You can now install Mahara using the Synaptic Package Manager. But before you install mahara, you should create a database for mahara in MySQL or PostgreSQL. You will be asked for the database connectivity information during installation.
$ sudo apt-get install mahara
Once installation is complete, go to the mahara installation directory
$ cd /usr/share/mahara
and backup the config file
$ cp config.php config.orig.php
Then edit the config file. Make sure the following variables are defined
$cfg->dbtype = 'mysql5';
$cfg->dbhost = 'localhost';
$cfg->dbname = 'mahara';
$cfg->dbuser = 'mahara';
$cfg->dbpass = 'your_database_password';
$cfg->wwwroot = 'http://localhost/mahara/';
$cfg->dataroot = '/var/maharadata';
Next, create a directory to store your files. Make it apache writable.
$ sudo mkdir /var/maharadata
$ sudo chown -R www-data /var/maharadata
To use, go the your web browser and type
http://localhost/mahara
Enjoy Mahara!