SAIJIKI FOR KENYA AND TROPICAL REGIONS

Welcome !

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Welcome to the World Kigo Database
for Kenya and the Tropics !

Use your browser to find a word in this index..... OR
input your keyword or a possible synonym in the search winodw on the right side to search all files of the Database ...

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.. .. .. .. .. .. .. General Items

ENTRY: Submit your Entry for a Kigo

KIGO – Its use in haiku About two or more kigo and more ...

Seasons and Categories Learn the Basics of World Kigo

Kigo and haiku topics in Kenya --
a discussion in the Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

Basic Theories of Japanese Haiku !Study writing Haiku !

................. . Copyright Policy .

. . . The Photo Album : KENYA

The Haiku Clubs of Kenya since 2006

..... Haiga from the Haiku Clubs Haigaonline 7-2, 2006

..... Japanese Culture Week in Nairobi! Teaching Haiku.
February 2008

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Please check the main index for more information.

Main Index of the World Kigo Database

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THE KENYA SAIJIKI

Editor: Isabelle Prondzynski

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. Haiku from Africa .

Bahrain

Egypt

Libya

Ghana SAIJIKI 　

Trinidad and Tobago SAIJIKI

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Seasonal Words and Topics - List

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.................... List of Seasonal Words
from Kenya and other tropical areas

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In Kenya, we have the following haiku seasons:

.. .. .. hot dry season
.. .. .. long rains
.. .. .. cool dry season
.. .. .. short rains

Some of the rainy season kigo appear twice in the course of the year.

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.. .. .. .. .. Seasonal Items

hot and dry season
(roughly November to March, with January being the hottest month)

-- Buying textbooks
-- Buying school uniforms
-- Cassia blossom
-- Caterpillar, Hairy Caterpillar
-- Census
-- Christmas worldwide
-- Dust
-- Exam resultsKCPE and KCSE Exam Registration and Results
-- February rainfall
-- First things, New Year
-- Form One entrants and monolisation
-- Frangipani, Plumeria
-- Goat Meat, also Goats in general
ice cream
-- Jamhuri Day (12 December)
-- January
-- Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle)
-- Mabati shimmering roofs
-- Maize, Green Maize (for corn/maize see below)
-- Mango (ripe fruit)
-- New Year
--- New Year's resolution 2012
open shoes
-- Orchid Show, Nairobi
-- Papyrus and other grasses couch grass, napier grass, African star grass
-- Paying school fees
-- peaches, ripe peaches
-- Plums, ripe plums, plum fruit
-- Scorching sun
-- Start of new school year Kenya
... ... see also Start of Schoolyear, worldwide
-- sweating
vest
-- Water shortage , drought
-- Weeds
-- World AIDS Day

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long rains (roughly March to May)

-- Bombax blossom
-- First rainfall, imminent rain
-- bullfrogs Frog (kawazu, kaeru) worldwide
-- Easter
-- flooding
-- flying termites kumbi kumbi
-- Grass, fresh grass, green grass, young grass
-- Guava fruit
-- Gumboots, gum boots
-- heavy raindrops
-- Ibis (Hadada)
-- Labour Day
-- Long Rains Haiku by Bahati Club
-- Long Rains
-- Mabati roofs rusting and harvesting rainwater
-- Mosquitoes in Kenya

-- Mud (Swahili : matope)
including: Brickmaking, Dry mud, Bukusu Initiation (Circumcision) 　
-- Mudslide, landslide

-- Palm Sunday
-- Plantation activities
-- Pneumonia
-- Power failure, blackout 　　　　
-- Puddle, puddles
-- Rhinoceros beetle , a scarab beetle
-- Sand harvesting, sand mining
-- Shoe wiper
-- Stepping stones, step-stone bridge 　
-- Umbrella

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cold, cool and dry season
(roughly from June to September, with July being the coldest month)

-- August moon
-- Avocado pear (Kikuyu : Mûkorobîa)
-- Beanie cap Kenya
-- Bukusu Initiation / Circumcision
-- Cold Dew (kanro) worldwide
-- Cold dry season, cool dry season 　　
-- Cold water

Datura suaveolens, Moonflower, Angel's Trumpet, trumpet plant
-- Day of the African Child (16 June)　　
-- Dust
-- Glove, gloves
-- Frangipani, Plumeria 　　　　　　
-- freezing
-- Hawkers for warm things glove, hot coffee, uji maize porridge, scarf, sweater ...
Irish potatoes (viazi)
-- Jiko (brazier)
-- July
-- Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle)
-- Mabati roors collect dew
-- Madaraka Day (1 June)
-- Maize, Green Maize
-- Martyrs’ Day Uganda

-- Nairobi Bomb Day (7 August)
-- Nairobi International Trade Fair (end of September)
-- no meetings (August)
-- Oranges (Swahili : Mchungwa)
Referendum August 2010
-- Sunflower
-- Sesbania Tree (Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.)
-- Shivering, to shiver
-- start of university year
-- Weeds

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short rains (roughly October and November)

-- Aramanthus, vegetable
-- bullfrogs > Frog (kawazu, kaeru) worldwide
-- First rainfall, imminent rain
-- Ocotber rain
-- Flamboyant Tree (Swahili : Mjohoro)
-- Flooding in 2006
-- flying termites kumbi kumbi
-- Graduation Ceremony in Kenya
... ... see also Graduation (sotsugyoo) worldwide
-- sGrevillea tree Grevillea Robusta . Mgrivea (Swahili), Mûkima (Kikuyu)
-- Gumboots, gum boots
-- Jacaranda blossom
-- heavy raindrops
-- Kenyatta Day
-- Messiah for the Hospice

-- Moi Day (10 October) renamed :
. . Mashujaa Day since 2010
-- Mosquitoes in Kenya
-- Mud (Swahili : matope)
-- Mudslide, landslide

-- Nairobi Marathon
-- -- Plantation activities
-- Power failure, blackout
-- Puddle, puddles
-- Shoe wiper

-- School exams KCSE / KCPE
------ Short Rains and more kigo about this season
-- Stepping stones, step-stone bridge
-- Tipu tree (Tipuana tipu)
-- Umbrella

.. .. .. Glossary of Kenyan Terms and more Haiku Topics

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............. Topics for which the season changes

-- Diwali (Devali, Divali)
-- Ramadan in Kenya
-- Ramadan ends (Idd ul Fitr)

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............. Non-seasonal Topics

Ageing ... Getting old in Kenya. Grandfather, Grandmother
Akala ... Sandals
Aloe vera
Arusha Tanzania
. . . Brick making in Arusha
. . . Namanga-Arusha Highway Road

Banana
Banana ring, to carry things
Bat, bats . . . and the Mukuyu tree
Beggar
Bisquits and cookies
Boda boda, motorbike taxi, motorcycle taxi
Boma Homesteads
Buibui, to cover the head and face of a Muslim woman face veil
Bukusu Culture, Babukusu People
Bull fighting, bullfight
Bunche Road, Nairobi

Cabbage
Calabash, calabashes, gourd
Camel, Dromedary, Kamel, Dromedar
Casuarina Tree
Central Park, Children's Traffic Park
Chameleon
Chapati, flatbread Chokoraa, chokora - "street boy" or "parking boy"
Coconut, coconuts, coconut milk
Coffee plant blossoms, coffee blossoms
Crickets, cricket

Dandora, Municipal Garbage Site Nairobi
Demolitions in Patanisho, Nairobi
Duck, ducks

Eucalyptus tree Fam. Myrtaceae

Fences and hedges
First things
Flame tree (Erythrina fam.)
Flies, Fly, Housefly, Fruitfly
Fog
Fountain (in a park)

Garbage, sewers, sewerage
Githeri
Grevillea tree
Guitar

Hell's Gate National Park
Hornbill

Irio (mûkimû)
Isukuti Dance

Jeevanjee Gardens and Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee
Jua kali artisans

Kabaka of Uganda
Kajiado mission
Kale, kales, a cabbage (sukumawiki)
Kamba People A funeral in Ukambani
Kamukunji constituency, Nairobi
Kanga, kangas, wrapping cloth
Karura forest

Kenya Railway Museum Kukai August 2010
Kenyatta National Hospital,Nairobi
Khamsin wind Egypt, North Africa
Kiambu County
Kibanda hut, kiosk
Kibera Slums
Kiondo handbag (chondo, pl. vyondo)
Kisii in Nyanza Narok plains, Ogembo Street
Kisongo Market Tanzania
Kitale Town in Western Kenya
Korogocho slum

Lang'ata - Nairobi
Longido Hills
Lugari Forest

Machakos town, Masaku
Magadi, Lake Magadi in the Rift Valley
Maize (Swahili : Mahindi, American : Corn, South African : Mealies)
Masai, Maasai, Massai ... indigenous African ethnic group of semi-nomadic people located in Kenya
Mandazi, a kind of doughnuts ndazi (singular)
Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus
Marikiti Farmers' Market Nairobi
Market, markets
Matatu minibus
Mathare Youth Sports Association, MYSA sports club in Mathare Valley slums
Mavoko county
Mkokoteni - hand cart, pushcart pl. mikokoteni
Monkey, monkeys
Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro
Mourning
Mugumo tree
Mzungu, muzungu ... person of European descent... "white person"

Nairobi City
Haile Selassie Avenue, Soweto Market, Wakulima Market, Thika road, Tom Mboya street, Marikiti market, Kawangare slums, Kibera slum . . .

Ngaramtoni at the flank of Mount Meru
Newspaper vendor, newspaper boy
Night life
Njiiru Plains

Passion fruit, Passiflora edulis
Pawpaw tree(Asimina) paw paw, paw-paw, papaw
Peace (Swahili : Amani)
Pelican
Pig, pigs
Pine tree, Pinus Patula
Pineapple, Ananas comosus
Pokot people West Pokot and Baringo Districts of Kenya
Pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis) Chinese grapefruit
Posho mill, poshomill -- to grind wheat, maize and other grains

Radio
Rift Valley
Royal Palm Tree Roystonea regia

Scorpion
Sewer, sewage in Soweto
Sinai slum fire, September 2011
Sisal (Agave sisalana)
..... Sisal and makongeni paths
Slasher to cut grass
Smoke and smog
Snake, Snakes
Sorghum (mtama) and milled porridge (uji)
Sowbug, a brown snail
Sufuria .. cooking pot or saucepan

Tea (Swahili : chai)
Tilapia fish
Toilet, outhouse
Tomato, tomatoes

Ugali and Uji, maize porridge
Ukwala, Muthurwa, Luthuli Avenue
Umbrella tree / Schefflera actinophylla

Voi, Sagala hill

Warthog
Weaver birds (Ploceidae family)
Webuye Town
Wildebeest
migration
Wimbi, bulo ... Millet
Wood, firewood

Zebra

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Haibun . Haiku in Combination

Construction and Development

. Kiswahili Haiku

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...................................... Other Tropical SAIJIKI

WKD: Trinidad and Tobago Saijiki

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.. .. .. .. .. National Holidays in Kenya

l Jan -- New Year's Day -- International New Year's Day Holiday
> -- WKD ... : New Year (shin-nen)

Varies -- Good Friday -- Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
> -- WKD ... : Easter

Varies -- Easter Monday -- Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ
> -- WKD ... : Easter

1 May -- Labour Day -- International Day of the Worker
> -- see also : Labour Day, USA

. . . . .

Mashujaa Day

10 Oct -- Moi Day -- Established on the 10th day of the 10th month 10 years after the inauguration of President Daniel arap Moi as the second President of Kenya.
October 2010:
The new constitution scrapped Moi Day and replaced Kenyatta day with Hero's (Mashujaa) Day in efforts to celebrate the men and women who fought for Kenya's freedom .

20 Oct -- Kenyatta Day -- This is to commemorate the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta and the declaration of the State of Emergency on 20 October 1952.
October 2010:
The new constitution scrapped Moi Day and replaced Kenyatta day with Hero's (Mashujaa) Day in efforts to celebrate the men and women who fought for Kenya's freedom .
Jomo Kenyatta

. . . . .

12 Dec -- Uhuru or Jamhuri Day -- This is to commemorate the day on which Kenya achieved its Independence, on 12 December 1963.
> -- Jamhuri Day

25 Dec -- Christmas Day -- Christian holiday celebrating the Birth of Jesus Christ.
> -- Bahati Haiku Club : Christmas
> -- WKD ... : Christmas

26 Dec -- Boxing Day -- celebrating St Stephen's Day and the second
day of the Christmas season.
> -- WKD ... St Stephen's Day

Varies -- Idd ul Fitr
The Muslim festival of Idd-ul-Fitr is also a public holiday and takes place on the sighting of the new moon at the end of Ramadhan. The exact date varies according to the position of the New Moon.

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.. .. .. .. .. .. Annual events in Kenya

Apart from big celebrations that are held on Madaraka, Kenyatta and Independence Days, Nairobi is also the venue for a number of large international and national sports matches. Nairobi further enhances its cosmopolitan image by hosting a number of annual shows and
festivals.

The Kenya Schools Music Festival is held in Nairobi in May/June and

The Agricultural Society of Kenya (A.S.K.) Show takes place at Jamhuri Park at the end of September or beginning of October. See Nairobi International Trade Fair

The long established and international Safari Rally begins and ends in Nairobi - drawing ever larger crowds.
http://www.kenyaweb.com/

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Introduction to the

Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

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More LINKs in the Kenya Saijiki

Getting to Know Kenya

Poetry and Literature of Kenya

Music of Kenya, by Douglas Paterson

Missionaries in Kenya

Wildlife in Kenya

Plants and Animals of Kenya, LIST by Allen & Nancy Chartier

Kakamega Forest Birds

Nature Kenya Organization

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Editor: Isabelle Prondzynski

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Kutoka Wikipedia, kamusi elezo huru: HAIKU

Back to the Worldkigo Index

Back to the Trinidad and Tobago Index

Back to the KENYA SAIJIKI - TOP

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African Haiku

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Introducing Haiku from Africa

http://www.design-africa.com/cpats/cpat-000main.html
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African Haiku by Fancy

African Haiku by Stephen Davies

African Haiku with Ted Goossen

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Haiku Africa: Haikus and Photographs
by Joel H. Goldstein (Author)

Bull Elephant walks
Isolated on the road
Alone with his thoughts

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Botswana Haiku

As one of the assignments for this course, students were asked to do a piece of creative writing using the characteristics (whether formal or not) of one of the texts that we discussed during the semester.

I looked around me
In the middle of the street
Suddenly I am lost.

by Jacob Nthoiwa

source : Botswana Haiku
University of Botswana English Department, 2003

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Kenya

Haiku from Kenya, Kenya Saijiki　ケニア歳時記

The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

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South Africa

There are Jewish, Muslim and Hindu religious festivals celebrated here, although the Christian ones are the only that rate a national holiday right now.

Some of our national holidays are interesting in terms of kigo.
For instance, Heritage Day is celebrated on 24 September in the spring so there is a contrast between the forward-looking season and the backwards-looking celebration.
Another like Youth Day is 16 June, almost mid-winter and very appropriate perhaps to the tragedy of that day in 1976.

And then there is our fynbos ("feiner Busch") , a unique and indigenous family of plants. So diverse that I think some or other species of it are in flower at any one time of the year. So fynbos is something really South African but not really something that one can associate with a season as such.

Moira Richards, South Africa

Fynbos , South African Plant in our library

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Steve Shapiro
His first collection of haiku, In a borrowed tent (Snailpress) won the 1996 Ingrid Jonker Prize for English language poetry.

2007, a new book of poems, of little consequence

. . . from of little consequence:

From the “Spring” section:

The spring breeze
- I lost a piece of paper
with a poem on it

From the “Winter” section:

Collecting mushrooms
my knife blade reflecting mist
swirling through the pines

source : carapace.book.co.za, 2007

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Tingatinga painting style - Tanzania

Tingatinga -
a world of colors
exploding

Gabi Greve, October 2009

Once there was a man called Edward S. Tingatinga. He was born in the Namochelia village in Tunduru district in the South Tanzania.
During the 1960s he established an art form that became associated with Tanzania. Today, "Tingatinga" is the Tanzanian term for this form of art, known most intimately in Tanzania, Kenya, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Japan, Switzerland etc.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Getting to Know Kenya

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.. .. .. .. .. Getting to Know Kenya

The peoples of Kenya
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Kenya is a huge country, comparable with the whole of Europe, rather than any individual country within the continent. The population of 29 million people (1999 census) live in hugely different circumstances, depending on their location -- from desert to beach, from the fertile plateau to sodium lakes, from well watered hills to arid bush, from uninhabited areas to urban conglomerations. Some areas are densely populated, while others know only semi-nomadic seasonal pastoralists.

Within Kenya live 32 nations, each with its own language, as well as numerous others who speak dialects of these 32. The national language, which only a small minority speak as their mother tongue, is Swahili (in Swahili : Kiswahili). By means of this second language, all people of Kenya can communicate, not only with each other, but with the people of the neighbouring countries.

To compare with Europe again -- if all Europeans learnt Esperanto as their second language and used it to communicate with each other, rather than learning dozens of each other's languages, the same efficient effect could be achieved. English in Kenya is the third language, used for secondary and tertiary education throughout the country, as well as for primary education in the melting pot of Nairobi. Each child therefore prepares for adult life through education in her or his third language from secondary school at the latest. There must be few other countries who do this! Most Kenyans therefore, who have attended school beyond the age of 14, are trilingual -- though not of course equally competent in each of these languages.

In Kenya have met 3 great families of nations, the Bantu, the Nilotic and the Cushitic -- a rich mix which has not occurred in any other country. If we compare with Europe, this is populated above all by Indo-Europeans, but there are also Finno-Ugric peoples (the Finns, Estonians and Hungarians) and Basques (apparently related to no other people on earth). In other words, English and Hindi are more similar than Kikuyu and Luo (to mention the two largest nations within Kenya).

The political system is, of course, the same for all. Legally, some differences exist, as each nation may have its own law in matters such as matrimony and inheritance.

Culture and attitudes differ vastly between these nations -- and of course between individuals!

Kenyans were not in the past happy emigrants -- preferring their own country to those of others. More recently, there has been a change, with a search for the crock of gold... that same crock which eluded most of the Irish emigrants of the past...

Isabelle Prondzynski

............................ Further reading :

1999 census summary (one page of interesting highlights) :
http://www.cbs.go.ke/census1999.html

General introduction to the peoples of Kenya :
http://kenya.com/people.html
http://www.kenyalogy.com/eng/info/pobla.html

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History of Kenya

In 1911, the german enthomologist prof. Kattwinkel fell down a ravine while he was pursuing an unusual butterfly. The place was Olduvai Gorge, in Serengeti. The fall was hard, but the scientist somehow managed to save his life. Then he raised his eyes, and only a scientist would have appreciated that the rocky wall was an extraordinary fossil bed... And this changed the conception man had of his own origin.
To tell the history of Kenya, we must go right to the start, to the dawn of mankind.
... kenyalogy.com

More reference about KENYA

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Great Photo Collection of Kenya

Group of Samburu dancers performing traditional tribal jumping dance.
http://www.planetware.com/photos/PHKEN.HTM

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Kenya -- Folklore

Kenya's many ethnic groups have a well developed and sophisticated folklore which embodies their history, traditions, mores, world-view and wisdom. Their legends recount the movement of people to and from the rift valley, into the highlands, the grasslands and the lake regions. Famous historical figures such as the Kikuyu Gikuyu and Mumbi or the Luo culture hero Liongo are represented in myths and legends. Myths include accounts of how cattle were given to a certain people by God. The Maasai have this legend, so when they went on cattle raids they were getting back what was rightfully theirs. The Kikuyu also have a similar story.

Folk tales try to answer etymological questions, such as why the hyena has a limp and the origin of death. In many Kenyan cultures the message that men would not die was given to a chameleon, but he was so slow that a bird got to man before him and gave them the message that men would die. Folk tales also recount the adventures of tricksters. In Kenya, tricksters are usually the hare or the tortoise. The ogre is another popular, if evil, character in many Kenyan folk tales. The ogre devours whole communities but is eventually vanquished by the actions of a brother and sister. The brother then cuts the toe of the ogre and all the people it ate come out.

Each ethnic group has a large store of riddles, proverbs and sayings, which are still an important aspect of daily speech. Riddles were usually exchanged in the evening before a storytelling session. Riddling sessions are usually competitions between two young people who fictionally bet villages, or cattle, or other items of economic life on the outcome. Many cultures have a prohibition on telling riddles during daylight hours. The Kikuyu had a very elaborate sung riddle game, a duet called the enigma poem or gicandia set text poem of riddles. It is sung in a duet and the players are in a competition. The duet is strikingly different than the normal singing of the Kikuyu performed by a soloist and a chorus. The poem is learned by heart. A decorated gourd rattle accompanies the singing One gicandi may consists of 127 stanzas.

Proverbs are social phenomenon and as such they can be defined as a message coded by tradition and transmitted in order to evaluate and/or effect human behavior. Proverbs reveal key elements of a culture such as the position and influence of women, morality, what is considered appropriate behavior, and the importance of children. For example the Luo have these proverbs:
(1) The eye you have treated will look at you contemptuously.
(2) A cowardly hyena lives for many years.
(3) The swimmer who races alone, praises the winner.

Some Kikuyu examples includes:
(1) Women and the sky cannot be understood.
(2) The man may be the head of the home, but the woman is the heart.
(3) Frowning frogs cannot stop the cows drinking from the pool.

There are also several proverbs in Swahili and English that have become part of Kenyans' daily life. For example: Haraka Haraka haina baraka (hurry hurry has not blessing) and also, When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers.

The Swahili people on Kenya's coast have had a rich oral tradition that has been influenced by Islam. Stories of genies are told side by side with stories of hare and hyena. There is also a very rich tradition of popular poetry that has been part of Swahili cultural life for over four centuries.

Kenyan radio and television shows use folklore as part of their daily programming. Oral literature is part of the secondary and university syllabus. Part of the requirement in these classes is for students to collect folklore from their parents and grandparents. Kenyans believe that folklore is an important part of their heritage and culture and are taking steps to preserve and encourage folklore and education. While global culture in the shape of movies, music and literature is replacing folklore, Kenyans are actively involved in its maintenance.

For Further Reading:
African Studies Center
©　Kenya -- Folklore

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Wildlife in Kenya

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Kenya Wildlife Service
Welcome to Kenya and experience the way God intended nature to be: sun-baked savannahs, snow-capped mountains, glistening coral reefs, astounding habitats and outstanding people.
http://www.kws.org/

Some of our Photos

Lake Nakuru National Park

Nakuru means "Dust or Dusty Place" in Maasai language. Lake Nakuru National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in 1961. It started off small, only encompassing the famous lake and the surrounding mountainous vicinity. Now it has been extended to include a large part of the savannahs.
http://www.africanmeccasafaris.com/kenya/safaris/parks/lakenakuru.asp

http://www.go2africa.com/kenya/rift-valley/lake-nakuru-national-park/

................ Ben Guaraldi : Birds in Flight

The birds in their flight--
a slow undulating line
that moves up and down.

written in Nakuru Park, Kenya
http://www.bluesock.org/~ben/cgi-bin/haiku.pl/2005/11/06

Lake Nakuru
is a very shallow strongly alkaline lake 62 km2 in extent. It is set in a picturesque landscape of surrounding woodland and grassland next to Nakuru town. The landscape includes areas of marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffs and outcrops, stretches of acacia woodland and rocky hillsides covered with a Euphorbia forest on the eastern perimeter.
http://www.kws.org/nakuru.html

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Wildlife in Kenya, esp. animals and trees

WAKULUZU: FRIENDS OF THE COLOBUS TRUST
. . . www.colobustrust.

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Plants and Animals of Kenya, LIST by Allen & Nancy Chartier

Kakamega Forest Birds

Nature Kenya Organization

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Kenyan seasons

2013-12-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

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Discussing kigo and haiku topics from Kenya

by Isabelle Prondzynski, September 2007

In an equatorial country, such as Kenya, seasons work very differently from those in temperate zones, such as Japan and Europe.

In August 2007, the two most active Haiku Clubs of Kenya, the Bamboochas of Bahati Community Centre Secondary School and the Peacocks of St Mathew Secondary School, invited me to discuss with them the importance of kigo and haiku topics for Kenya haijin.

What follows here are the joint reflections of the clubs, their patrons and myself, which were later discussed with the Worldkigo Database Group in September 2007.

The Peacocks’ classroom

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What feeling attaches to the Kenyan seasons?

We started by reviewing the European / Japanese seasons, as Kenyans are not necessarily familiar with the activities and feelings attached to each of these.

What happens ...

... in the weather (thaw -- heat -- warmth -- cold),
... in nature (germination -- growth -- harvest -- rest),
... in activities (planting -- cultivating -- harvesting -- resting),
... in the parallel to human lives (childhood and youth -- maturity -- old age -- death).

The next thing was to apply this thinking and feeling to the Kenyan seasons. Kenyans are much less used to thinking of their year as being broken down into seasons, than people living in temperate zones are. For the sake of simplification, we dispensed with the hot / cold aspect and concentrated first of all on the more important rainy / dry season distinction -- there are two of each as the year goes on.

As we discussed, we found that the associated words which came to us, could be organised along certain categories, some of which are :

-- activities
-- food
-- beauty
-- home life / leisure
-- ilnesses
-- suffering / tragedy

Unlike Europe and Japan, where the year revolves in a cycle, with the whole of nature participating in a crescendo and diminuendo, followed by another crescendo, in Kenya, each season is more balanced, and each has its "good" and "bad" sides. Each season brings its own growth, its own food, its own suffering and despair.

The students, pondering what the rainy / dry seasons meant to them, answered "hope" (for the rainy seasons) and "hopelessness" (for the dry seasons).

Compared with human life, they responded that the rains corresponded to "childhood and youth", and the dry seasons to all the other ages -- "maturity, old age and death".

They then reflected whether this held for urban areas as well as rural. They agreed that the dry seasons were in many respects easier for an urban person than the rainy seasons -- but even urban people depend on the food grown in the rural areas, and if this does not grow in sufficient quantity or at the right time, prices rise and the urban population suffers hunger as much as the rural population does. So, the parallels shift only slightly in the urban setting as compared with the rural one.

The Bamboochas’ notes on the Rainy Seasons

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Kenya kigo and haiku topics

The next item on our agenda was to distinguish between kigo and haiku topics.

We ran through a list of words, including these ...

... dust (kigo)
... oranges (kigo)
... Hell's Gate (topic)
... Kenyatta Day (kigo)

which were, at least at first sight, easy.

But others, such as ...

... fly
... thorn tree
... weaver bird

were more complicated, as those of us who were keen observers, had noticed that different aspects of these subjects were noticeable at different times of year.

Thus, the fly, which is there all year round, becomes more of a nuisance in the dry season. The thorn tree, which is beautiful and has leaves all year round, flowers in the cool dry season. The weaver bird, which is observed all year round, rears its young at a specific time of year (to be observed).

... goatmeat

is a kigo for Christians at Christmas, being most Kenyans' preferred meat for the big festivals. But we also realised that this is popular for family celebrations (the homecoming of a much loved child studying or working far away, the meeting of two families whose children are about to get married, etc.). And we realised that Kenyan Muslims, who share the same preference for goatmeat as a special festive food, like to eat this for Idd Ul Fittr and other great Muslim festivals.

So, our first conclusion was :

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The better we observe, the more kigo we may be able to find for one and the same item.

Examples :

... weaver birds building nests, weaver birds rearing their young
... avocado trees flowering, avocado fruit ripe to eat
... cassia trees leafless, cassia blossom

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We then discussed the need to use a kigo if possible in every haiku.

This, we had realised, seems to be more difficult in Kenya than in temperate places like Europe and Japan.

The Kenyan seasons have several disadvantages -- from a haijin's point of view!

(a) they have long names
(b) their names are not in common use
(c) many kigo are identical for the two rainy seasons / the two dry seasons
(d) the weather is not all that different all year round
(e) there is no general and simultaneous crescendo and diminuendo of nature in Kenya

Just a few comments here :

(a) In a temperate haiku, it is easy to use "spring breeze", "summer sunset", "autumn loneliness" or "winter chill", for instance, to create an immediate feeling for the season and its atmosphere. It is not so easy for a haijin to say "breeze of the cool dry season" or "wind of the long rains".

(b) Even if it could be done, the feeling would not be as tangible as that of the temperate haiku. People are not as used to thinking in terms of the current season in order to express themselves.

(c) This is probably self evident. Examples are : mud, dust, puddle, downpour, flying termites, bullfrogs, etc. Each of these kigo occur in two seasons each year.

(d) We have brilliant sunshine during the rainy seasons, haijin may want to include this is a haiku (rainfall is mostly in the afternoon and evening). The quality of the sunshine during the rains does not differ significantly from that during the dry seasons. Equally, we have showers during the dry seasons, and sometimes even heavy rain. Less frequently, of course, but normal all the same.

(e) In the short term, one could say that each rainy season plus the following dry season is a unit, so that there are two of these units per year. There is planting and growth, followed by harvest and preparation in each of these units.

In the longer term, there are fruit (particularly those which grow on trees) which mature only once per year -- but taking all such fruit together, they mature throughout the year at different times.

Taking the whole country (which straddles the Equator) as a unit, we find that there is always a part of the country in which the same plant has a different cycle. Thus, Nairobi is never short of fresh avocadoes, mangoes, pawpaws and many other fruit, all year round, because when one part of the country has finished its harvest, another part of the country will bring in a new one.

In August, when the cassia trees of Nairobi are leafless and resting with their ripe seeds (produced by the flowers of January to April), the cassia trees of Kisumu are flowering beautifully.

And so, we arrived at a second conclusion :

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In Kenya, we may not be able to advise haijin that every haiku should have a kigo.
Kenyan kigo are a lot more difficult than temperate kigo.
We may need to allow the use of haiku topics instead of kigo.

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Working group of Bamboochas

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What are suitable haiku topics for Kenya?

As seen here, Kenyan seasons differ from each other to a lesser extent than temperate seasons do. Yet, we know that seasons help to structure human lives, as humans live within the rhythms of nature.

So, what, together with the seasons, structures human lives in an equatorial country like Kenya? Could these be the best haiku topics to cultivate for the haijin?

The most important are the events of the human life cycle :

... births
... circumcisions and other rites of passage to adulthood
... engagements
... dowry ceremonies
... weddings
... visits of relatives
... visits of in-laws
... war and peace
... deaths
... funerals
... memorials

Many of these are associated with detailed ceremonial, often taking place in several stages.

In Kenya Saijiki, we have already collected some material on circumcision, on mourning, on peace. These could be the start of a Kenya specific collection of haiku topics.

We have also started on haiku topics associated with geography, the beauty of the different parts of the country.

The wild animals of Kenya, so numerous and beautiful, can give rise to many kigo, once we have observed them sufficiently. Most of them do not live in urban areas -- so this observation will take some time. But the animals will also be topics. A zebra is a being of beauty all year round -- no haijin will ever regard a Kenya zebra or another wild animal as something ordinary, and it will always be a pleasure to write about them.

Concentrated Peacocks

Text and photos © Isabelle Prondzynski, 2007

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Related words

***** The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

***** Bukusu Initiation / Circumcision
***** Mourning
***** Peace (Swahili : Amani)

***** Kenya Saijiki
More kigo and topics

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Glossary

2013-12-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

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Glossary of Kenyan Terms and Topics

bob -- shillings, money

githeri -- a staple food made from maize and beans

jiko -- a brazier used for cooking or heating and fuelled with charcoal, firewood or kerosene

lesso -- same as kanga
-- a rectangular cotton cloth with colourful prints and Swahili proverbs, worn as a skirt, as a turban,

Kayole -- an Eastern suburb of Nairobi

kiondo -- a sisal basket woven by women -- plural : vyondo

mabati -- corrugated iron sheets for building houses or roofing them

mandazi, mandazis -- a kind of doughnut

matatu -- a public transport minibus

mkokoteni, a hand cart pl. mikokoteni

muthokoi -- the delicious Kamba staple food

mzungu -- a white person

Nairobi -- the capital of Kenya

ndizi -- banana

ndubia -- tea with milk but no sugar

posho mill, poshomill -- for wheat and maize

shamba -- vegetable garden

Soweto -- a slum area within Kayole

Sufuria -- cooking pot or sauce

sukuma wiki, sukumawiki -- "stretching out the week"
leafy cabbage-like vegetable

tilapia -- a fish from lake Victoria
turungi -- "tru tea" : tea with neither milk nor sugar

ugali -- a staple food, solid porridge made from maize flour

uji -- a liquid porridge made from maize or millet flour

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Reference

***** KIGO : Season Words of Kenya

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New Year Resolutions

2012-01-28T20:15:00.000-08:00

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New Year Resolutions

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Hot and dry season
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

New Year's resolution

The Shiki Kukai January 2012
source : shikikukai

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

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5 Points
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church service --
the thief testifies
he is born again

~ Brian Mulando

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4 Points
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staff meeting --
exchanging new year's
resolutions

~ Caxton Okoth

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3 Points
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father dusts
his old torn Bible from the shelf --
new year's resolve

~ Stephen Macharia

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Other selected entries
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new year's resolve --
he burns all cigarettes
to chew only mint

~ Isaac Ndirangu

no more lateness --
my misset alarm clock
rings at 3am

~ Patrick Wafula

renewing my faith --
memorizing the Catechism
again

~ Consolata Akoth

no more sugar --
I salivate at cookies
in the supermarket

~ Alex Wanambisi

new year's testimony --
one of the brethren declares
he is born again

~ Eric Mwange

he takes a puff
and throws the cigar --
last smoke

~ Cecilia Wambui

a final gaze
at the liquor store --
quitting drinker

~ Brian Etole

new resolution --
a student swears
to be punctual

~ Elijah Juma

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Related words

***** WKD : the New Year

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St Mathew Kukai Nov 2011

2011-11-06T12:47:00.000-08:00

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Eleventh Kukai of the Haiku Clubs of Nairobi
St Mathew’s Secondary School, Soweto Branch
November 5, 2011

This was the eleventh Kukai of the Haiku Clubs of Nairobi. It took place at St Mathew’s, Soweto Branch, following the kind invitation of Mr Andrew Otinga, the Patron of the Peacocks Haiku Club. It was also the last kukai for several members of the Peacocks and the Bamboochas, who were in the final days of their KCSE examinations and were about to graduate from their respective schools.

. Photo Album .

Participants :

Peacocks
Abednego Muasya
Agnetta Shikalo
Akaliene Rose
Brian Etole
Brian Mulando
Bryan Anyonya
Carolyne Wanjiru
Caxton Okoth
Ceciliah Wambui
Derrick Ambale
Diana Dolla
Doris Muthini
Elijah Juma
Elijah Noah
Esther Mweme
Faith Owila
Florence Mlangi
Gertrude Wahu
Hamisi Ishmael Kambona
James Karume
Jescah Auma
John Kennedy
Joseph Musango
Joshua Kyalo
Julie Okach
Kevin Asava
Lencer Achieng
Margaret Ndinda
Metrine Okalo
Moses Nyawanga
Pauline Wayua
Richard Okoth
Silvia Mukelli
Sharon Akoth
Stanley Mutinda
Stanley K Joshua
Stephen Munyao
Synaidah Kalahi
Titus Mutungi
Valary Knight
Virginia Njeri

Bamboochas
Ancent Mutua
Annastacia Muthini
Antony Mwangi
Cecil Wambui
Collins Omuganda
Consolata Akoth
Donnahlily Atieno
Douglas Nugi
Emmanuel Muteti
Gloriah Kerubo
Iryne Lydiah Aluoch
Isaac Ndirangu
James Bundi
John Kamau
Johnson Gacugu
Lucy Mukuhi
Mecyline Akinyi
Melcine Ayako
Mercy Muthoni
Milkah Wanjiku
Rachael Njeri
Redempta Ndinda
Sam Pirias
Silvia Khabayi
Stephen Macharia
Sylviah Mbone
Susan Njeri
Teresia Njeri

Cocks
Caleb Mutua
Catherine Njeri Maina

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While the students were gathering for the kukai, Mr Patrick Wafula, the Co-ordinator of the Haiku Clubs, gave them a quiz to solve, promising a small prize to the 16 participants who had answered all five questions correctly.

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Caleb Mutua was in charge as Master of Ceremonies for the morning session. Participants were sorry to hear that Antony Njoroge was ill and sent him their good wishes.

The meeting started with lively choruses and a prayer.

The new members of the Haiku Clubs, particularly those in Form One, were welcomed.

The Chairpersons of the Haiku Clubs, Brian Etole and Synaidah Kalahi for the Peacocks and Isaac Ndirangu for the Bamboochas, then presented brief reports on the work which had been carried out in their respective clubs.

Synaidah Kalahi presenting the Peacocks’ report
Photo : Isabelle Prondzynski

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Update on computer teaching

Mr David Kimani reported that the following computer students (all Peacocks) had been regular and committed attendees at computer classes and would soon have finished their end-of-year examinations, qualifying them for a certificate :

Jack Silingi
Pauline Wayua
Synaidah Kalahi
Benta Kisia
Stanley K Joshua
Doris Muthini
Winfrida Maheri
Elijah Juma
Joshua Kyalo
Titus Mutungi
Otakwa Livingstone
Agnetta Shikalo
Abednego Muasya
Caxton Okoth
Monica Ndunge
Joseph Musango
Valary Knight
Margaret Ndinda
Grannis Ambuli
John Kennedy
Victor Odhiambo
Jescah Auma

He expressed his appreciation for their commitment and studiousness, and he looked forward to teaching the next group soon after the start of the new school year.

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Best haiku submitted to Kenya Saijiki since the previous kukai

As the Moderator of Kenya Saijiki, I (Isabelle Prondzynski) then presented prizes for the best haiku written by members of the forum during the past few months. I had been greatly impressed with the high standard of haiku written by the prizewinners, so that the choice of the top places had been a hard one. The prizewinners received some well-merited applause.

These are the prizewinning haiku :

1.
---
sunset --
a farmer scrapes mud
from his hoe

~ Victor Obutho

2.
---
Gertrude's hospital --
jacaranda flowers fall
one by one

~ J Kaweto

3.
---
light shower --
her hair shines with
raindrops

~ Brian Mulando

4.
---
sudden blackout --
the hawker lights
all his torches

~ Brian Etole

5.
---
marching scouts --
dust rises from their
stumbling feet

~ Yamame

6.
---
Mashujaa Day --
rain forces the choir
from the stage

~ Kelvin Mukoselo

7.
---
twilight --
sunrays sweep across
jacaranda flowers

~ Catherine Njeri Maina

8.
---
a dishevelled calf
shelters under a stall --
evening showers

~ Bonface Bonke

9.
---
rush hour --
a matatu spills dust
past the market

~ Elijah Juma

10.
----
goat choma point --
the sparkling light of
a burning jiko

~ James Bundi

Viewing the haiku prizes
Photo : Patrick Wafula

Numbers 11 to 18 (in no particular order)
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a body push
sends a lady to the floor --
avocado chaos

~ Mango Junior

a candle flame sways
side to side in the wind --
power failure

~ Stephen Macharia

muddy road --
a mkokoteni puller
in torn gumboots

~ Isaac Ndirangu

late evening --
a greengrocer lights
the first candle

~ Winfridah Malesi

moving cars --
a cloud of dust floats
in the air

~ Otakwa Livingstone

busy road --
a glimmer of light
from the matatu

~ Pauline Wayua

Soweto market --
she sprinkles water on
withered vegetables

~ Douglas Nugi

Mashujaa Day --
heavy rain interrupts
the programme

~ Douglas Kaucho

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Appreciating other people’s haiku

In a workshop, with nine groups of around nine people working together, the students discussed nine prizewinning international haiku, working out which of these they liked best, and why. Each group then presented the haiku they had chosen, explaining why they liked it best and whether it complied with the basic rules of haiku.

They realised that it was not easy to work out which was the kigo, as the seasons are different in other parts of the world, but they made a valiant effort to find the kigo in each example. They also made several thoughtful suggestions as to how the haiku could have been further improved.

The two haiku that garnered the most support in this workshop were :

paper lantern --
a moth’s shadow dances
on the wall

~ Jacek M.

after the storm --
the old dry well
full of stars

~ Manuela Dragomirescu

Haiku working groups
~ Photo : Isabelle Prondzynski

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Poetic haiga

Isaac Ndirangu then presented a poetic haiga he had written, about Mashujaa Day (20 October), a kigo for the short rains, when the heroes of Kenya are celebrated.

in the times of war
Kenyan warriors fought for all
some even tried to build some wall
for they knew the war was not for the fool
mashujaa fought for all

National Stadium --
a presidential speech to recognise
our freedom fighters

the land was disgusting
especially where they were hiding
the wise were forbidding
for our leaders who were upcoming
bur still mashujaa fought for all

commemorating independence --
rest in peace the gone heroes
of our Kenya

some were detained
but still freedom was obtained
and now we are enjoying what our warriors attained
mashujaa fought for all

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Ginkoo - Haiku Walk

After the lunch break, the haijin set out for their ginkoo, while the Patrons and the Moderator discussed haiku club business. Following the ginkoo, they became the jury, while the haijin entertained themselves and each other.

These were the haiku chosen as the prizewinners of the ginkoo :

1.
---
the thud of
a fresh mudball on the floor --
hopscotch

~ James Bundi

2.
---
muddy path --
her shoe remains
behind

~ Milkah Wanjiku

3.
---
hot afternoon --
he pours ginkoo water
on his head

~ Brian Etole

4.
---
hot noon --
she washes a baby
on the balcony

~ Brian Mulando

5.
---
cool breeze --
a tethered goat browses
on a green field

~ Asava Kevin

6.
---
sunny afternoon --
tadpoles paddling inside
stagnant water

~ Agnetta Shikalo

7.
---
water ripples --
sun's reflection on its surface
hits my eyes

8.
---
sweat drips --
he pushes a wheelbarrow
full of stones

~ Donnahlily Atieno

9.
---
afternoon nap --
haijin's footsteps wake
the goat up

10.
----
flower bed --
the gardener uproots
a moss plant

~ Gloriah Kerubo

Out for the ginkoo
~ Photo : David Kimani Mwangi

11.
----
roadside kiosk --
a vendor loading some
empty charcoal cans

~ Isaac Ndirangu

12.
----
noon --
a panting dog crosses
the stream

~ Stanley Mutinda

13.
----
rattling sound --
a toad hops over
the dustbin

~ Joshua Kyalo

14.
----
hot sunshine --
man in yellow cap relaxing
under a castor tree

~ Dominic Kuvonga

15.
----
midday --
bluegum leaves fall
beside a haijin

~ Diana Dolla

16.
----
sudden wind --
banana leaves sway
side by side

~ Mercy Muthoni

17.
----
scorching sun --
the reflection of light on
the water surface

~ Stephen Macharia

18.
----
water in a basin --
a rainbow cast on the
shiny mabati

~ Margaret Ndinda

19.
----
calm afternoon --
an eagle tries to balance
high up in the sky

~ John Kennedy

20.
----
trimmed fence --
a broken umbrella
suspended

~ Synaidah Kalahi

Prizes were distributed to the winners, and a great atmosphere continued to reign for some time after the close of the kukai, with haijin lingering, chatting to each other, and taking pictures in the evening sunlight. All agreed that this had been a splendid kukai, and expressed their congratulations to Mr Andrew Otinga, the organiser.

The ginkoo prizewinners
~ Photo : Isabelle Prondzynski

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Kukai haiku by the Patrons

Following the kukai, the Patrons also sent in their haiku of the day, remembering the pleasure it had given them. So here, as an afterword, are the Patrons’ haiku :

the Moderator helps
a ladybird cross the table --
11th kukai

withering flowers
in old plastic bottles --
the din of haijin

Kukai workshop --
two chicks peck bread crumbs
under chairs

~ Patrick Wafula

she moves
to inspect haiku groups --
eleventh kukai

open windows --
cool breeze drifts
into the hall

eleventh kukai --
flower vases on the
front table

~ Andrew Otinga

eleventh kukai --
the flower arrangement wilts
before my eyes

lunch break --
a hen and chicks peck
for our fallen crumbs

lunch break --
a kitten is resting
on a haijin’s lap

jury meeting --
haiku entries weighed down
by our fingers

~ Isabelle Prondzynski

The top table at the kukai,
with the flower vases we all enjoyed
Photo : Patrick Wafula

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Related words

***** . The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi .

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Kajiado Mission

2011-09-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

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quote
Kajiado is a town in the Rift Valley Province, Kenya.
The town is located south of Nairobi, along the Nairobi – Arusha highway. Kajiado has an urban population of 8128 (1999 census) . Local people are predominantly of the Maasai tribe.

Kajiado is headquarters to the Kajiado District.

The name "Kajiado" comes from the word "Orkejuado."
Which means "The Long River" in Maasai language. The seasonal river named after the town runs west of the town.

The original name for Kajiado was "Olopurupurana", which means "a round elevation."

source : wikipedia

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Report from Patrick Wafula

. Photo Album . 01 - 08 .

Kajiado sunset—
white goats stroll home
in a single file

a boy and a girl
looking after goats—
parched grass

ostriches stroll
in undulating hills —
thorny bushes

the driver asking
if we are still in Kenya—
winding road

hill after hill—
the matatu nearly stalls
on a steep slope

walking two km
to the borehole for water—
winding road

winding path—
a torn leso abandoned
on a thorny bush

walking 40 km
to catch the bus stop—
a girl faints

parched lips—
sharing a half bottle
of water

distant borehole—
they skip a bathe a day
to save water

a teenage wife—
manyatta to manyatta
evangelism

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. Rift Valley .

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Cold Water

2011-07-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

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Cold Water

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cold dry season
***** Category: Earth / Humanity

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Explanation

Most Kenyans use cold water to wash themselves, to take a shower, to wash their clothes and dishes. Very few households have hot running water. This may be because they have no running water at all, or because the water runs only rarely in the taps, or because they have no hot water system.

Most of those Nairobi households which are connected to the mains pipes, receive running water only once a week on a particular weekday.
They then store the water in large plastic tanks and bring it into household use in buckets, basins and jerricans.

Those who wish to use hot water for washing themselves or their clothes or dishes have to heat it in a kettle or a sufuria. This becomes expensive and laborious, and is something of a luxury.

Using cold water means that the water temperature changes with the air temperature of the season. Water is therefore particularly cold in the morning during the cold dry season.

Isabelle Prondzynski.

Water tank on a roof

Water trickling into a basin

Washing hands before a meal

Washing the dishes at the Nursery School

All photos © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

cold water--
I straighten myself very fast
in the bathroom

cold water --
I take too long standing
in the bathroom

cold water--
I wash my head and feet
in the bathroom

Barrack Elungata

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Related words

***** . WKD : Water in various Kigo .

hiyamizu uri 冷水売（ひやみずうり） vendor of cold water
kigo for all summer

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Mkokoteni hand cart

2011-07-17T17:31:00.000-07:00

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Mkokoteni hand cart

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

The mkokoteni (plural : mikokoteni)
is a hand cart, pulled by a stong man, and usually delivering fruit and vegetables to the smaller traders in the suburbs. Mikokoteni can also be used to deliver furniture and kitchen appliances from the shops and stalls to the new owners, to help people moving their residence from house to house, or any other purpose which involves moving goods within the city of Nairobi or a similar radius up-country. If the weight being moved is very heavy, there may be two people pulling. If the journey is downhill, a second person may be needed to brake the speed of the cart.

If the cart is empty, the second person may sit on it for the ride, and sometimes children too enjoy the same.

. . . CLICK here for large Photo !

Isabelle Prondzynski

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. . . CLICK here for more Photos !

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Worldwide use

*****************************
Things found on the way

*****************************
HAIKU

water shortage--
a man pulls a mkokoteni
with empty jerricans

~ Emmanuel Muteti

.................................................................................

move !
a donkey pauses after pulling
an overloaded mkokoteni

mkokoteni --
he strugles to pull it
on the rocky road

~ Isaac Ndirangu

struggling to pull
a mkokoteni up a slope --
punctured tyres

~ Peter Kalivo

a man pulling
a heavy mkokoteni --
sweat droplets

water shortage --
a man pulling a mkokoteni
on the road

~ Stephen Macharia

hooting vehicle --
a mkokoteni crosses
at the junction

~ Antony Onyango

packed mikokoteni
block the market entrance -
furniture shop

~ Mango Junior

heavy breathing--
a tired man pulling
his mkokoteni

~ Douglas Nugi

MORE
. mkokoteni haiku
July 3, 2011

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Carlile Kukai 2011

2011-06-11T22:51:00.000-07:00

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Carlile Kukai, 11 June 2011

Isabelle Prondzynski reports:

Today, we held the tenth kukai of Kenya Saijiki, at Carlile College, Nairobi. This venue, organised for us by our Master of Ceremonies, Antony Njoroge, turned out to be the best we have so far had for a kukai. Specifically, we appreciated St Philip's Chapel, which we were allowed to use, as well as the spacious grounds where we held our ginkoo, and the hospitality of the Carlile College staff. In return, we were told that our group was very well behaved and a pleasure to host in the College.

I was slightly surprised at this reaction by the College authorities, as we were definitely a high-spirited, noisy lot, equipped with drums, energetic drummers, other percussion instruments, excellent singers and amazing actors. When the jury retired to judge the haiku, we were assailed by the screams of tortured humanity -- all part of a drama being acted out during the interval!

The morning started with welcomes, greetings and reports on activities carried out since the beginning of this year.

We were then joined by two Irish girls, Emma Dunwoody and Kirsten Brown. They had become curious about haiku and used the opportunity to ask the haiku club members questions about what is haiku and why write it?
Why choose a Japanese form of poetry in Kenya?
The haijin were articulate in their responses, telling the visitors about the history of haiku, both in Japan and in Kenya, the basic elements of a haiku, and the benefits they had experienced from writing haiku poems and from interacting with haijin in other parts of the world.

The haijin were then awarded prizes for their haiku in the "Lent / Palm Sunday / Easter" competition as well as that on the topic of "Markets". Each prize winning haijin explained the background to the haiku they had written, and they received generous applause.

This was followed by a series of presentations, showing the extraordinary wealth of talent to be found among the members of Kenya Saijiki in the wider cultural world -- dance, drama, recitation. The haijin had committed much of their spare time to preparing these presentations, and the enthusiasm they had brought to the practice sessions showed. Much fun was had by the performers themselves -- and at least as much fun by the audience!

One performance stands out.
This was a drama piece about the life of Matsuo Basho, the early master of haiku, in a Kenyan setting.
Here, Master Basho lives at home, enjoys writing haiku and is the host in a generous and hospitable household. His wife understands haiku very well, and while she is out and about, she joyfully informs her friends and acquaintances, such as a group of market women, about this new form of poetry. Invited to his homestead, Master Basho tells the women all about haiku, and they leave suitably impressed.
The church pastor and congregation too, hear about haiku and come as a group to Master Basho's house to be told more. Meanwhile, his daughter asks many questions, shows her first haiku to her father and becomes an ever better haijin, thanks to the loving care with which both her parents encourage her and answer her questions.

The acting in this story was extraordinary, and we enjoyed the haiku lessons while laughing out loud at many of the scenes.

Just one picture is already here, of Master Basho,
his wife and daughter discussing haiku :

After lunch, we set out on the habitual ginkoo, following which the jury retired and enjoyed going through the haiku while it rained for a while.

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The prizewinning haiku, announced as the sun reappeared,
were as follows :

1.
---
silent chapel --
chirping weaver birds
break the silence

~ Milkah Wanjiku (Bamboocha, F3)

2.
---
cool afternoon --
a dove flaps its wings
and flies away

~ John Kennedy (Peacock)

3.
---
wild palm --
a crow perches on the
rustling fronds

~ Beryl Achieng' (Bamboocha, F4)

4.
---
noon breeze --
again and again
the fronds sway

~ Duncan Karanja (Bamboocha, F4)

5.
---
parking lot --
she crushes a dry leaf
in her palm

~ Brian Etole (Peacock, F3)

6.
---
she tries to
describe an avocado tree --
tenth kukai

~ Bonface Kariuki (Peacock)

7.
---
warm afternoon --
avocado fruit crush
under his shoe

~ Barrack Elung'ata (Cock)

8.
---
cool breeze --
she lies on the grass
with legs interlocked

~ Monicah Ndunge (Peacock)

9.
---
scorching sun --
unfinished maize cob
besinde the dustbin

~ Noah Elijah (Peacock)

10.
----
avocado tree --
a student climbs up
in a hurry

~ Joseph Musango (Peacock)

11.
----
silent classroom --
he stares as the
busy students

~ Jacklyne Anyoso (Peacock, F4)

12.
----
rusted cabin --
a mouse moves
in a rush

~ Esther Obwamu (Peacock, F4)

13.
----
sweating --
a nail slips from a
constructor's palm

~ Eric Mwange (Bamboocha, F4)

14.
----
windy afternoon --
avocado fruit swings
over and over

~ Elijah Juma (Peacock, F2)

15.
----
trimmed fence --
a black butterfly rests
on a leaf

~ Sharon Akoth (Peacock, F3)

16.
----
dirty pool --
a tadpole's tail wags
and wags

~ Mercy Nthoki (Peacock, F4)

17.
----
sudden wind --
a bird balances on a
guava branch

~ Jescah Auma (Peacock, F2)

18.
----
cool breeze --
an avocado leaf drops on
a dusty mabati roof

~ Asava Kevin (Peacock, F3)

19.
----
heckling sound --
matatus loaded with passengers
pass by

~ Willis Wanga (Bamboocha, F2)

20.
----
water shortage --
she instructs students to use
only one plastic cup

~ Peter Kalivo (Bamboocha, F2)

Congratulations to all the prize winning haijin!

At the end of the afternoon, the haijin set out again for their homes.
All agreed that an excellent day had been had.

We look forward already to the next kukai, planned for early November in St. Mathew's Soweto school.

Big thanks to the many who contributed to this kukai, which was so enjoyable,

Isabelle.

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Patrick Wafula shares his impressions

10th Kukai--
a stray kitten walks
accross the pulpit

10th Kukai--
jugglers and dancers
in haiku

10th Kukai--
drama and haiku
on stage

10th Kukai--
white Irish guests
in attendance

Patrick

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***** The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

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Kisongo Market Tanzania

2011-04-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

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Kisongo Market

***** Location: Tanzania
***** Season: Topic for Haiku
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

Kisongo Masai Market in Tanzania

. . . CLICK here for online Photos !

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Kisongo goat market

Photos by Patrick Wafula

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Two haiku and photo by Patrick Wafula

Kisongo Market—
polished gourds gleaming
in the noon sun

. . .

the hunchback
selling reedbaskets —
Kisongo Market

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Sand harvesting

2011-04-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

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Sand harvesting, sand mining

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Long Rains
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

quote
Kenya has no policy on sand harvesting

National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) says despite devastating effects of climate change the country has no guidelines to check sand harvesting especially in arid and semi-arid areas where the practice has compounded the problem of drought.
source : www.ecoearth.info

.................................................................................

quote
NATIONAL SAND HARVESTING GUIDELINES 2007

“Sand” means sedimentary material finer than gravel and coarser than silt with grains between 0.06mm and 2mm in diameter and includes stones, coral, earth and turf but does not include silica sand.

“Sand harvesting”, means the removal, extraction, harvesting or scooping of sand from designated sites.

“Sand dealer” means any person(s) approved to harvest, remove, extract, scoop, transport or sell sand as provided

source : www.nema.go.ke

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Sand harvesting comes with the long rain.
The long sand lorries come from Ukambani, when both the seasonal and permanent rivers flood.

meandering stream —
a sweating sand harvester
shovels again and again

Photo and Haiku : Patrick Wafula

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Related words

***** Sand (suna)

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Plantation

2011-04-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

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Plantation activities

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

Cultivation of fields and planting of seeds and seedlings are
kigo for the start of the two rainy seasons.
We collect the words that we associate with both activities.

cultivating shambas
. Shamba garden 　

digging the soil
planting seeds
planting seedlings

fertilizer
jembe
manure
seedlings

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jembe

a jembe is a hoe (a digging tool with a long stick handle) commonly used in Kenya's farms. At times a jembe can be so heavy that you just have to remove mud by either knocking one against another or by using a stick.

. . another photo of a jembe

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Plantation haiku by Sibiko Yamame Winslause

heavy jembes-
he knocks them together
dropping mud

ploughed ridges-
her two fingers drop maize seed
in turn

Monday morning-
wet red soil sticks
on his feet

rising sun-
he follows manila rope
digging holes

he repairs
his wheelbarrow tyre-
afternoon drizzle

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Market

2011-03-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

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Market, markets in Kenya

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season:
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

MARKET was the subject of a competition for the Kenya Saijiki Forum in March 2011.

source : kenyasaijiki

*****************************
HAIKU

Isabelle sensei wrote:

And here are my favourites and prizewinners!

1.
---
Muthurwa market--
he sorts out white vests
from t-shirts

~ Brian Mulando

2.
---
market stall--
a dead butterfly in
a black sandal

~ Brian Etole

3.
---
Muthurwa market--
they scramble over a
mtumba sack

~ Boniface Kariuki

4.
---
Muthurwa stall--
a display of brown
cow tails

~ Elijah Juma

5. to 10. (in no particular order)
-----------------------------------------------

Mutindwa market--
scorching sun hits the
hawker's face

~ Asava Kevin

market mud --
he pulls and pulls
the heavy cart

~ Esther Obwamu

raw pears--
my nail breaks
on pressing

~ SYNAIDAH KALAHI

busy market--
the echoeing of a
peddler's whistle

~ Pauline Wayua

Gikomba-
he carries people across
a broken sewer

~ yamame

Soweto yard--
she shakes her palm over
the hot boiled maize

~ Barrack Elungata

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Here are all the entries

Mutindwa market--
scorching sun hits the
hawker's face

market day--
scorching sun hits the
unsold ripe bananas

Soweto market--
blown dust covers the
old furniture

~ Asava Kevin

busy market--
a greengrocer pours water
on my shoes

Muthurwa market--
they scramble over a
mtumba sack

Gikomba market--
a woman bargains the price
of a cabbage

~ Boniface Kariuki

busy market--
he slips after stepping on
a banana peel

market mud --
he pulls and pulls
the heavy cart

~ Esther Obwamu

raw pears--
my nail breaks
on pressing

busy market--
he grabs her a red
handbag

~ SYNAIDAH KALAHI

Muthurwa market--
a pedestrian squeezes at
the entrance gate

busy market--
the echoeing of a
peddler's whistle

~ Pauline Wayua

Gikomba market--
a council askari inspects
her goods

Muthurwa market--
he sorts out white vests
from t-shirts

Soweto market--
a lorry with cabbages
honks loudly

closed grocery--
bumping sound of
a falling fruit

grand theft--
a vagrant pockets
a grocer mango

~ Brian Mulando

a rushing hawker
knocks my elbow--
Soweto market

~ CECILLIAH

Kona market--
the cabbages reduce on
the mingling of buyers

~ JESCAH

market stall--
a dead butterfly in
a black sandal

a red trail
of spilt apple juice--
Soweto market

busy Gikomba--
I weave through
the crowd

~ Brian Etole

Gikomba market--
he heaves as he lifts
a muddy pears sack

Soweto market--
houseflies buzz on
pineapple peels

~ Otinga San

Muthurwa stall--
a display of brown
cow tails

~ Elijah Juma

Muthurwa-
I cover my humming ears
from a hooting matatu

footsteps-
juice from a rotten mango
splashes on my trouser

Gikomba-
he carries people across
a broken sewer

~ yamame

Mutindwa market--
they squeeze through a narrow left
side of stuck handcart

Muthurwa yard--
men and women throw glances
to my fallen coin

yard litter bins--
street boys are busy checking
rotting mangoes

Soweto yard--
she shakes her palm over
the hot boiled maize

Soweto yard --
she cuts a mango fruit
for display

~ Barrack Elungata

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and now
the results of the MARKETS international competition:

-----------------------------------------------
9 Points
-----------------------------------------------

late evening--
a vegetable seller lights
the first candle

~ Winfridah Malesi

-----------------------------------------------
8 Points
-----------------------------------------------

market stall--
a dead butterfly in
a black sandal

~ Brian Etole

-----------------------------------------------
1 Point
-----------------------------------------------

Muthurwa stall--
a display of brown
cow tails

~ Elijah Juma

-----------------------------------------------
Other selected entries
-----------------------------------------------

a hawker displays
a pair of black gloves--
June cold

~ Andrew Otinga

a body push
sends a lady to the floor --
avocado chaos

~ Mango Junior

evening market--
the fat woman pulls me
to buy her fruit

~ Barrack Elungata

Gikomba market --
he carries people across
a broken sewer

~ yamame

busy market--
the echoing of a
peddler's whistle

~ Pauline Wayua

raw pears--
my nail breaks
on pressing

~ Synaidah Kalahi

market mud --
he pulls and pulls
the heavy cart

~ Esther Obwamu

Mutindwa market--
scorching sun hits the
hawker's face

~ Asava Kevin

Muthurwa market--
they scramble over some
second-hand clothes

~ Boniface Kariuki

Muthurwa market--
he sorts out white vests
from t-shirts

~ BRIAN MULANDO

a stray goat eating
sweet potato peelings--
hawkers' din

Patrick

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. Market haiku from the Bamboochas 　
Apr 10, 2011 　

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rats scramble
over a piece of sausage -
Sowete market

Soweto market-
he sweats a lot
while preaching

Elijah Juma

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he bargains
for sniffing glue --
Gikomba market

Antony Njoroge
source : "Torins Diary"

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Related words

***** . Mkokoteni hand cart .

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Isukuti dance

2011-03-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

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Isukuti dance

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Isukuti is a dance that is most commemorated by the Luhya people especially when they have a very special occassion and it is done to motivate them in whatever they do.

Sibiko Yamame

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. Reference .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

quote
The Adzido Pan African Dance Ensemble

The drum is carved with a Gye Nyame symbol representing 'Only god, symbol of omnipotence' and was donated by the Dance Ensemble as part of the Collecting 2000 project.

The ensemble wrote: 'Isukuti is a dance performed by the Luhya tribe who live on the western province of Kenya. This is a social dance performed by both sexes of all ages except the very young and the very old. The dance is mainly performed during various happy occasions, for example marriage, circumcisions, harvest etcetera.'

source : www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Nyayo stadium-
he celebrates the goal to
the rhythm of isukuti

Sibiko Yamame

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*****************************
Related words

***** WKD : Dance (odori, mai, kagura)

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Jomo Kenyatta

2011-03-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

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Jomo Kenyatta

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

Jomo Kenyatta
(c. 1894[2] – 22 August 1978)
served as the first Prime Minister (1963–1964) and President (1964–1978) of Kenya.
He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan nation.

In Kenya, Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi's main street and main streets in many Kenyan cities and towns, numerous schools, two Universities (Kenyatta University and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology), the country's main referral hospital, markets, and housing estates are named after Jomo Kenyatta.

A statue in downtown Nairobi and monuments all over Kenya stand in his honour. Kenya observed a public holiday every 20 October in his honour until the new 2010 constitution abolished Kenyatta Day and replaced it with
Mashujaa (Heroes' ) day.

Kenyatta's face adorns Kenyan currency notes and coins of all denominations, but this is expected to change as the new constitution bans the use of the portrait of any person on Kenya's currency.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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20 Oct -- Kenyatta Day
This is to commemorate the arrest of Jomo Kenyatta and the declaration of the State of Emergency on 20 October 1952.
October 2010:
The new constitution scrapped Moi Day and replaced Kenyatta day with
Hero's (Mashujaa) Day
in efforts to celebrate the men and women who fought for Kenya's freedom .

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Seated on his plinth outside
Kenyatta International Conference Centre

Photo (C) Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use

*****************************
Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Kenyatta beach --
a February wave knocks her off
her tube floater

Caleb Mutua in Mombasa, 2011

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Mashujaa Day
street paths coloured with
pink blossoms

Cal Wodhes (Caleb Mutua)
source : facebook, October 2011

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jacaranda flowers fall
on Tom Mboya statue—
Moi Avenue

an orphan girl
calls to name me her hero--
Freedom songs

Patrick Wafula, 2011

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Mashujaa day - Heroes' day

Mashujaa day.....
the rain forces the choir
from the stage

Kelvin Mukoselo

. . . . .

Mashujaa day--
they march all around
the stadium

Stephen Macharia - MORE

Mashujaa day--
the president inspect the parade
in a jovial mood

Kalivo - MORE

*****************************
Related words

-- Jomo Kenyatta Beach in Mombasa
-- Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) in Nairobi
-- Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi

***** National Holidays in Kenya

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Grevillea tree

2011-03-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

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Grevillea tree

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Short rains
***** Category: Plant

*****************************
Explanation

The grevillea robusta is one of the most common trees in Nairobi and the Highlands of Kenya. It is not cultivated for its looks, but more for its uses, as it grows straight and tall and produces good timber, both for building and for firewood.

It is quite common for large branches of this tree to be cut down with pangas, leaving the rest of the tree to recover and continue to grow. Few Kenyans notice the flowers of this tree, related to the protea of South Africa, as these are often hidden among the foliage and high up from the ground, and coincide with those of the far more showy jacaranda and tipu trees.

Photo and text © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Grevillea Robusta
Exotic, native to Eastern Australia

Names : Mgrivea (Swahili), Mûkima (Kikuyu)

A semi-deciduous, naturalised tree reaching 20m or more in height, very fast-growing, widely plantedat altitudes of 1,200 m above sea level. It does best in areas of deep soil and good rainfall, but tolerates poorer soils.

Bark : Dark grey; rough; furrowed vertically.
Leaves : Distrinctive; deeply divided, fern-like, up to 3 cm long, leathery olive-green above, silky silvery grey below, fallen leaves grey, stiff, slow to decompose.
Flowers : Numerous; in one-sided golden orange spikes up to 12 cm in length; showy.
Fruit : Dark capsules, about 1 cm long, with slender beaks, young capsule grey-green in colour; splits to release two winged seeds.
Uses : The timber is tough and durable, used for quality furniture, veneer / plywood, fuel, posts, fencing and wooden toys. Leaves serve as fodder.

~ Najma Dharani, Field Guide to common trees and shrubs of East Africa, Struik Publishers, Cape Town 2002.

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Grevillea flower
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

grevillea boughs
stand bare in the mist --
grey sky

saw-dust scented air
on Landhies road --
fallen grevilleas

Muthurwa food vendors
filling sacks with saw dust --
whirring power saw

a bulldozer bites log
after log to load the lorries --
sliced grevillea

outdoor class --
an uprooted grevillea
on the school roof

~ Patrick Wafula

a dry carpet
of grevillea leaves-
Landhies Road

fallen grevillea--
a sculptor whittles a cooking spoon
from a stump

~ Andrew Otinga

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Grevillea leaves
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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a dove cooing
in a leafy grevillea --
still dawn

Patrick Wafula in Arusha, June 2011

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Related words

***** . Trees in Kenya

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Monkey, monkeys

2011-02-18T22:11:00.001-08:00

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Monkey, monkeys

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Animal

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Explanation

Kenya national park monkeys. In Kenya animal safari, you will see a lot of different monkey species including the
baboons, bush baby, vervet, Blue (Samango) Monkey, colobus and others.
source : www.buzzle.com

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

revellers playing
with monkeys at City Park
peace on their faces

Patrick Wafula

Peace Haiku, 2006

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a lone monkey drinks
from a puddle on the roadside--
Kakamega forest

Patrick Wafula, Kisii in Nyanza

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a monkey carrying a baby
snatches bread from a student --
picnic in Hell's Gate

Patrick Wafula, Hell's Gate

hot afternoon --
a monkey snatches a piece of biscuit
from my hand

Angeline Muthoki

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monkey playground --
a brown carpet of pine
needles

Patrick Wafula, Arboretum Kukai 2008

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scratching --
a monkey leans
on a broken branch

Andrew Otinga

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a monkey appears
in the shade of a tree --
our biscuits!

Haiku and Photo from Isabelle Prondzynski

. MORE
Monkey Haiku from Kenya 　

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Related words

***** WKD : Monkey (saru)

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Uganda

2011-01-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

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Uganda

***** Location: Uganda
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Kabaka of Uganda

The Kabaka is the king of the Baganda (Uganda). He gave the seven hills of Kampala to the most important organisations of the country :
the hospital, the university, the Anglican Cathedral, the Catholic Cathedral, administrative offices and his own palace.

seven hills
each given by the Kabaka --
each a special place

Isabelle Prondzynski

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quote
The kingdom of Buganda intermittently pressed for independence from Uganda, which raised the question of the protectorate’s future status. Discussions in London in 1961 led to full internal self-government in March 1962. Benedicto Kiwanuka, a Roman Catholic Muganda who was formerly chief minister, became the first prime minister, but in the elections in April 1962 he was displaced by Milton Obote a Lango (Langi) who headed the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) party.

At further discussions in London in June 1962, it was agreed that Buganda should receive a wide degree of autonomy within a federal relationship. Faced with the emergence of Obote’s UPC, which claimed support throughout the country apart from Buganda, and of the Democratic Party (DP), which was based in Buganda and led by Kiwanuka, conservative Ganda leaders set up their own rival organization, Kabaka Yekka (KY), “King Alone.”

Uganda became independent on October 9, 1962, although it was divided politically on a geographic as well as an ethnic basis. By accepting a constitution that conceded what amounted to federal status to Buganda, Obote contrived an unlikely alliance with the Ganda establishment.

MORE
source : uganda-visit-and-travel-guide

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Kampala —
women in gomesi
kneel to greet us

matoke lunch —
our legs are stretched
on the floor mat

Jinja Dam —
silent deep water turning
mighty turbines

Patrick Wafula
July 2011

Owen Falls Dam Jinja Kenya
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Related words

***** WKD : Personal Names and Haiku

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Machakos

2011-01-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

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Machakos, Eastern Kenya

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Earth

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Explanation

Also known as Masaku.

Machakos is a town in Kenya, 64 kilometres southeast of Nairobi. It is the capital of the Machakos District in Eastern Province of Kenya. Machakos Town is a major rural centre, and also a satellite town due to its proximity to Nairobi. Its population is rapidly growing and is 192,117 (as of 2009). People who live here are mostly the Akambas though it is a cosmopolitan town. Machakos is surrounded by hilly terrain, with a high number of family farms.

Machakos was established in 1887, ten years before Nairobi. Machakos was the first administrative centre for the British colony, but they moved the capital of Kenya to Nairobi in 1899 since Machakos by-passed the Uganda Railway that was under construction. Town and the district were named after Masaku, an Akamba chief.

Machakos open air market. Fruits, vegetables and other food stuffs like maize mbemba, beans mboso, etc. are sold here. Major market days are Mondays and Fridays.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

road accident-
torn sacks spill green
mangoes in blood

hot sun-
smelly sweat in
the matatu

weaverbirds' nests
swinging on an acacia-
dusty wind

blue hills-
tasling maize wilting
on terraced farms

naked herdsboys
lying flat on a rock to dry-
slow stream

Patrick Wafula

from a dry Machakos, Eastern Kenya.

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Related words

***** Nairobi

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First Things

2011-01-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

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First Things

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Various
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

First things can be done for the first time in the New Year, or at the first time they happen at any other time of the year.

First rainfall, imminent rain

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Worldwide use

. First things in all seasons 　　

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

. first for 2011 - Introduction

. from the Bamboochas

. from Brian Etole

. from Andrew Otinga

. from Patrick Wafula

. from Caleb Mutua

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Related words

***** First things (hatsumono) Japan

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Mbea Tanzania

2010-12-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

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Mbea Tanzania

TBA

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

a lone Maasai
herdsman in the dust--
dry wind

piles of stone--
dry grass rustling in
dusty wind

round hammock--
the winding dusty
road

his akala sandals
sinking into hot dust--
herdsman

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Longitudo

For a long time since I started my Arusha trips in 2007, I had not understood a certain phenomenon at one of the places along the way. This place is called Longitudo. There is a small mountain here which is very dry right from the slopes to the top; so are the expansive plains around the mountain. But during the rain season, when I was there in April, the plains were green and swampy. The puzzle is how can this mountain and all the swamps that I saw in April be so dry, forming the dustiest spots in the vicinity?

Well, I don’t mean as in the grass is missing and you can see the dust. No. The grass is right there, but it is brown dead and very dry. The other puzzle is there is no human habitation within so many kilometers surrounding this mountain. It was Aisha, the Tanzanian lady in the car who unraveled this puzzle for me:

Mount Longitudo is an active volcano whose tremors cause earthquakes as far as Nairobi as it happened in 2007.

Longitude plains--
a carpet of dead brown grass
covered in dust

a grey cloud
hangs on the sleeping crater—
Longitudo mountain

Barren Longitudo Plain, Mbea

Look at more
. PHOTO ALBUM from Patrick Wafula 　

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Animal Orphanage

2010-12-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

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Nairobi Animal Orphanage

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Nairobi Animal Orphanage
is the oldest animal orphanage in Kenya and set in Nairobi National Park with lush vegetation contrasting against the red dust and clay of the soil.

Established in 1964 as a refuge and rehabilitation centre for wild animals found abandoned or injured throughout Kenya, the unique facility records over 200,000 thousand visitors every year. Animals received at the facility, undergo a thorough medical examination, followed by treatment where that is called for, before entering into an appropriate feeding and rehabilitation program.

Nairobi Animal Orphanage is the oldest animal orphanage in Kenya and set in Nairobi National Park with lush vegetation contrasting against the red dust and clay of the soil. This important educational and training facility, which is housed, in the only wildlife protected area in a capital city in the world is often home to more than 20 different animals and bird species.
source : www.magicalkenya.com

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HAIKU

green grass--
a cub and a baby leopard
playing together

Patrick Wafula

Look at more photos from Patrick:

Donkey or Zebra?

Leopard

Part of Nairobi National Park Forest.

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Related words

***** . Nairobi City

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Marabou storks

2010-12-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

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Marabou storks

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Animal

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Explanation

The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus,
is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips. It is sometimes called the "undertaker bird," due to its shape from behind: cloak-like wings and back, skinny white legs, and sometimes, a large white mass of "hair."

Like most storks, the Marabou is gregarious and a colonial breeder. In the African dry season (when food is more readily available as the pools shrink) it builds a tree nest in which two or three eggs are laid.

The Marabou Stork is a frequent scavenger, and the naked head and neck are adaptations to this, as it is with the vultures with which the stork often feeds. In both cases, a feathered head would become rapidly clotted with blood and other substances when the bird's head was inside a large corpse, and the bare head is easier to keep clean.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Dandora garbage-
Marabou storks scavange
for food

Andrew Otinga

. Photo by Isabelle Sensei

Dandora Garbage Dumps
Dandora Municipal Garbage site
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Umbrella Tree

2010-12-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

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Umbrella Tree

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Schefflera actinophylla
(syn. Brassaia actinophylla)

a tree in the Araliaceae family.
It is native to tropical rainforests and gallery forests in Australia (eastern Queensland and the Northern Territory), New Guinea and Java. Common names include
Umbrella Tree, Octopus Tree and Amate.

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Schefflera actinophylla

MORE
. Photos by Caleb Mutua

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There is another tree by this name.

Umbrella tree (Acacia tortilis)

The tree that has come to represent Africa.
Acacia tortilis arches dramatically over the savanna throughout Serengeti. The seedlings of this tree are favored by elephants and cannot survive bush fires, so only twice in the past one hundred years have tortilis trees been able to grow. As such all of the tortilis trees in Serengeti are either 100 or 20 years old.
source : www.tanapa.com

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HAIKU

grey sky --
a stripped umbrella
tree

Patrick Wafula

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blowing wind -
a yellow umbrella leaf
floats in dusty air

Collins Ogutu

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Brick making Tanzania

2010-11-28T16:54:00.000-08:00

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Brick making in Arusha

***** Location: Tanzania
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Brick-making kilns in Arusha have the following seasonality:

March to August (autumn and winter)
are the seasons for brick-laying and kiln-construction,

October and November (spring)
are the months for brick-baking.

Once the bricks are baked and extracted for building houses by the middle-class people, the old kilns are destroyed. However, if the bricks are not needed immediately for construction, they are baked but left in the kiln.

Text and photos : Patrick Wafula

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

spring rain--
in the place of old kilns
stand baked bricks

Patrick Wafula

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***** Arusha (Tanzania)

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Kisii in Nyanza

2010-11-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

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Kisii in Nyanza

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Earth

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Explanation

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Report by Patrick Wafula
November 2010

It was a short but adventurous trip to this cool highland place in Kenya. I was able to take several photos of the the beautiful landscapes starting from the bottom of the Rift Valley, Narok, Bomet, Sotik, Kilgoris and finally Kisii town where I stayed for two days.

At this time of the year, Kisii is cool humid and breezy; it is green all over with plenty of crops ranging from maize, millet, coffee, sugarcane, and tea maturing. There are also plenty of trees such as eucalyptus, wattle, pine, and flame tree that keep the highlands green all year round.

Picking of tea is at its peak.

zebras and sheep
grazing side by side--
Narok plains

millet and pumpkins
for sale on the roadside--
Kisii highlands

sharing gooseberries
with kids on the matatu--
market day

Ogembo Street--
pumpkin varieties and
seeds on display

tea picking--
a small boy carrying a huge
reed basket

hill after hill--
flowering wattle and
blue gum

humid dawn--
the morning star shines
over the hill

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More Haiku from Patrick's trip, December 13

Kisumu and Lake Victoria

cool sunset breeze--
Lake Victoria wrinkles
and wrinkles again

cool humid breeze--
the reeds swing and swing
and swing again

Kisumu--
car and boat washing
on the lakeshore

sunset breeze--
fishing boats rowing
into reed parking

the sun a red ball
among grey clouds--
sunset rain

vehicle tyres wheeze
on the watery tarmac road--
sudden rain

Kakamega:

forested hillside--
the weeping stone weeps
in the sunset

a lone monkey drinks
from a puddle on the roadside--
Kakamega forest

Bungoma: Nzoia Sugar

traffic jam--
tractor trailers carrying
harvested sugarcane

smoking factory--
stretching plantations
of green sugarcane

grey spirals

in the blue sky--
Nzoia Sugar Co.

Bungoma: Webuye Papermill:

panpaper mill--
spiraling grey smoke
in a blue sky

the obnoxious air
hits our nose trills--
the paper mill

long trailers
queuing with logs of pine--
panpaper mill

paper mill--
the aromatic scent
of pulverized pine

Trans-Nzoia: Kitale

slow traffic jam--
lorries carrying maize
to cereal board

lorry shop--
spilled maize grains
on the roadside

after harvest--
cattle grazing on maize
stalks

empty farms--
a whirl wind full of maize
litter across the sky

. More Photos from Patrick Wafula

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*****

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Poetic Haibun

2010-11-06T23:56:00.000-07:00

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Poetic Haibun

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Explanation

At the Ninth Kukai of the Haiku Clubs of Nairobi, on 30 October 2010 at the Children’s Traffic Park, two members of the “Bamboochas”, the Bahati Haiku Poetry Club, gave a presentation which tried out something new. This presentation consisted of free verse by Beryl Achieng’ lamenting the current building spree and the disregard for nature being subjugated for the sake of new housing, contrasted with haiku observations by James Bundi.

Kukai at the Children’s Traffic Park
Photo © David Kimani Mwangi

We wondered what to call this new form of poetry, and decided on the name “poetic haibun”.

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Construction and Development

In the developing times,
trees and natural resources at stake!
Caterpillars and bulldozers at work,
motion day and night to construct
new apartments on the virgin land.
Where is our nature?

cracked tarmac --
the weight of the old
excavator

The dust and ash inhaled
all in the name of money making!
What is the cost of nature
compared to rental expenditure?
We need a change for a living!

yawning --
the dusty air enters
my throat

Dumping sites full of withered flowers,
roots and logs of the uprooted trees.
No beauty, no fresh air,
no shade from trees,
our natural resources at stake!

bare roots --
the withered flower
falls off

We are sorry Mother Nature,
we promise to maintain you
in the best way we can -- even
if it is by writing haiku
to register our complaints.

free verse : Beryl Achieng
haiku : James Bundi

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We should like to hear your views on this. To me, the free verse reads very Kenyan, very passionate, very committed. The haiku, on the other hand, read like haiku, calm and observant without being judgmental. We may have discovered a very Kenyan form of presenting haiku to an audience!

This is something we shall need to work on, as Kenya Saijiki progresses. Culture, in Kenya, is now written and studied -- but in public fora, it is oral and very popular indeed. If haiku is to win its place in mainstream cultural events in Kenya, it will have to gain an oral form in which it can be presented to a large public audience, where it might be in competition with other performances such as dance, song, drama and long poems. Some form of haibun is most likely to provide the answer.

We shall be interested to read your views.
Congratulations, Beryl and James, for having taken us to new ground in haiku presentation!

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Short biographies

Beryl Achieng’

My name is Beryl Achieng', aged 18 years, born on 29 May 1992. I am the chairperson of the Bamboochas Haiku Club from Bahati Secondary School in Kayole, Nairobi (Kenya). I joined the haiku club in the year 2007, after which our Sensei Mr. Patrick Wafula introduced us to haiku, and he has ever since been guiding us in our writing.

My inspiration for writing haiku comes from nature.

The poem "Construction and Development" was about the current situation in Kenya. It was the result of the current developments that have led to construction of many roads and apartment blocks in our area.

Beryl Achieng’
Photo © Caleb Mutua

. . . . .

James Bundi

My name is James Bundi, the co-ordinator of the Bamboochas Haiku Club of Bahati Secondary School in Kayole. I joined the haiku club in the year 2008. This is due to the fact that it opened a vast field to expose what I think I have in me; being creative and observant.

The latest issue was about Construction and Development. I got a push to write about this issue due to the harm made to flowers and trees in our neighbourhood to pave way for construction of apartments. I shared the idea with Beryl Achieng' who took the task of creating a poem while I wrote the haiku that appeared in between the poem's stanzas.

We did the editing together and this gave rise to the presentation, which became a haibun.

James Bundi
Photo © Caleb Mutua

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Reactions

May I join Isabelle in her praise of this work of art !
And haiku in combination with other art forms is indeed a great way to voice our complaints!
More of it please !!
Gabi

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That is a very beautiful and poetic indeed, and what a powerful writing! Poignant and passionate, and simply stunning peace of haikai. Bravo!
Thank you, Gabi san, for sharing this haibun with us.
Origa
http://origa.livejournal.com

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Indeed, Origa.
And I have to say, that I like the Kenyan way very much. In a similar way Arab do so too, which I like. It is working with striking colours. As a story writer I see a line floating up and down - tension and relaxation.
After passionate text or tension follow haiku helping to unwind and to deepen the prose.
Congratulations!
--Heike

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Great. Haibun that goes with commitment to a noble cause. good idea.
kenneth daniels (Guyana)

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. Traffic Park Kukai
October 30, 2010 　

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SOWETO VILLAGE

From the tiny pieces of paper,
to the vegetable peelings
and now a heap of dirt,
filthy and with unpleasant smell.
We need to breathe again!

filthy smell--
the increasing heap of
kitchen dumps

Everywhere we go it's dirt!
Bad smell from burst sewers
is not an exception;
each day a sewer flows
through paths and pavements.
We need to breathe again!

burst sewerage--
stepping on stones to
cross the road

Our environs are insured,
but how is it our health
disintegrates and dissociates?
Mend drainage systems, recycle
and reuse for a healthy life.
We need to breathe again!

whirling wind--
the tree seedlings are covered
by dirty papers
Januaray 2011

Kenya plastic bags on a tree : Environmental awareness at the 2010 Orchid Show, Sarit Centre Nairobi
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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. Soweto Stage Market, Nairobi 　

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More Poetic Haibun

. DUST! MY NAME. by James Bundi 　

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Traffic park Kukai

2010-10-30T22:27:00.000-07:00

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Traffic park Kukai
October 30, 2010

The Children's Traffic Park is a park within Central Park, next to Uhuru Park in the centre of the city. The ginkoo took place both within the Children's Traffic Park and Central Park itself.

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. PHOTO ALBUM 　

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HAIKU

1.
---
Central Park --
a boy swings and
swings

~ Abednego Mwanzis (Peacock, F1)

2.
---
running water --
a jacaranda flower
floats by

~ Rhoda Mutheu (Peacock, F4)

3.
---
cool breeze --
he lies with a hat
on his face

~ Monica Ndunge (Peacock, F2)

4.
---
traffic jam --
a hawker sells handkerchiefs
to passengers

~ Kelvin Wanjala (Bamboocha, F2)

5.
---
green grass --
a lady flicks a termite with
her finger

~ Dominic Kuvonga (Peacock, F2)

6.
---
Central Park --
a lady laying her head on
a man's shoulder

~ Sylvia Kalekyo (Peacock, F3)

7.
---
slashed grass --
a termite disappears
in the hole

~ Jecinta Mueni (Peacock, F2)

8.
---
flowing water --
the blown grass blade
flows away

~ Stephen Macharia (Bamboocha, F2)

9.
---
jacaranda trees --
scattered flowers
on the ground

~ Fanuel Alala (Peacock, F3)

10.
----
glowing cloud --
water droplets from tipu tree
wet the ground

~ Eric Mwange (Bamboocha, F3)

11.
----
cloudy sky --
the ice cream vendor
leans on a cart

~ Titus Mutungi (Peacock, F1)

12.
----
high tower --
the lift moves to and fro
continuously

~ Wayua Pauline (Peacock, F2)

13.
----
clean pavement --
a leaf falls off from
the jacaranda tree

~ Peter Nguribu (Bamboocha, F3)

14.
----
Central Park --
a bee sucking from
a day lily flower

~ Samuel Pirias (Bamboocha, F2)

15.
----
calm evening --
a couple lying on the
green grass

~ Scholarstica Mumbe (Peacock, F3)

16.
----
star grass --
a grasshopper flaps
its wings

~ Elijah Juma (Peacock, F1)

17.
----
shedding flowers --
a bee buzzing around a
guava tree

~ Isaac Ndirangu (Bamboocha, F2)

18.
----
cool breeze --
white high raised flag
waves

~ Stanley Mutinda (Peacock, F3)

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Related words

. The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi 　

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Cabbage

2010-10-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

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Cabbage

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Short rains
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Even though heads of green cabbages are available throughout the year, it is noticeable that they are in plenty at the start of the short rains. Those who walk around will notice that heaps of cabbages can be seen in market places and on roadsides at this time. Although they are of different sizes, one will observe that they are relatively cheap and they are the preferred vegetables in most homes during this season.

Some grocers, to avoid the flooded markets, slice them and pack them into thin plastic bags and then hawk them around to those who cannot have access to the busy markets. This may be a problem for the village “mama mboga” (vegetable stall) who could suffer from this competition.

Text by Andrew Otinga

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Cabbage vendor on the way to the market

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MORE PHOTOS
by Caleb David Mutua

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Worldwide use

Japan

kigo for early summer

kyabetsu キャベツ cabbage
... kanran 甘藍 (かんらん) , tamana 玉菜（たまな）"leaves ball"

SAIJIKI
Summer Vegetables

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

cabbage heap-
a grocer winking
at me

Soweto slum-
a cabbage vendor calls
at the gate

muddy puddle-
the stench of a
rotten cabbage

Andrew Otinga

***** More Cabbage Haiku from Kenya

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Related words

*****

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Flame tree Erythrina

2010-09-30T01:04:00.000-07:00

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Flame tree

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Erythrina is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. It contains about 130 species, which are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They are trees, growing up to 30 m (98 ft) in height. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ερυθρóς (erythros), meaning "red," referring to the flower color of certain species.

Particularly in horticulture, the name coral tree is used as a collective term for these plants. "Flame trees" is another vernacular name, but may refer to a number of unrelated plants as well. Many species of Erythrina have bright red flowers, and this may be the origin of the common name. However, the growth of the branches can resemble the shape of sea coral rather than the color of Corallium rubrum specifically, and this is an alternative source for the name.

Other popular names, usually local and particular to distinct species, liken the flowers' red hues to those of a male chicken's wattles, and/or the flower shape to its leg spurs. Commonly seen Spanish names for any local species are bucaré, frejolillo or porotillo, and in Afrikaans some are called kaffirboom. Mullumurikku is a widespread.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Its botanical name is Erythrina abyssinica:
the common name is flame tree or Red Hot Poker Tree.
It is also called Luck Bean Tree.

The Kikuyu name is Muhuti.
The Luhya name is Kumurembe.

It has some traditional values such as the superstitious curing of mumps in Luhya whereby anyone suffering from this disease has to collect a bundle of fagots, run to the tree, throw the fagots at the tree, making sure they hit the trunk. And then say, "There goes my mumps with you to the tree!" and then turn around and run without looking back.

Photo and text by Patrick Wafula

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Worldwide use

*****************************
Things found on the way

*****************************
HAIKU

red blossoms on
bare branches of the flame tree--
crunch of dry leaves

Partrick Wafula, Nairobi

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Related words

***** Bombax blossom

***** Flamboyant Tree (Swahili : Mjohoro)

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Fences and hedges

2010-09-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

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Fences and hedges

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic and see below
***** Category: Plant / Humanity

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Explanation

Fences and hedges are made by man to protect their property.

A fence or hedge is made from various materials,
some from shrubs and trees that can be kigo.

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Barbed wire fence

Barbed wire is horribly popular in Kenya, and it is often rusty, a veritable tetanus trap and very dangerous indeed. Particularly when used in school compounds, where it is abominably frequent.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Cactus fence

TBA

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Kayaba fence
kayaba is the local version of kei apple.
Dovyalis caffra Warb.

Its yellow succulent fruits have a definite seasonality. Kei apple is abundant in Nairobi.

Kayaba is a plant that bears seeds and when they are planted close together the branches twin around themselves covering every space that is in between them hence at our home we use it as a fence since it has some thorns that scared away people who have differend motives especially at night.

sunny afternoon -
a coiled spider web sparkles
on a Kayaba fence

Siboko Yamame Winslause

Mukuru Kayaba is a district of Nairobi.

quote 　　
The kei apple, Dovyalis caffra Warb. (syn. Aberia caffra Harv. & Sond.) is also known as umkokolo in Africa and this is abbreviated to umkolo in the Philippines. The generic name has been rendered Doryalis by many writers but botanists now agree that this form was not the original spelling.

The kei apple is native to the Kei River area of southwest Africa and abundant in the wild around the eastern Cape, Kaffraria and Natal. It is cultivated in the Transvaal. In 1838, it was introduced into England.

Generally, the plants bloom in spring and the fruits ripen from August to October. The thorns make harvesting difficult. The top may have to be thinned out in order to facilitate fruit-picking.

Morton, J. 1987.
In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.
source : www.hort.purdue.edu

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Worldwide use

Japan

The main word is KAKI, read ..GAKI in compound words.
we also have

hei 塀, kakine 垣根, kakoi 囲い, saku さく

ishigaki　石垣　stone wall, stone fence
ikegaki 生け垣 "living fence", hedge

We have some kigo with fences and hedges:

kigo in spring

kaki tsukurou 垣繕う (かきつくろう) repairing the hedge
..... kaki teire 垣手入れ（かきていれ）

yukigaki toku 雪垣解く（ゆきがきとく）
taking down the snow guard hedges

konome gaki 木の芽垣（このめがき）
fence of budding trees

ukogigaki 五加垣（うこぎがき）hedge of aralia trees
the leaves can be picked and prepared for tea

kakidooshi 垣通 Glechoma hederacea subsp. grandis
a creeper plant of the mint family

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kigo in summer

bara no hanagaki 茨の花垣（ばらのはながき）
hedge of wild roses

kakoi bune 囲い船 (かこいぶね) fencing ships

unohana gaki 卯の花垣（うのはながき） hedge of deutzia blossoms

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kigo in autumn

shishigaki 鹿垣 (ししがき) fence against wild boars
and other animals

inagaki 稲垣（いながき）fence to protect the rice plants

mukuge gaki 木槿垣（むくげがき）
fence with the rose of Sharon

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kigo in winter

ishigaki ichigo 石垣苺（いしがきいちご）
strawberries grown on stone walls
They are grown in hot houses, to provide strawberries for the Japanese christmas cake.

kazegaki 風垣（かざがき） wind-protecting hedges
yukigaki 雪垣（ゆきがき）snow-protecting hedge

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topics

beech tree hedge

Robin-run-the-hedge / Galium aparine

. Katsuragaki かつらがき【桂垣】Katsura-Hedge
"takehoogaki" 竹穂垣, hoogaki 穂垣
made from the leaves of living bamboo.

. Temple fences and walls 　

. . Japanese Haiku with KAKINE hedge

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

wire fence--
white quarry dust on the
rambling passion fruit

Caleb David Mutua
September 2010

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a photographer hides
behind a kayaba fence-
Kirima saga

Andrew Otinga

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Jeevanjee Gardens

2010-09-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

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Jeevanjee Gardens

***** Location: Nairobi, Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Earth, Humanity

*****************************
Explanation

Jeevanjee Gardens was founded by Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee, an Asian-born entrepreneur in Kenya. It is the only park in the city that is directly owned by the people, having been donated to the poor people of Nairobi as a resting area (the park was private property and it is held in trust for the people of Nairobi).
©　WIKIPEDIA !

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Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee
was born in Pakistan in 1856, and went to East Africa in 1890.

He was a pioneering entrepreneur and philanthropist in Kenya, building the Jeevanje Gardens, and most of Nairobi when the city was a sprawling township. He provided many services to the Colonial Government; but grew to challenge the settler regime in search for greater equity and equality of opportunity, for Indians and eventually all Kenyans. He developed the East Africa Indian National Congress, and so laid the foundations for an organised anti-colonial movement.
source : msupress.msu.edu

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. . . CLICK here for Photos of the park!

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Jeevanjee Garden--
blooms of Jacaranda give
the park a purple look

September morning--
first blossoms scatter on
clean Jeevanjee paths

Jeevanjee Garden--
dusty foot print on a flattened
purple blossom

Jeevanjee Garden--
a jacaranda flower
rests on the garbage

Jeevanjee clean up--
gravel and jacaranda
on the wheelbarrow

Jeevanjee garden is maintained by the City council. Each morning, the garden is swept clean, mainly the paths. I used the word 'clean' because in the morning when the paths are clean, the 'first' blossoms to fall after stand out. In the evening or at night when I pass there, there are so many blossoms scattered everywhere and you can hardly notice another one falling ...

Caleb David Mutua
Kenya Saijiki Forum, September 2010

. CLICK HERE
More photos by Caleb David Mutua

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Jeevanjee Gardens --
Queen Victoria looks on
heirs of her subjects

Isabelle Prondzynski

Queen Victoria in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Related words

***** Nairobi City

***** Jacaranda (tropical tree)

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Mandazi doughnuts

2010-09-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

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Ndazi (singular), mandazi (pural)

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Mandazi (pl.) are roadside snacks for many Kenyans, and are more popular, the closer you get to the Indian Ocean coast. They are picked up at roadside cafés for breakfast with milky tea or eaten on the way home by workers in need of sustenance. Small restaurants serving Kenyan food, will have mandazi on offer. And you can usually find them at bus terminals, such as the Country Bus Station (“Machakos Airport”) in Nairobi, for sale to departing or arriving passengers.

While mandazi are quite filling, they have little nutritional value. Mandazi are made of a dough similar to that of doughnuts or Belgian waffles, but are only slightly sweet in flavour. The ingredients are simple -- flour, water, a bit of sugar and salt, baking powder, and then liquid cooking fat to deep fry them in. This is a very quick process, and you can stand and wait comfortably while your ndazi is being cooked, and then tuck into the hot crispy pastry as soon as most of the oil has dripped off.

Freshly cooked mandazi for sale at the roadside

Mandazi are also often part of the fare at special occasions, such as family gatherings. And I know a church where the young people gather to bake a huge supply of mandazi just before Christmas, so that everyone can eat after the Christmas Eve midnight mass.

Text and photos : Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

*****************************
HAIKU

dirty plates --
cooking red mandazi
at the roadside

cold morning
and a red smoky fire --
brown mandazi

two dirty boys
salivating for mandazi for sale-
a woman's scaring stare

smoky morning -
street boys and a mandazi woman
with unfriendly eyes

Harrison Wambua

Preparing mandazi for passing pedestrians in the evening

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rainy morning --
mother eating mandazi
with tea with zeal

~ Jane Mumbua

in the hotel --
people drinking tea with
huge mandazi

~ Samuel Ndung'u

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after a mandazi vendor
repairs her torn stall roof --
cloudy sky

after tea and mandazi --
boiled cassava and sweet
potatoes follow

Patrick Wafula

Visiting the Rift Valley
HAIBUN

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cold in August --
the morning warmth beside
a mandazi vendor

Caleb Mutua

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Related words

*****

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Nairobi City

2010-09-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

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Nairobi City

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Earth

*****************************
Explanation

Nairobi
is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters".
However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is surrounded by several expanding villa suburbs.

Founded in 1899 as a simple rail depot on the railway linking Mombasa to Uganda, the town quickly grew to become the capital of British East Africa in 1907 and eventually the capital of a free Kenyan republic in 1963. During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a centre for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry.
Nairobi is also the capital of the Nairobi Province and of the Nairobi District. The city lies on the Nairobi River, in the south of the nation, and has an elevation of 1795 m above sea-level.

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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From the Kenya Saijiki

***** . Nairobi Bomb Day (8 August 1998)

***** . Nairobi International Trade Fair

***** Jeevanjee Gardens and Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee

***** . Kayole and Patanisho 　

***** . Marikiti Market
Wakulima Market (Farmers' Market)

***** . Mkokoteni hand cart .

***** . Hamza terminus

***** . Langata cemetery

***** . Nairobi Animal Orphanage 　

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

Kibera

Kibera is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and a province and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the second largest urban slum in Africa.

The neighbourhood is divided into a number of villages, including Kianda, Soweto East, Gatwekera, Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Laini Saba, Siranga, Makina and Mashimoni. Conditions in Kibera are extremely poor, and most of its residents lack access to basic services, including electricity and running water.

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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HAIKU

Haiku from Patrick Wafula

Wakulima Market--
soiled porters offload mangoes
from lorries

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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muddy pick-up trucks
queue to offload tomatoes--
Soweto Market

Soweto stage market --
women buy cabbages
vyondos are full

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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even beggars
line up mangoes for sale--
Haile Selassie Avenue

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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truants swimming
in a seasonal lake--
Jogoo Road

traffic lights
on Jogoo Road--
smell of hot tires

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Last week, some bulldozers and caterpillars cut down all the grevillea tress along Landhies Road in order to expand the road. My goodness, how naked or can I say bare, the road is now! Isabelle Sensei, you will never those beautiful trees again, they are gone forever.

saw-dust scented
air on Landhies road--
fallen grevilleas

a bulldozer bites log
after log to load the lorries--
sliced grevillea

Muthurwa food vendors
filling sacks with saw dust--
whirring power saw

The Muthurwa food vendors are collecting the saw dust to use it as fuel for cooking food on their braziers.

September 22, 2010

. . . CLICK here for Photos of grevillea flowers !

. . . CLICK here for Photos of the Muthurwa district !

. Landhies Road haiku
by Andrew Otinga

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Photo by Patrick Wafula

bare jacaranda branches
adorned in purple blossoms--
Moi Avenue

... CLICK HERE
for more photos of Moi Avenue from Patrick

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Patrick on January 2011, coming back from a trip

Nairobi sunset—
an orange sun sitting
on the Ngong Hills

Nairobi sunset—
flying crows littering
the orange dusk sky

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Doonholm road-
my tall shadow cast on
rusty mabati

Andrew Otinga

. . . CLICK here for Photos ! Donholm Nairobi

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Soweto market--
loud speakers advetise
Valentine products

Valentine morning--
vendors arrange flowers
in the wheelbarrow

Valentine day--
flower's hawker whistles
from door to door

Caleb Mutua, Kenya
Kenya Saijiki Forum February 2010

Muthurwa Market--
school girls gather around
success card vendors

Muthurwa Market--
the cabbage vendor juggles
a big one

Caleb Mutua, Kenya

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soweto stage --
muddy water stuck on
displayed potatoes

muthurwa market --
a boy struggles to pull
a cart from mud

Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Muthurwa Market Photos !

Soweto stage--
she slices pineaples
into a white bowl

Andrew Otinga
September 2010

Soweto market-
greenish mould sprouts over
a decayed tomato

Asava Kelvin

Soweto market-
a naked madman eats
a rotten watermelon

muthoki

September 2010

. SOWETO VILLAGE - poetic haibun 　
free verse : Beryl Achieng
haiku : James Bundi

. . . . .

Soweto market--
she sprinkles water
on withered vegetable

Douglas Nugi
July 2011

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an old man
repairs an old bicycle
along thika road

Antony Njoroge

The expansion of Thika Road, a ten lane highway, considered the busiest highway in East Africa.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. . . . .

Thika highway--
a boda boda motorbike
hit a truck

Thika highway--
the late schoolgirls are stuck
on the other side

Barrack Elungata

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Tom Mboya street--
city council officers chase
the mango hawkers

Caleb Mutua

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Muthurwa terminus--
a new peddler hawks
boiled maize

hussein haji

Muthurwa bus terminal
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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sunny afternoon -
a coiled spider web sparkles
on a Kayaba fence

Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Kayaba Photos !

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At Masimba I witnessed a thief who had stolen a mobile phone and he was in the hands ofthe public:

Masimba stage-
blood stuck on the
stumbled blocks

Masimba stage-
blood trickling on his
left shoulder

Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

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Machakos Country Bus Station

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

Machakos terminus-
a short man advertising his
herbal merchandise

Andrew Otinga

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Donholm road-
my tall shadow cast on
rusty mabati

Andrew Otinga

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. Uhuru Park .
and a concert by Ricardo Muti
July 9, 2011

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the muddy path
coloured with flowers...
Kawangare

Anthony Njoroge

. . . CLICK here for Photos : Kawangware Slums!

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. Ngong Road

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Related words

Life in Nairobi
. . . Weekly collection of Caleb . . .

Place Names used in Haiku

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Urban Haiku - Worldwide

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Referendum August 2010

2010-08-09T19:00:00.000-07:00

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Referendum August 2010

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cold and dry season
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

A constitutional referendum was held in Kenya on August 4, 2010 on whether to adopt a proposed new constitution passed by parliament on April 1, 2010. The new constitution is seen as a vital step to avoid a repetition of the violent outbursts after the 2007 presidential election.

The result was a victory for the "Yes" campaign, with official figures released by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) showing 66.9% in favour, with the results counted in all 210 constituencies. The "No" campaign's main spokesman, Higher Education Minister William Ruto, has conceded defeat. The new constitution will come into force within 14 days of the results being published and will then be ushered in through a series of Acts of Parliament.

The referendum question was announced on May 13, 2010:

Do you approve the proposed new Constitution?
Swahili:
Je, unaikubali katiba mpya inayopendekezwa?

Voter's choices in response to this question were "Yes" or "No".
Due to high rates of illiteracy in the country, the law required that each response was accompanied by a visual symbol to ensure voters were aware of which choice they were making. The symbols chosen for this referendum were colours:
green for "Yes" and red for "No."

In order to be passed, the referendum required a simple majority over-all and at least 25% of votes in five of Kenya’s eight provinces.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

We have just gone through a successful referendum, the way to a new constitution, which comes into effect 14 days from today.

post referendum--
the purple ink still stains
my small finger

post referendum--
a 'YES' green cap abandoned
on a tarmac road

sleepless night--
adding up the green
vote

bright dawn--
the referendum results
go green

Patrick Wafula

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Caleb Mutua shares these thoughts:

First it was the mud-smearing campaigns...

referendum game--
kids elect their YES and NO
speakers

coast campaigns--
minister's effort to balance
on the donkey's back

Then the peaceful election...

referendum morning--
voter's bright faces in the
school compound

referendum--
prisoner's are made to squat
before voting

referendum day--
sweet peddler moves with
the voter's queue

full ballot box--
he pushes his vote in
with his fingertip

I even met with Patrick sensei that morning and we had a little chat on referendum and the possible outcome... we were right!

referendum day--
sensei shows me his inked
little finger

Caleb Mutua

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post referendum----
a puppy slowly wag his
brown tail

referendum----
euphoria warms a cold
morning

Everyone is really expecting things...pretty many things... to change around this magical country of ours.

she's still glued
onto that day's Daily----
post referendum

Catherine Njeri

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Later in August

Caleb Mutua writes

I am delighted to finally get a chance to share with you these Historic haiku in the history of Kenya concerning the new Constitution and the actual promulgation that took place on the 27th of August this year.

The promulgation ceremony was held at Uhuru Park that morning following the concluded peaceful referendum where majority of Kenyans passed the new law. A number of parties followed in celebration of the same after the official ceremony.

Because it was a historic event, people were expected to be seated by 8:15 am. However, anxious Kenyans started arriving as early as 3:00 am!

The mood was there alright...

August dawn--
promulgation cheers and shouts
in the dark park

Others wanted to see it all clearly despite pleas by the Mc of the ceremony to have them come down...

promulgation day--
Kenyans wave flags atop
Uhuru Park trees

chilly promulgation--
those without flags wave
their jackets

The Mc had informed the audience that they should not panic when the 21 gun-salute starts...

smoke of the guns

promulgation--
cheers and shouts after
each gun-salute

promulgation--
smiling president waves the
sealed constitution

Kenya reborn--
cheers shouts and more blaring
vuvuzelas

promulgation--
congested audience fall with a
cheering wave

the national colors

Look at more

. PHOTOS by Patrick Wafula

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Makadara polls --
a policeman handcuffs a
suspected vote buyer

Andrew Otinga
September 2010

Reference : Makadara by-elections

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Hawkers for warm things

2010-07-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

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Hawkers for warm things

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cool dry season
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Hawkers and vendors of things to keep warm

glove vendor

hot coffee vendor

porridge vendor

scarf hawker

sweater hawker

More is here for now.

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There are also hawkers and peddlers during the other seasons. Some which are there at any time will be seen as a topic for haiku.

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Jevanjee Garden—
thick sweater of today’s
preacher

cold night--
a coffee vendor jostle in
the bus stop

coffee thermos--
a customer touches it
before buying

cold bus stage—
the piling of the white
coffee cups

city hawker
the thick scarf layer
on his neck

. . . . .

referendum day--
a sweet peddler moves with
the voter's queue

. Referendum Day August 2010 　

Caleb Mutua

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It is also worth mentioning the uji vendors.
(uji is a kind of porridge made from maize, not oats.)
Unlike the coffee vendors, these have been there for a long time. In this cold season, they seem to have increased. Most of the porridge vendors are women, and they carry the hot porridge in a 5 liter jerrycan, mostly yellow in colour. In hot and dry season, they peddle the porridge to construction workers and other workers in their respective work-places in the morning. In the evening, they do the same. Since the cold started, the vendors seem to have changed their pattern because I now
see them at any time of the day.

Porridge vendor—
he shakes and shakes till
the last spill

Caleb Mutua

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linen shirt --
another hawker calls
as I pass

catcalls --
the hawkers melt for the
city askaris

Anthony Njoroge

askari ... Swahili word meaning "soldier"

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Mabati iron sheets

2010-07-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

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Mabati (Swahili, plural)
Corrugated iron sheets (English)

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

The Swahili word "mabati" is one which every newcomer to Kenya learns within the first few days, as mabati are everywhere. They are the walls and roofs of houses, they are fencing, they are easily demolished, carried, and re-erected elsewhere. Even slum dwellers have mabati, which they may buy sheet by sheet, in order to build or extend their homes, to surround themselves with a protective wall, or to subdivide the interior of a house. Mabati are easy to erect (you just need some building timbers and suitable nails), and if they are used for housing, they keep off the rain, but magnify the heat or the cold -- and if the owner of the iron sheets moves, the mabati move along too.

Mabati fence

In the rural areas, they are fast replacing what remains of the traditional thatch. They have the advantage of being more easily available nowadays than the thatching grasses are, and they are clean enough to provide run-off drinking water, filling buckets, basins and tanks during the rains.
On the other hand, they have the disadvantage of poor heat insulation. City dwellers who stay in traditionally thatched houses for the first time, usually comment with pleasure about the very comfortable temperatures and the softer noise levels generated by the thatch.

The din of the mabati during heavy rains must be heard to be believed. During the hot dry season, on the other hand, they often emit tiny crackling sounds as they expand in the heat.

Video of mabati under pouring rain

Kenyans often use the English "iron sheet" as a translation of mabati -- this is not correct, as only corrugated iron sheets are normally mabati. Newcomers to Kenya usually switch to the Swahili word with great ease, as mabati are such an intrinsic part of modern day Kenya, whether urban or rural.

Mabati are usually left metallic and unpainted. Nowadays, painted mabati are also available in an array of colours, and they may be bent too, so as to form the roofs of bus shelters (e.g. the Country Bus Station in Nairobi) or markets (e.g. Muthurwa Market in Nairobi), where they project good modern design.

Old and new mabati used to build a slum house

~ Text and photos : Isabelle Prondzynski

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The most common use of mabati is to construct housing in informal or slum areas. Mabati do not as such have any seasonality, but they provide a number of kigo for the dry and rainy seasons.

During the two rainy seasons, they rust and turn brown. Therefore, mabati rusting can be a rainy season kigo. Most importantly of all, mabati roofing is very useful during the rainy seasons for harvesting rainwater for domestic use.

During the hot dry season, the heat shimmers from the mabati roofs; this shimmering is quite visible, although it does not have any direct use or application to humans and animals. What I know is that the shimmering roofs are used to dry cereals such as maize, millet, etc, etc.

What I like most about mabati is that during the cold dry season dew collects on them and drips. This can be harnessed as water for domestic use in places where water is scarce, such as Ukambani.

~ Patrick Wafula

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

sunrise --
light through the mabati
wakes me up

sleepless night --
water drops from the old
iron sheets

~Isaac Ndirangu

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windy August night --
wet shoes on the mabati
roof rumble

World Cup --
they drum the mabati walls
celebrating Ghana

mabati roof...
gently pattering drizzle
in the blossoming dawn

sunny days --
the blue iron sheet's paint
peeling off

iron sheet roof --
the sound of raindrops
swallows our voices

~ Caleb Mutua

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mabati sheets
play a lullaby rhythm --
soft rain

~ Elung'ata Barrack

A church built and roofed with mabati

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evening downpour --
a row of basins below
the rusty iron sheets

~ Hussein Haji

cracking iron sheets
interrupt my study --
I take another shower

~ Anthony Njoroge

sunny afternoon --
iron sheets shine exposing
sun rays

~ Vivian Adhiambo

windy morning --
a noisy iron sheet swings
to the beat

~ Scholastica

leaking raindrops
from a rusty iron sheet --
rainy season

~ mwasia

reflection
from iron-sheet roofs --
sunny afternoon

~ Benard Nyerere

jua kali artisan
modelling an iron sheet --
a young jiko

~ Martin Kamau

early morning
rain drops fall heavily on
the iron sheets

~ Kelvin Mukoselo

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cold drizzle
on our mabati roof --
grey morning

April rain --
the spattering on the
mabati roof

~ Patrick Wafula

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first sun-
the cracking sound
of mabati

Otinga Andrew
January 2012

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Related words

*****

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Irish Potatoes

2010-07-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

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Irish Potatoes (Swahili : viazi)

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cold dry season
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Irish potatoes are abundantly available in the cold dry season.
However, in Nairobi, we still have them in smaller quantities during the other seasons as well, since all fresh farm produce is brought to the huge Marikiti Market for sale all year round. In some rural areas, like Rift Valley or Western, Irish potatoes are only available during the cold dry season, i.e. May to August.

Patrick Wafula

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The potato was first introduced into Kenya by Irish missionaries, for whom this was the staple food -- hence the common name "Irish potato".
They grow well in the highlands of Kenya and have become part of the staple diet of the highlands people, such as Kikuyus and their neighbours. Potatoes are not normally eaten on their own, but mixed into vegetable dishes (together with cabbage and carrots) as well as into githeri. As climate change takes hold of Kenya and drought periods lengthen, Kenya's favourite staple, maize, is partially being replaced with potatoes, which seem to be more drought resistant.

Kenya also has many native starchy root crops, among them the sweet potato (Kikuyu : ngacî).
Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use

Japan

. Potato (jagaimo) 　

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Irish potatoes
peeping from an overstuffed sack --
a sweating cart man

Patrick Wafula

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another dawn --
his back curves under
a potato sack

Catherine Njeri Maina

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Related words

***** Sweet potatoes (satsumaimo, Satsuma imo ) Japan

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Glove, gloves

2010-07-22T23:42:00.000-07:00

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Glove, gloves

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cold dry season
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Though they are rarely used, recently I have seen quite a good number of glove vendors in Muthurwa Hawker's Market and others who display and sell their gloves to the Matatu and other passengers on the traffic jam along Jogoo road; something I never saw before.
The teens consider wearing gloves whose fingers are cut a "cool" thing; so that only the palm of your hand is covered.

Caleb Mutua

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Worldwide use

Japan

. gloves, mittens, tebukuro　手袋　
..... shutoo 手套（しゅとう）mittens
leather gloves, kawa tebukuro　皮手袋

kigo for all winter

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Jogoo road--
a glove vendor wearing
different pairs

Muthurwa gate--
a handkerchief vendor chats
with a glove vendor

Caleb Mutua

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Related words

*****

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Pangas, sickles and slashers

2010-07-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

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Pangas, sickles and slashers

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Panga, pangas

A kind of machete.

The panga (Swahili) is a vital domestic implement at the centre of almost all domestic functions in both urban and rural Kenya.

It is used in gardening and farm work for cutting and pruning trees, as well as in making holes for sowing seeds. The panga, which is called lipanga, elipanga, olupanga or opanga in the various Luhya dialects, is also used in hunting, skinning big animals and hacking chunks of meet and bones. It is also used to cut and harvest firewood without destroying trees. In this case, one has to climb the tree and just cut the dry faggots or branches.

Lastly, the panga is also used in defence during an attack either by wild animals or aggression from human enemies.

Patrick Wafula

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Sickle, sickles
topic for haiku

The sickle is a very prominent domestic implement in the rural Kenya. It is used to cut grass for thatching houses and for fodder; it is also used to harvest wheat.

The sickle has been there for many centuries and it is regarded as a traditional implement because it can be made by local blacksmiths by smelting iron. The sickle is known in Kenya as ringa (Swahili) or eringa (Luhya).

In the rural areas, many Kenyans, who cannot afford corrugated iron sheets for their roofing, construct mud-walled and grass-thatched houses. The tall grass used as thatching material is carefully cut using a sickle and then dried before it is used. Such grass is long and cannot allow a person to squat or crouch as they carefully sickle the grass. The reason why the sickle is among prominent domestic implements is because grass-thatched roofs tend to be worn off either by stormy rains or violent wind, hence the thatches require frequent repair.

During the rainy seasons, small scale dairy farmers use the sickle to harvest grass for animal feed (fodder).

During the rainy seasons, small scale dairy farmers use the sickle to harvest grass for animal feed (fodder).

The sickle is a topic for the long rains, when it is used to harvest the tender grass for fodder and the mature grass for thatching and for thatching repairs.
It is also a topic for the short rains and the early hot dry season, when the mature brown grass is cut for thatching new roofs or repairing old ones that have been damaged by wind and rain.

Patrick Wafula

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Slashers, grass slasher

A long metal rod, at the bent end of which is a rather deadly wide knife, which workers swing to cut grass while themselves remaining in an upright position. Slashers are most commonly seen being used by local authority workers in public parks -- but they are also used along roadsides, in the open spaces within housing estates and in the smaller private gardens containing a piece of lawn. As Kenyan grass can be quite hard, the slasher is more effective than a lawnmower.

The season when the slasher is most used, is from the middle of each of the two rainy seasons, up to and including the start of the following dry season. This is when grass grows fastest, and it is therefore when grass needs to be cut -- not only for the sake of beauty and pleasure, but also to prevent snakes, insects and caterpillars from hiding within the grass.

Slashers are used by both women and men. Local authorities employ many women to slash their grass, normally working together as a team. This is normally done wearing one kanga as a skirt, and another on their hair, as grass flies all around while being cut. It is common to see men working with slashers in other locations. Injuries caused by slashers are unfortunately not entirely rare, and may be caused by slashing one's own or another person's legs, or from blisters on one's hands.

Slashers are sharpened by the same people who work their way round housing estates sharpening kitche knives with the help of bicycle-wheel contraptions.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use

Japan

. SICKLE (KAMA, ..GAMA 鎌)

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

long rains --
I dig maize seed holes
with a machete

~ Anne Wairimu

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mob riot --
a man throws a machete
through the glass

~ Brian Etole (Peacocks)

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Related words

***** Grasses and Weeds of Kenya

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Posho mill and wimbi millet

2010-07-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

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Posho mill

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

This is a mill that grinds your wheat or maize into flour.

Most Kenyans grow their own maize, the main staple food in Kenya, and if it is not eaten green (i.e. fresh) or cooked wholegrain in githeri, they take it to the posho mill to be ground, so that the meal can be eaten as ugali.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Posho Mills in Kenya

In Kenya, both in the rural and urban areas, posho mills play an important role in economic life of Kenyans; they pulverize maize grain, which is the staple food of the country, into flour (unga). The flour is then used to prepare ugali or uji. Both are types of maize porridge -- ugali is tougher and firm, while uji has a soupy consistence.

Ugali is simple to prepare.
You just heat water to boiling point, then, using a cooking stick, add handful after handful of maize flour, stirring the mixture gently until it becomes firm. You then continue to heat it for some time more to make it firmer. It is best to keep turning the mixture in the sufuria (saucepan) to make sure it is well cooked before transferring it to a plate. It is then served hot with the various vegetables or stew according to one’s own taste.

David, a worker at the mill

Posho mills also grind other grain such as wheat and millet into flour. There are two types of posho mills: the electric posho mill and the diesel posho mill. The diesel posho mill is used in the remote and rural areas where there is no electricity. It has been in existence for a long time; in fact, it has been there since those days of the grinding mill. Before the diesel posho mill came into use, there was the grinding mill, which was operated manually by hand. It was very tedious as one had to turn the heavy wheel for some time.

Due to its laboriousness, it could produce only a little flour at a time, and the flour was coarse. Before the grinding mill came into existence, there was the grinding stone. This is the most traditional method of producing flour, still used by some of the most traditional communities in Kenya.

The grinding stone is simply a huge flat stone smoothened on the surface and the user uses a smaller stone to crush the grain between the two. The traditionalists argue that flour produced by the diesel and electric posho mills is contaminated with grease and oil hence not very not safe for human consumption. However, it is also argued that flour produced by the grinding mill contains minute stones, which come off the grinding stone surfaces due to friction. These minute stones are a health hazard as they may accumulate in the appendix and end up causing appendicitis.

The electric posho mill on the other hand is found in urban centres with electricity supplies. They are made and operate in the same way as the diesel posho mills, only that they use electric power. The flour produced by these posho mills is supposed to be safer, but it is still argued that the oil and grease used to lubricate the machine’s mobile joints sometimes finds its way into the flour. It is also debatable that the metal parts which wear out may end up in the flour, as there is no place provided where the micro metal pieces can collect.

All in all, posho mills are crucial to the lives of most Kenyans. In the evenings mostly, you will see a long queue of tins or polythene bags full of maize grain waiting to be ground. It is mostly women and children who take the grain to the posho mills for grinding, but sometimes, also men, especially the single ones working in towns, are seen in the queues.

When maize grain is cheap after bountiful rains, the majority of Kenyans save money by buying maize grain and taking it to the posho mill for grinding into flour, instead of going for the fine and sifted flour (sold mostly in 1 kg or 2 kg packs) in the shops and supermarkets. The full maize grain is measured in a standard tin of 2 kg. This tin, which is a reused cooking oil container, is referred to as korokoro. To grind a 2 kg tin of maize one is charged KShs. 10/-, while the maize in the same tin currently costs KShs. 50/-. The largest quantity of maize is the 90kg bag.

.................................................................................

WIMBI

wimbi means millet.
This posho mill grinds not only maize, but millet or wimbi as well. Wimbi is also called bulo, obulo or obule (Luhya).

Wimbi is one of the oldest grains to be grown by Kenyans, especially in Western and Nyanza. Wimbi has many domestic uses. One of them is the making of brown ugali or ugali ya wimbi as they call it. This type of ugali, is very special to the people of Western Kenya. It is eaten at all traditional ceremonies and rituals, the most remarkable one is being used during traditional weddings as a wedding cake.

The other use of wimbi is in the making of the traditional brew called busaa (Swahili) amalwa or kamalwa (Luhya). The millet used in this process goes through a special process which includes being kept under wet condition away from sunshine for a week, during which it produces white shoots. It is then spread out in the sun to dry up until it is brown. It is at this stage that is taken into the posho mill to be ground into flour, but this flour is not ordinary flour; it is called limela or limira, meaning yeast, and it is used to ferment the traditional brew called kamalwa. Busaa or kamalwa is a product of maize fermented maize flour fried and mixed with water and limela and allowed to ferment for three days.

Millet flour is also used in the making of brown porridge, traditionally known as buyu, obusera or busera (Luhya). The Luo call it nyuka. This is the most popular porridge in both rural and urban Kenya; you find it being sold even in big hotels, food kiosks, roadsides and even by hawkers.

To make the brown ugali even more delicious, the millet grain is usually mixed with pieces of cassava, which they call, kumwoko or omwoko (Huhoko: Swahili) and then taken into the posho mill for grinding. It makes a delicious meal when the brown ugali is eaten with meat and meat stew, chicken and chicken stew or fish and fish stew.

Text and Photos : Patrick Wafula

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Millet and sorghum are native crops in Kenya and prized for their drought resistant qualities.

In recent years, they have both been largely replaced by maize in Kenyan agriculture and in the Kenyan diet. One reason for this is that millet takes a whole year to mature, while maize yields two crops in the course of a year. Millet is also very attractive to birds and has to be protected from them while ripening, which makes it a more expensive crop to produce.

They have a long history in Kenya and are still prized as oodstuffs on the important occasions in people's lives.

Millet porridge (uji) is much appreciated and health giving and is the regular breakfast in parts of the country. It is also easily transportable in thermos flasks and can therefore provide good sustenance to farmers as they go about their daily work.

A particular type of millet (tef) grows only in Ethiopia and is essential for making injera, the Ethiopian staple carbohydrate.
Outside Ethiopia, the tef can be replaced with rice flour, which makes a decent enough injera for those who cannot obtain the real thing.

Isabelle Prondzynski

The swahili name for sorghum is mtama.

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Worldwide use

. Millet (hie, awa, kibi) 　Japan

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

hot evening--
chicks pecking maize grains
in the posho mill

Alex Mwanambisi

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power failure -
a posho-miller leans
on the engine

James Bundi

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posho mill --
a dove pecks crunched maize
under the sieve

Isaac Ndirangu
April 2011

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Related words

***** Sufuria .. cooking pot or saucepan

***** Maize, Corn and githeri

***** Green Maize

. . . ugali

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Marikiti Market

2010-07-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

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Marikiti Market

***** Location: Nairobi, Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Wakulima Market (Farmers' Market),
usually abbreviated to Marikiti,
is situated on Haile Selassie Avenue, right next to Muthurwa Matatu Terminus and close to the Machakos Country Bus Station.

It is Nairobi's main wholesale market for fruit and vegetables -- these are delivered round the clock from all over the country, indeed even neighbouring countries. Before dawn, retail traders and the owners of small stalls around the city arrive in Marikiti to buy their provisions for the day and take them back so as to be able to sell from opening time. There is great competition for the freshest, the tastiest and the cheapest produce, and most of the small stallholders have developed a keen eye for what is best to buy.

There is a huge business of mikokoteni (plural of mkokoteni, a hand cart) around Wakulima Market, as most stall holders do not possess a vehicle, yet regularly buy quite substantial volumes and weights. The hand carts are driven by young men (usually just one, but sometimes several if the weight is great) and produce is delivered all over the city, often many kilometres away. Mikokoteni, though walked by their operators, are regarded as part of the road traffic of Nairobi, and both car and matatu drivers will do their best to overtake them without causing harm or injury.

The pavements around Marikiti are occupied by sellers of tiny quantities of fruit and vegetables to the passing pedestrians, who thus also benefit from the attractive prices of the wholesale market.

Isabelle Prondzynski

© PHOTO :　JacKE1, FLICKR

MORE
. Mkokoteni Haiku .

Reference : wikimapia.org, Marikiti wholesale market MAP

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Busy mkokoteni
The weight of the load was so heavy that he had to spend most energy on pushing down the bar in front of him, as well as pulling the load itself.

Following a mkokoteni on Jogoo Road

© PHOTOS :　Isabelle Prondzynski, FLICKR

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

Irish potatoes
peeping from an overstuffed sack --
a sweating cart man

It is one of the specialities of wholesale fruit and vegetable markets in Kenya to present the produce, particularly potatoes, in overstuffed sacks. Where the sack as such ends, more potatoes are added to form a pile, and the whole is then closed by a network of sisal string, so that the customer can see the contents without having to cut open the bag. This arrangement also shows the generosity of the producer -- filling as much as possible into the sack, to add value.

In Kenya, we have two basic types of potatoes --
Irish potatoes (Swahili : viazi, called potatoes in Europe), and
sweet potatoes (Kikuyu : ngwacî).
Both are popular in parts of the country and belong to Kenya's staple foods.

Marikiti market --
the porter ahead of me
smelling of onions

squashed
avocados and pawpaws --
Marikiti market gate

main gate--
mikokoteni and trucks compete
for entry and exit

my shoe slides
on a shell of a water melon--
Wakulima Market

sweltering noon--
tired cart men take a nap
in their mikokoteni

a hurrying woman
slides on an orange peel and falls--
milling crowds

loaded lorries
queue to offload farm produce--
falling dry and green fronds

Patrick Wafula, July 2010

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I respect the energetic men in this market whose work is to carry sacks and other luggage for short distances. They use nothing but their back to carry the heavy sacks to a point where they have to walk while their back is bended almost at 90 degrees! You would think that the sacks have legs because you cannot see them and they cannot see what is in front of them, all they can manage is to whistle for you to give them way.

whistles
under potato sacks--
Marikiti Market

Caleb Mutua

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Related words

***** Pawpaw (Asimina) almost like a kind of papaya

***** . Mkokoteni hand cart .

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Beanie cap

2010-07-05T19:12:00.000-07:00

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Beanie cap, beanie hat

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Cool dry season
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

A beanie is a type of cap that is put for warmth.
It completely covers your head except for the face. The children here are allowed to put on beanies, especially in nursery school, during these cold seasons. children beanies are of different colours, mostly red and green. Some have two dangling balls attached with a strings on top of the cap, that bounce when the kids walk or run.

I also see adults wearing beanies, mostly the hard working men and women who wake up very early in the morning to go to Marigiti (One of the biggest grocery markets in the city center, Next to Muthurwa Hawkers Market), and more recently, I have seen a number of BODA BODA drivers are wearing them, especially those who dont have helmets or before putting on the protective helmet. Even the ears are covered so you feel warm enough.

Caleb Mutua

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. . . CLICK here for another great photo !

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Worldwide use

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

June cold--
two kids run to school
with a beanie each

Caleb Mutua, June 2010

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a beanie left
on the clothesline --
rainy noon

Catherine Njeri

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shivering --
my sister is wearing
her torn beanie

Lucy Mukuhi

hot morning --
my brother struggling to remove
his beanie

Stephen Macharia

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Related words

***** WKD : Reference

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Haiku Lesson One

2010-05-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

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. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua 　

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Haiku Lesson One : Introduction to Haiku

by Caleb Mutua

INTRODUCTION TO HAIKU

Haiku is an expression of a moment in which something happened that caught the poet's attention. A haiku poet is called "haijin".
Like a well taken photograph, haiku captures the present moment and at the same time preserves the special moments in three simple lines.

Where do we get haiku from?
Our environment is a rich source of inspiration. We should observe keenly the changes in our surroundings in order to write good haiku. Notice old and new things: the new fruit in the market, the light rain in the afternoon, the full moon at night or holiday celebrations. Find the simplest words and phrases to share with others your encounters in your haiku.

Essentials of Haiku
- Kigo (Season word)
- Short-Long-Short, three lines
- Kireji (Cut marker)
Each essential will be covered in the next class.

Keep it Simple and Clear.
Haiku is simple and should be simply written. Use of complicated words diverts the attention of the reader to the word rather than to the poem itself. ‘Big words’ also make it hard for readers to understand the poem and can easily lead to misinterpretations. A clear haiku does not leave question marks and confusion in the reader’s mind.

Read it Back
After you have written a haiku, assume you are the reader who will read your haiku; knowing nothing about what you observed. It is helpful to read the haiku again and again loudly to yourself or your friend to ensure that it does not sound like one long sentence and that there is a pause somewhere in your haiku. Listen to the rhythm, make sure the lines are not too hard to pronounce and that they flow smoothly as you read them aloud.

Why write haiku / why join Kenya Saijiki?

1.
For genuine love of poetry.
Most importantly, for enriching our lives through experiences and thoughts of different haijin in their poems, narratives and diaries. Observing and writing haiku should be a worthy use of each haijin’s leisure time.

2.
Kenya Saijiki has the most active haiku writers in the whole of Africa. It is a Kenyan forum that continues to provide an arena for members’ self discovery, seasonal consciousness and critical appraisal of their work. Shared haiku provoke discussions that bring enlightenment and knowledge to all members. A wide range of cultural information about Kenya and other parts of the world is preserved at member’s disposal in the Kenya Saijiki web pages. It is free to join.

3.
Writing haiku helps individuals understand and appreciate the Kenyan way of life, giving us a sense of belonging. Haijin also get to understand, respect and appreciate their diversity. This is further emphasized by occasional excursions that bring together all its members to participate in writing competition and appreciating other people’s haiku.

4.
While today’s world has dehumanized relations by constant pursuit for wealth, Kenya Saijiki provides its members with love, care and true friendship. Relationships are not material oriented and members shape each other’s attitude and behaviour for the better.

5.
Writing and observing haiku improves our communication skills. Careful choice and use of words is greatly emphasized. Despite its simplicity, haiku trains haijin on how to construct vivid images using simple words in their different compositions and at the same time improving their vocabulary. Haijin are also taught about how to use their five senses of perception in observing the world around them.

6.
Haiku club members are taught computer skills that enable them operate a computer and use the internet in order to be able to share their own haiku with the rest of the members through the internet. These lessons are offered freely to all Kenya Saijiki members and a certificate is awarded upon completion of the course.

7.
Observing and writing haiku teaches us to be aware of our environment and to care and protect our surroundings. We learn to take note of the seasons and realise how nature changes throughout the year. We learn more about human festivals and celebrations that recur at the same time each year.

8.
Haiku draws us closer to God. By observing nature around them, haijin see beyond the man-made world and appreciate the marvellous creative works of our Grand Creator that attest to His wisdom and love for humankind.

Conclusion
Just like any other acquired taste, loving and appreciating haiku does not come naturally to any of us; constant practice and exposure to other people’s haiku is needed.

. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua 　

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Further Reference

Teaching Children about Haiku

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Haiku Lesson Two

2010-05-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

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. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua 　

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Haiku Lesson Two : KIGO

by Caleb Mutua

Introduction

Kigo is a word indicating the season in which the haiku is written. It does not only refer to bees, butterflies, green plants ctc. but to their changes within each season. Season words include the seasonal aspects in human life, such as ceremonies and festivals, lifestyle and food, as they change within the seasons. Traditional Japanese haiku are about the changes of the season (not simply about nature !! ) and the season words help to express this change. Because a kigo is very important in a haiku, it is sometimes called the lifeblood of the haiku, or the navel of the haiku. By using season words that reflect the nature of our country and its changes, the ceremonies and festivals we celebrate, we tell the world about our culture and way of life through haiku. It is therefore, very important for us to use Kenyan kigo that fit our cultural background.

Saijiki is a collection of season words. In Kenya, we have already started collecting season words. All haijin are requested to be conscious of their environment in order to identify new season words that can be added in Kenya Saijiki; even in Japan there are now movements to collect new kigo from rural areas, to compile "local saijiki" with local kigo. The following are some of the season words in their respective seasons that Kenyan haijin have collected.

Hot dry season
(roughly November to March, with January being the hottest month)
Buying school uniforms, Cassia blossom, Caterpillar, Hairy Caterpillar, Census, Christmas, Dust , Exam results, Form One entrants and monolisation, Frangipani, Plumeria, Goat Meat, Jamhuri Day (12 December), January, Maasai Cattle, Green Maize, Mango, New Year, Paying school fees, Peaches, Plums, Start of new school year , Sweating, Water shortage , drought, World AIDS Day

Long rains (roughly March to May)
Bombax blossom , First rainfall, Imminent rain, Bullfrogs, Easter, Flooding, Flying ants or termites, Gumboots, Heavy raindrops Ibis (Hadada), Labour Day, Mosquitoes, Mud, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Power failure, Puddle, Stepping stones, Umbrella

Cool dry season
(roughly from June to September, with July being the coldest month)
Avocado pear (Kikuyu : Mûkorobîa), Bukusu Initiation / Circumcision, Day of the African Child (16 June), Dust, Frangipani, Plumeria, freezing Jiko (brazier), Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle), Maize, Green Maize, Martyrs’ Day Uganda, Nairobi Bomb Day (7 August), Nairobi International Trade Fair (end of September),Oranges (Swahili Mchungwa), Sesbania Tree (Sesbania sesban (L.) Merr.), start of University year… (Please suggest more season words)

Short rains (roughly October and November)
Aramanthus,Bullfrogs, First rainfall, Imminent rain, Ocober rain, Flamboyant tree, Flooding, Flying ants or termites, Graduation ceremony, Gumboots, Jacaranda blossom, Heavy raindrops, Kenyatta Day, Moi Day, Mosquitoes, Mud, Nairobi Marathon, Power failure. Puddles, School exams: KCSE / KCPE, Stepping stones, Tipu tree, Umbrella

One season word is enough in haiku. Ensure you have used a SEASON WORD and not the name of the SEASON. For instance: use mud, umbrella or puddle and not “rainy season” because the words themselves reflect that season.

. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua 　

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Haiku Lesson Three

2010-05-27T17:44:00.000-07:00