He Tīmatanga Kōrero: The first conversation

Tohu (noun): a sign, mark, symbol, emblem, token, qualification. 

Hiwa-i-te-rangi launched He Tīmatanga Kōrero, an introductory guide to Kaupapa Māori for Fire and Emergency New Zealand. 

We're asking our people to read the guide and sit the online knowledge check to progress their awareness and understanding of Māori culture.

After passing the knowledge check you will be awarded Te Tohu, a pin you can wear to show progression in your cultural education, more info on this is below. 

Download your copy of He Tīmatanga Kōrero here

Background:

The Tohu launched in July 2021 along with the resource "He Tīmatanga Kōrero - Introductory Guide to Kaupapa Māori for Fire and Emergency New Zealand".  [PDF, 15 MB]

It is a wearable pin which represents a person's commitment to working with Māori as tangata whenua as well as their own commitment to progress their knowledge and understand of Māori culture. 

How to attain your Tohu:

Read:	Pass:	Recieve:

After reading He Tīmatanga Kōrero you can sit an online knowledge check which involves 20 mulitple choice questions based on content from He Tīmatanga Kōrero. Once you pass the knowledge check you will be directed to a form to let us know where to send your Tohu. 

To help you progress after attaining your Tohu, we developed a second resource called; "Te Tūāpapa - Foundational Knowledge of tikanaga when engaging with Māori".This has been made using the whakaaro (thoughts) and matauranga (knowledge) of our own people across the organisation. 

Accessing 'He Tīmatanga Kōrero' and 'Te Tūāpapa:

Rauemi	Content	Imagery
He Tīmatanga Kōrero Introductory Guide to Kaupapa Māori for Fire and Emergency   View or download here [PDF, 15 MB]	Our organisation's commitment to working with Māori as tangata whenua The Hiwa-i-te-rangi project The story of Māui and Mahuika (goddess of fire) Te Tiriti o Waitangi Karakia, te reo Māori phrases and help with pronounciation The role of our Pou Takawaenga Māori
Te Tūāpapa Foundational Knowledge of Tikanga when Engaging with Māori   View or download here [PDF, 26 MB]	What is tikanga? The 'why' or reasons behind some tikanga Tapu, noa, and rāhui Marae protocol Link to 360 degree info video on a pōwhiri Tips from our people The origin story of the hongi Mihimihi for engagements Kīwaha - sayings in te reo Māori Tikanga at incidents

Replacing your Tohu:

If your Tohu has gone walk-abouts for whatever reason simply pop us an email and we'll arrange a new one to be sent to you: hiwa-i-te-rangi@fireandemergency.nz 

Behind the design:

The design of the Tohu was a collaboration between our our Pou Takawaenga Māori and Design team. Below are a few of the early concepts we built on to create the final design:

The final design of the Tohu has the following three elements; The chevron shape is not only a mihi to the service of our people but also represents a maunga (mountain) an acknowledgement of the mahi that lies ahead for each of us.   The stepped pattern is the design of the poutama which can also been seen on our newer trucks. The poutama represents our own personal achievements as we continue to improve our matauranga (knowledge).    The small dots make up the Matariki star constellation and the circled star is Hiwa-i-te-rangi. Hiwa-i-te-rangi is the name of our programme to improve our cultural education and is also the star that represents aspirations for the future.

The final product:

Once we locked in the design we needed to decide on the size, material and how it would attach to clothing. Many options were floated, and at the end of the day we went with a sustainable choice of lazer cutting the design onto recycled rimu by an artist in Pukerua Bay, Kāpiti Coast. 

The first 1,000 Tohu were created with a very small open/close clasp which not only proved difficult to attach and remove, but wasn't as secure. We have since moved to a push-back style pin which has been much more sucessful. 

Let us know if you would like one of the new push-back Tohu: hiwa-i-te-rangi@fireandemergency.nz