Seasonal Words and Topics - List

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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

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

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.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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

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

-- Buying textbooks
-- Buying school uniforms
-- Cassia blossom Golden Shower Tree (Cassia fistula). Drumstick Tree (Moringa oleifera).
-- Caterpillar, Hairy Caterpillar
-- Census
-- Christmas worldwide

-- Dry lips
-- 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
- - - - Njaanuary ( njaa and (Jan)nuary
-- Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle)
-- Mabati shimmering roofs
-- Maize, Green Maize (for corn/maize see below)
-- Mango (ripe fruit)
-- National Drama Festival
-- 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
-- Smell of urine
-- Start of new school year Kenya
... ... see also Start of Schoolyear, worldwide
-- sweating
Valentine’s Day, St Valentine’s Day, Valentine
-- vest
-- Water shortage , drought
-- Weeds
-- World AIDS Day

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

long rains (roughly March to May)

-- Amaranth, Amaranthus leaf vegetable
-- 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
Mater Hospital Heart Run
-- 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
-- rain shower
-- Rhinoceros beetle , a scarab beetle
-- Sand harvesting, sand mining
-- Shoe wiper
-- Stepping stones, step-stone bridge 　
-- Thorn tree flowers
-- UEFA league
-- Umbrella
-- Urine smell, smell of urine

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

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
-- Budget Day
-- 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
-- Euro Games, UEFA European Football Championship
-- Glove, gloves
-- Frangipani, Plumeria 　　　　　　
-- freezing
-- Hawkers for warm things glove, hot coffee, uji maize porridge, scarf, sweater ...
Irish potatoes (viazi)
-- Jiko (brazier)
-- July
-- Loquat, loquats - fruit
-- Maasai Cattle (Masai Cattle)
-- Mabati roors collect dew
-- Madaraka Day (1 June)
-- Maize, Green Maize
-- Martyrs’ Day Uganda
-- Morning glory, fam. Ipomoea (

-- 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


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

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
-- Thorn tree - fresh leaves
-- Tipu tree (Tipuana tipu)
-- Umbrella


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

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

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

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

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

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

Ageing ... Getting old in Kenya. Grandfather, Grandmother
Akala ... Sandals
Aloe vera
Antelope
Arfat, scarf of a muslim woman
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
Day Moon
Demolitions in Patanisho, Nairobi
Duck, ducks


Elections, general election 2013
Eucalyptus tree Fam. Myrtaceae

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

Garbage, sewers, sewerage
Gilgil, town in the Rift Valley
Githeri
Grevillea tree
Guitar

Hell's Gate National Park
Hornbill


Irio (mûkimû)
Isukuti Dance


Jackfruit, fenesi
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
Kasarani Constituency

Kenya Railway Museum Kukai August 2010
Kenyatta National Hospital,Nairobi
Khamsin wind Egypt, North Africa
Khat, miraa (Catha edulis)
Kiambu County
Kibanda hut, kiosk, stall
Kibera Slums
Kigali, Rwanda
Kikoi. kikoy - garment, shawl
Kiondo handbag (chondo, pl. vyondo)
Kisii in Nyanza Narok plains, Ogembo Street
Kisongo Market Tanzania
Kitale Town in Western Kenya
kitenge - garment

Koinange mall and street, Nairobi
Komarocks play ground and Embakasi
Korogocho slum
kuku choma - grilled chicken

Lang'ata - Nairobi
Limuru town in Kiambu West Distarict
Longido Hills
Lugari Forest

Machakos town, Masaku
Magadi, Lake Magadi in the Rift Valley
Maize (Swahili : Mahindi, American : Corn, South African : Mealies)
managu vegetable
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 Mathare Valley slums
Matuu town
Mavoko county
Mitumba (singular : mtumba) second-hand goods
Mkokoteni - hand cart, pushcart pl. mikokoteni
Monkey, monkeys
Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro
Mourning
Mtumba (singular) / mitumba (plural) used items
Mugumo tree
mutura - Kenyans Saussage
Murang'a town
murram mud roads
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
Nightjar (Fam. Caprimulgus)
Night life
Njiru Market
Njiiru Plains
Nyama choma - roast meat


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
shuka - blanket
shamba - food garden
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)
-- thermos container
Tilapia fish
Toilet, outhouse
Tomato, tomatoes
Trans-Mara region


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

Voi, Sagala hill


Warthog
Weaver birds (Ploceidae family)
Webuye Town
Westgate Attack, Mall Attack, September 2013
Wildebeest
migration
Wimbi, bulo ... Millet
Wood, firewood
World Environment Day (5 June)

Zebra

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

Haibun . Haiku in Combination

Construction and Development


. Kiswahili Haiku


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


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

WKD: Trinidad and Tobago Saijiki


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

.. .. .. .. .. 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.

------------------------------------------------

.. .. .. .. .. .. 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/

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

Introduction to the

Haiku Clubs of Nairobi


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

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


*****************************

Editor: Isabelle Prondzynski

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


Kutoka Wikipedia, kamusi elezo huru: HAIKU


Back to the Worldkigo Index

Back to the Trinidad and Tobago Index


Back to the KENYA SAIJIKI - TOP

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

African Haiku

[ . BACK to TOP . ]

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

Introducing Haiku from Africa



http://www.design-africa.com/cpats/cpat-000main.html
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

African Haiku by Fancy

African Haiku by Stephen Davies

African Haiku with Ted Goossen

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




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

Bull Elephant walks
Isolated on the road
Alone with his thoughts


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

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


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


Kenya

Haiku from Kenya, Kenya Saijiki　ケニア歳時記


The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

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

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

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


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


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


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 !


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

Getting to Know Kenya

[ . BACK to TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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

The peoples of Kenya
-------------------------
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

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

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


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

Great Photo Collection of Kenya

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

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

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


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


Biovision - plants, humans, animals, environment
source : infonet-biovision.org

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

Wildlife in Kenya

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO　　TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

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

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

Wildlife in Kenya, esp. animals and trees

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

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

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

Kakamega Forest Birds

Nature Kenya Organization


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

Kenyan seasons

[ . BACK to TOP . ]

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

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

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

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

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

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 :

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

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

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


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 :

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

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.

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


Working group of Bamboochas

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

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


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

***** The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi


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


***** Kenya Saijiki
More kigo and topics


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

Glossary

[ . BACK to worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

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


*****************************
Reference

***** KIGO : Season Words of Kenya

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

[ . BACK to KENYA SAIJIKI . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]

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

Kukai May 2013

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kukai May 2013

14th Kukai of Kenya Saijiki -- Kenya National Archives on 18 May 2013


quote
Kenya National Archives and Documentation Services (KNADS)
is situated at the edge of the central business district in downtown Nairobi along Moi Avenue next to Ambassadeur Hotel.
The archives look out on the landmark Hilton Hotel, while on the rear side is Tom Mboya street. It was established in 1965. It holds 40,000 volumes. It was established by an Act of the Parliament of Kenya in 1965 and was placed under the office of the Vice President and the Minister of Home Affairs. It is currently under the office of the Vice-President and Ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture.
The Kenya National Archives building also houses the Murumbi Gallery which contains African artifacts that were collected in the 19th century.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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


1.
---
a student
touches the mask again --
National Archives

~ Susan Wanjiku (Bamboocha, 3)

2.
---
more dust falls
from the window pane --
National Archives

~ Jescah Auma (Peacock, 4A)

3.
---
Kenya Archives --
bulbs on the ceiling
multiply my shadow

~ Otakwa Livingstones (Peacock, 4B)

4.
---
midday sun --
a chokora picks lice from
his shaggy hair

~ Diana Dola (Peacock, 3A)

5.
---
scorching sun --
the boda boda men rest
under a tree

~ Dorothy Syombua (Peacock, 1A)

6.
---
National Archives --
historical pictures posted
on the walls

~ Winfridah Malesi (Peacock, 4A)

7.
---
Kenya Archives --
Murumbi's artefacts
surprise the haijin

~ Emmanuel Mutati (Bamboocha, 4)

8.
---
roadside music --
the haijin enjoy the beats
through the window

~ Akaliche Rose (Peacock, 3A)

9.
---
statue --
the mother breastfeeds
her baby

~ Margaret Ndinda (Peacock, 4A)

10.
----
a black pigeon
lands on the dusty mabati roof --
ginkoo walk

~ Teresia Wanjiku (Peacock, 2A)

11.
----
matatu touts
compete for passengers --
Nairobi city

~ Ahomo Felix (Peacock, 2A)

12.
----
in his akala shoes
the European man spits --
Kenya Archives

~ John Maina (Peacock, 4A)

13.
----
crowded haijin --
mixed laughter rings
twice in my ears

~ Maurine Nafula (Peacock)

14.
----
slippery floor --
she misses a step
touching an artefact

~ Beatrice Syombua (Peacock, 3B)

15.
----
heavy traffic --
a boda boda strives
to cross

~ Mercy Amunze (Peacock)

16.
----
Kenyan Archives --
students bend on an
old bench

~ Derric Ambale (Peacock, 3B)

17.
----
ginkoo walk --
two black pigeons play on the
dusty mabati roof

~ Jecintah Wafula (Peacock, 2A)

18.
----
scorching sun --
small boy dancing while
spectators watch

~ Susan Njeri (Bamboocha, 3)


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




at KNA window --
the Tom Mboya statue
waves at me

Patrick Wafula




National Archives-
I admire a golden
wrist watch

a sweet scent
from yellow banana peels-
Muthurwa stalls

Andrew Otinga


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

- Saijiki Forum -


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

. The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi .


[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kenya Haiku Clubs

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

At the beginning of 2006, Nairobi saw the creation of a number of haiku clubs in secondary schools, starting in Kayole housing estate.

The very first meeting, which started it all off, can be read up here :

Bahati Club

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

And later, in 2012

. When did Kenya Saijiki start? .

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


Please enjoy the introductory pages of each club and browse the Kenya Saijiki Database to find the students’ haiku under a growing range of kigo.


Bahati Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- BAMBOOCHAS

Lorna Waddington Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- FALCONS

Embakasi Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- OAKS

St Mathew Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- PEACOCKS

Brookfield Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- SPIDERS


As the students’ activities made an impact on teachers, past pupils and other adults, the end of 2006 saw the founding of the first adult haiku club in Nairobi :


Butterflies Haiku Club, Nairobi -- BUTTERFLIES


Cocks Haiku Club


Adults are also involved in the school clubs as teachers and Patrons, and have become individual members of the Kenya Saijiki discussion forum.

New members are welcome!


ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo


Club Activities


The Clubs have already organised a number of joint activities, which have been lively and inspired. There were two main events in 2006, involving all the haiku clubs together :


Bahati Ginkoo, 27 May 2006

Meeting of the Haiku Clubs in Tujisaidie, 4 November 2006


Stars and the Night Sky in Kenya, 2007 A Challenge !

Alan Summers, the originator of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge, also published our results in his own Blog, Area 17, thus opening them to a new readership :
http://area17.blogspot.com/2007/06/kenya-africa-stars-night-sky-challenge.html



St Patrick’s Outing, April 2007


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


One of the principal and regular activities is to contribute haiku and kigo information to the Kenya Saijiki Database and to discuss Kenya kigo in the Kenya Saijiki Discussion Forum.


Japanese Culture Week, 2008


Arboretum Kukai, 29 March 2008


Long Rains Kukai 2009


All Saints Kukai, November 2009


Tumaini Kukai April 2010


NAIROBI HAIKU CLUBS JUNE MINI-GINKOO 2010


Kenya Railway Museum Kukai August 2010


Traffic Park Kukai October 30, 2010


Carlile Kukai, June 11, 2011


Eleventh Kukai, St Mathew’s Secondary School
November 5, 2011


COCKS’ HAIKU CLUB OUTING
City Park, Nairobi, January 2012


. Nairobi Digest News .
Africa’s best haiku writers meet in Nairobi
about the Haiku Meeting in October 2012


Kukai at Kenya National Archives
14th Kukai - May 18, 2013


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


Sucessful graduates will receive a certificate.



certificat for the students who had finished their course and passed their final examinations in both theory and practice.

source : kenyasaijiki/message - May 2012


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


Home Page of Kenya Saijiki Database

Discussion Forum for Haiku from Kenya and East Africa


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

PUBLICATIONS

Apart from the Kenya Saijiki Database, the Kenya Haiku Clubs have contributed to the following publications :

Short Rains
Isabelle Prondzynski and Students of the Kenya Haiku Clubs
Haigaonline, December 2006
http://www.haigaonline.com/issue7-2/kenya/00.htm

This is fascinating and remarkable. I enjoyed everyone and every one. This is such a worthy project and I had no idea. Congratulations and kudos to all involved and you for publicising it... I would love to see more of it.
.. Kirsty Karkow



Shiki Monthly Kukai
Several of the Club members have been participating in the Shiki Monthly Kukai from mid-2006 onwards :

http://www.haikuworld.org/kukai/current.html


*****************************

THE KENYA SAIJIKI




[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::