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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
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
. HAIKU LESSONS
Caleb Mutua
.................................................................................
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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