to complete the full translation of the site into Te Reo and publish the first Maori atlas.
"Our goal with Maori Maps has been to put marae back on the map, somewhere they've never been before, so future New Zealanders can all benefit from what makes our nation unique."