School Exams KCSE KCPE

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School exams KCSE / KCPE

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Short rains (October / November)
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Every year at the end of October, Kenyan secondary schools close, so as not to disturb the senior students, who are taking the Kenya Certificate of Education (KCSE) exams. Tough national examinations they are -- test papers are written and transported in total secrecy (with occasional lapses, which become national front-page news and are major dramas for those affected). Exam classes are strictly invigilated by teachers from other schools.

Candidates are normally 18 to 20 years old. They take three compulsory subjects, English, Swahili and Mathematics, as well as around four others, chosen by them. Science papers include laboratory experiments, and it is justifiably a constant topic of argument whether this does not put the up-country or urban slum schools at a disadvantage.

Once the KCSE is over, the country immediately switches to the KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education), taking place in the first half of November. Numbers of students participating have risen hugely, since the government introduced free primary education a couple of years ago, encouraging even adults to return to school. The KCPE takes only three days; the younger classes resume as soon as the exams are over. Subjects taken by the mostly 14 to 16-year-olds are English, Swahili, Mathematics, Insha (Swahili composition), Science, CRE (Christian Religious Education or its Muslim or Hindu equivalents), and a mix of history, geography, civics, environmental studies, etc.

Given the numbers involved (see details below), this double exercise is a major logistic success story and shows the priority which all post-Independence Kenyan governments have attached to education.

The exams are tremendously important to students and parents, as the marks obtained will determine whether a candidate may pass to the next higher level of learning. This photo shows the KCPE candidates from All Saints' Cathedral Primary School, Nairobi, being prayed for on 6 November 2005, one day before the KCPE started :



Text and photo (c) Isabelle Prondzynski

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The East African Standard (Nairobi)

November 6, 2005

The Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination gets underway tomorrow. Over 670,000 candidates will sit for the exams in some 18,000 centres countrywide. This morning, the candidates will be taken through a rehearsal session by the supervisors and invigilators.

Tomorrow, the candidates begin with Mathematics, English Language and Composition papers. On Wednesday, they will do Science, Kiswahili Language and Kiswahili Insha. On the last day, they will sit for Geography, History, Civics and Religious Education. The Kenya National Examinations Council secretary, Mr Paul Wasanga, cautioned examination officials against abetting cheating.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200511071132.html

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http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/images/news/Newins081105.jpg

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Prisoners and the elderly sit KCPE exams
Story by NATION Team

Publication Date: 9 November 2005

Millicent Jemtai could not be detered by her illness, as she tackles her Mathematics Paper of this year's Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) at Eldoret Hospital yesterday.
Photo by Jared Nyataya.


http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/images/news/Newsinsa91105.jpg

Death row inmates were among hundreds of thousands of candidates who started their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams countrywide yesterday.Ninety four adult education learners, most of old men and women, expressed optimism that they would pass as they started their exams at Nairobi's St Peter's Claver Primary School.

Mrs Dina Masila, 50, a surbodinate staff at the ministry of Health headquarters said: "I want to study up to the university and become a counsellor." Her daughter is also a candidate.


http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/images/news/Newsinsb091105.jpg

At Lang'ata Women's Prison, two death row convicts were among nine candidates who sat for the exam at the centre. Three of their colleagues who had registered did not turn up because they were released in August. Only one of them turned up. The acting officer in charge, Mrs Elizabeth Olaba, said the convicts were encouraged to sit their exams by the Government's commitment to abolish the death sentence.

And 30 inmates, 21 of them on death row, are sitting the exams at Naivasha Maximum Prison. Acting officer in charge of the Prison James Mwalo Kodieny said eight inmates who had registered for the exam had completed their jail terms. John Mwangi, 26, a death row inmate, said he was hopeful that the Government would commute his sentence.

Papers arrived early in most schools except in Nyatike division where most roads had been rendered impassable by heavy rains currently pounding the region. Heavy rains also pounded Narok District as 5,739 candidates started the exams. The papers were dispatched to the 246 centres on Monday to avoid vehicles getting stuck while delivering the papers.

Reported by Cyrus Kinyungu, Angwenyi Gichana, Elisha Otieno, Ben Amadala, John Ochieng, Macharia Mwangi, Muchiri Gitonga, Joseph Kimani, Sollo Kiragu, Geoffrey Rono and Dennis Odunga

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=61093

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Success Cards

As the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education(KCPE) and Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education(KCSE) approach, vendors start to sell success cards. Muthurwa Hawkers Market has now joined in, together with many other shops and markets.

Success cards have always been a big thing for any primary and secondary school candidate in Kenya. But apart from the encouraging messages they carry, success cards have been used for many other hidden agendas.

They are many different types for different recipients depending with the relationship between the sender and the recipient. There are those that have pictures of animal, nature and prominent people. Then there are those that are designed for lovers with two people cuddling or kissing. Those with sweet melodies and others with lighting words. The messages in them also vary but the central idea has always been to encourage candidates, give them hope and the much needed confidence during their exams.

In schools, pupils and students compete to see who receives many success cards before and during the exam period. There is nothing better to make your morning during an exam period than having your name called to collect a success card during assembly time. The competition gets tough and some students buy success cards and pretend that it is someone else who has sent them the cards, just to remain on top.

Then there are those senders who go an extra mile. Some put sugar particles in your success card to show their love, others enclose a love letter while others add money or gifts to accompany success cards.

It is also a time for embarrasement for those who repeat classes without informing their well wishers or who lie to their friends and relatives about their class levels. When a standard seven pupil, or form two or three student is called to pick up his or her success card, they remain the laughing stalk for the rest of the exam period.

Caleb Mutua



. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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HAIKU

invigilator
praying for the children --
pens scratch paper

this school uniform --
stained and torn and worn
one more time

Isabelle Prondzynski

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mother a wreck
nervous child shivers
with exam fever.

for mere marks
wasting hours
no learning life skills

shoma
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/happyhaiku/message/2351

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KCPE results
Wambui joins Moi Girls
Erick Starehe Boys

-- Patrick Wafula

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clipboards in hand-
KCSE candidates listen
to their supervisors

the shuffle of papers
the only sound in the room-
KCSE exams

Patrick Wafula, October 2006


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................................... Exam Haiku

Students in numbers
Despite repeated warnings
Leave their cell phones on

http://www.salocin.com/weblog/archives/000161.html

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The exam questions
A cat chases butterflies
never catching one

The exam finished
trying to go home I walk
up to a dead end

http://haiku.cc.ehime-u.ac.jp/~shiki/shiki.archive/html/9603/0118.html

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Related words

***** Exam results (kigo for the hot dry season)

KCPE results are published in January of the following year, leading to a frantic period of activity for secondary schools, as they analyse the results and set the cut-off mark. Students may apply for one school in each of three categories -- national schools (subsidised by the State and taking in the brightest and best of the youth), provincial schools (good secondary schools located within each of the provinces), and local schools. Even to get into a local school is a success, as only about half the KCPE examinees are offered secondary school places at all.

The results of the KCSE are published later. Students have to wait at least from November to September of the following year for their first chance to get into university. University places too are severely limited and highly desirable -- private universities are now springing up, and for students with access to funds or to sponsors, they are a welcome alternative. The children of wealthy families may also look abroad for third-level opportunities.

Isabelle Prondzynski

Read more here :
http://www.vk.co.ke/?no=2532&mk=comment

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Some sponsors have set up private secondary schools, which take in students who did not manage to obtain a place in one of the public schools. One of my favourite private secondary schools is Bahati Community Centre, situated in the slum of Kayole and founded by a small group of young students from Kayole (Nairobi) itself, who felt they had been lucky to get into secondary education, and wanted to share their good fortune with those young people who had not managed (either for lack of points, or for lack of funds to pay school fees).

Bahati is very largely run on a voluntary basis, but students pay a small fee so that teachers can work full-time. The school has no building (it rents an unfinished house), no electricity, no window panes, no water, but a pit latrine and a group of dedicated young teachers and hard-working students.

Read some of their stories here, and see the picture of the very first group of KCSE candidates (who had to sit the exam in a different school, as they were not yet recognised as an exam centre) :
http://www.bahatia.blogspot.com/



Text and photo (c) Isabelle Prondzynski


BCC's First Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Candidates (KCSE) 2005.
The first BCC Secondary School K.C.S.E (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education) candidates : This year, BCC Secondary School is among the Secondary Schools in Kenya that are hosting the Kenya Certificate Of Secondary Examination candidates. The exam commenced on 21st October and will end on 15th November.
To BCC, this is an auspicious and historical moment because these are the first such candidates since its inception 4 years ago. The 23 candidates are among the 260,000 candidates sitting this exam country wide.
http://www.bahatia.blogspot.com/


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KCSE results--
even the school guard joins
the celebrations

KCSE results--
his shaky finger run down
the index numbers

Caleb David Mutua
Kenya, March 2010


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she buys her child
a flowered success card -
KCSE exams

Duncan Omoto

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***** Graduation Ceremony in Kenya :
kigo for short rains


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School Year Starts

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Start of School Year, School Year starts

***** Location: Kenya, worldwide
***** Season: Hot Dry Season
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

The beginning of the calendar year is also the beginning of the school year in Kenya. Every year, this event leads to much fraught activity for most of January. There is stress, joy and pain, tears and hugs, as tiny tots leave home for their first day at school. Meanwhile, their older siblings start in new schools or return to their familiar schools. And their parents cope with all the related tension -- finding school fees, buying text books, ordering school uniforms. For those with children entering new schools, achieving admission for them in desirable places of learning is only half the battle -- but a very important half.



Parents together --
Provincial School lists in Nyayo House

Those candidates who have taken KCPE exams, together with their parents and families, flock to their Provincial Headquarters around the country to find out whether a National or Provincial School has selected them as one of their new Form 1 students. In Nairobi, the 14th and 15th floors of Nyayo House, where the exam results and confirmed schools selections are displayed on the walls, are so crowded, during the first few days, that the security guards allow only a limited number of parents up at any one time, while the others wait for their turn.



Searching for the name --
Provincial School lists in Nyayo House

Once a students knows the results of the Form 1 selection, and has received the treasured Admission Letter from the school, much activity begins. Finding the fees or finding a sponsor is the most important part. If the student fails to report on opening day (in 2006, this is 23 January), only one week's grace is granted for him or her to show up, bearing a bank draft for the correct amount of fees, as well as all the other numerous constituent parts comprising school uniforms, sports and casual gear, nightwear, washing equipment, books, pens, toilet paper, soap and more.

Secondary schools (with students aged 14 to 18) are mostly boarding schools. Unless they leave on excursions, the young students spend the entire term inside their grounds. They see their families only on the official mid-term Visiting Day, when everyone turns up with a picnic of goodies for the students and enjoys a much-anticipated day together.



After the shopping -- ready for Form One

Text and photos © Isabelle Prondzynski

Related kigo in this context

form one (form 1)
new term
new textbooks
school fees
new uniform

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Not all students are lucky enough to be able to enter public sector schools. Some of them may, however, be able to join private initiative schools, such as Bahati Community Centre (BCC).

Read more about it on the Worldkigo / Kenya Saijiki page on School Exams and on its home page :

http://kenyasaijiki.blogspot.com/2006/07/school-exams.html

http://www.bahatia.blogspot.com

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Cartoon by Gado, Daily Nation 4 January 2006



[http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/images/news/cartoons/cart04012006.jpg]

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Fresh start for Form Ones
Daily Nation Editorial, 23 January 2006

Beginning today, national and provincial schools open their doors to Form One students who are opening a new chapter in their lives. This is a critical stage for hundreds of thousands of students who passed the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations and are keen on remoulding their future.

A good number of these youths will lack fees owing to grinding poverty and they must be allowed to take up places in their new schools with as little disruption as possible if they qualify for bursaries.

The Government has set a side more than Sh700 million in bursary funds for needy students this year alone. To smoothen the transfer of needy students to their new schools, MPs and others who preside over these funds - which are allocated under Constituency Development Fund - must hasten the process of disbursing this money so that learning can go on.

Therefore, it behoves the committees appointed to manage these funds to meet urgently and allocate money to students so that they are not shut out of the Form One registration that is expected to end in about a week's time.

It would be unfortunate if these funds were used for political gain as a tool to manipulate parents and guardians of needy students - students who are pursuing their right to quality education.

Authorities should be on the lookout for such infractions. It is at moments such as this that some head teachers toss out the Government-sanctioned fees guidelines and impose new fees structures that raise tuition fees to levels that parents cannot afford.

To bolster the Government's efforts to offer quality education to youths, flexible fees payment plans should be allowed as much as possible.

Head teachers should show great sympathy to those students from famine-ravaged regions whose parents may have lost their livestock - their only means to pay school fees.

These young students deserve all the help they can get.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=24&newsid=65718

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State appeals for more schools
Story by NATION Team
Publication Date: 10 January 2006



Form One selection into district schools countrywide started yesterday, with the Government appealing for aggressive expansion of secondary schools to take more students. At least 5,000 new classrooms are supposed to be constructed in the next two years to accommodate 225,000 children who do not get Form One places.

The passionate appeal by the Education ministry's Directorate of Higher Education follows a Government move to increase primary-to-secondary transition rates from 53 to 70 per cent by 2008. A senior official in the directorate, Mr Kariuki Muli, said the ministry had started an aggressive campaign to ensure expansion of the 4,000 secondary schools to provide space for the more than 450,000 children who qualify for secondary education yearly.

Speaking yesterday at State House Girls High School, Nairobi, where the selection took place, Mr Muli said: "We in the ministry encourage the expansion of secondary schools in our effort to achieve a 70 per cent transition rate by 2008."

District school heads conducted the two-day exercise manually at district education headquarters countrywide. Admissions to national and provincial schools were done through a computerised system. Overall, more girls will join Form One than boys – 191,817 and 188,772 respectively. The second selection is expected to be done after students have reported to schools between January 23 and 30.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=64931

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It's back to school
Daily Nation Story by RICHARD CHESOS
Publication Date: 9 January 2006

Most schools reopen today for first term with most of the recently recruited teachers starting work at their new stations.

Of the 7,900 teachers recruited last August to bridge the shortfall of instructors, 6,200 reported to primary schools, while 1,650 were posted to secondary schools. Fifty others were sent to technical institutions.

Shops stocking school uniform enjoyed brisk trade at the weekend in anticipation of the reopening of schools. In Nairobi, School Uniform Distributors on River Road was jammed with parents, many who switched to this shop after a fire destroyed one of its branches on Ndumberi Road last week. Manager Hitendra Khetia said they had increased their stocks in the River Road branch to serve the increased number of customers. "We have enough stock; we expected more customers, including those who usually shop at the other (Ndumberi Road) branch," he said.

The hiring of 7,900 teachers is expected to ease the shortfall of instructors in learning institutions, but is far less than the 60,000 the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) wants the Government to hire. The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers has supported KNUT, saying secondary schools alone need 8,000 new instructors.

The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) advertised for 7,900 teaching posts seven months ago but delayed in hiring teachers after complaints were raised about unfairness in the recruitment. A vetting committee comprising senior TSC officials was established to investigate allegations of favouritism, tribalism and corruption. All irregular recruitment were nullified, a TSC official said.
Primary school teachers were recruited by district education boards while secondary school instructors sent their applications to school management boards. The 7,900 teachers were employed to replace those who had left the service through death or retirement.

Schools open a fortnight after Education ministry released Sh2.5 billion to 18,000 primary schools for free learning. The money will be used to buy teaching and learning materials.

Recently, primary school headteachers urged the Government to supply relief food to schools in arid and semi-arid areas before they reopen for the term. The Kenya Primary Schools Headteachers Association (Kepsha) expressed fears that thousands of pupils might not report to school if they were not assured of food.

National chairman Titus Waithaka also appealed to the State to provide breakfast, lunch and supper for pupils in areas affected by famine. Currently, primary schools in the country's 22 arid and semi-arid districts benefit from a school feeding programme, a joint project of the Government and the World Food Programme.

Mr Waithaka called for the expansion of the programme to include other areas affected by the famine that has killed more than 12 people. "We fear that children from the affected areas might not report to school on January 9. They will definitely not go there if they know they is no food," he said.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=64890

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Worldwide use

The start of new school year, a worldwide KIGO


Philippines :
school opening


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

form one entrant --
smile huge bag heavy
purse light

turning the corner
into Pangani Girls' School --
then she is gone

Isabelle Prondzynski, 2006

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From the Bahati Haiku Poetry Club, February 2006
To read more haiku, click here.

new faces emerge
looking very confused
new books in hand

-- Annastacia Muthoni


students on assembly
last year's fee arrears
announces the principal

-- Catherine Njeri


bells ring --
it is school year
all over Kenya

-- Francis Ouma


bright faces all over
stationery in their bags --
back to school

-- Cyprian Awino


smiling faces
huge bags new shoes
form ones join

-- Maximilla Khasandi


bright morning --
many colours of uniforms
hurrying to school

-- Judy Wangui


pens and exercise books
disappear off the bookshelves --
homework

-- Patrick Wafula

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Related words

***** start of new school year worldwide

***** School exams KCSE / KCPE (Kenya)

***** Graduation Ceremony in Kenya

***** Graduation (sotsugyoo, Japan)


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Palm Sunday

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Palm Sunday and Lent

***** Location: Worldwide in Christian communities
***** Season: Spring (Northern Hemisphere),
. . . . . . . . . . . long rains (East Africa)
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Palm Sunday is the remembrance of Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, and is celebrated by Christians worldwide on the Sunday before Easter. It is thus the last Sunday in Lent.

Palm Sunday is the joyful start of Holy Week, the week leading up to Christ’s passion and death on Good Friday. The joy of Palm Sunday quickly turns into betrayal, suffering and death. So, the celebration of Palm Sunday has a bitter-sweet flavour -- the same crowds who received Jesus so joyfully in Jerusalem that day, turned against him in violence within only a few hours.

Palm Sunday celebrations include the reading of the Gospel story, which recounts the entry into Jerusalem of Jesus Christ, riding on a donkey, and of the jubilant population, spreading palm fronds at his feet. In many European countries, there is a distribution to the congregation of palm crosses to take home -- these same palm crosses are burnt the following Ash Wednesday, to produce the ashes for the ashen crosses.

In Ethiopia, palm leaves are used to braid elaborate palm crosses for the faithful. In Kenya, Palm Sundays include processions with palm fronds, led by the church choirs, singing Palm Sunday hymns.


Palm Sunday procession at All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi, 1 April 2007

Text and photo : © Isabelle Prondzynski

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The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday.

This, and much more information about Palm Sunday, here :


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Sunday

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Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
Matthew 21 : 1 - 11

When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them immediately.’ This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’

The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd* spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’

When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’
http://bible.oremus.org/

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Palm Sunday hymn

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
Hark! all the tribes Hosanna cry;
O Saviour meek, pursue Thy road
With palms and scattered garments strowed.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die!
O Christ! Thy triumph now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
The wingèd squadrons of the sky
Look down with sad and wondering eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh;
The Father, on His sapphire throne,
Expects His own anointed Son.

Ride on, ride on, in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die;
Bow Thy meek head to mortal pain,
Then take, O God, Thy power, and reign.

Words: Henry H. Milman, 1820
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/r/i/rideride.htm

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Palm Sunday procession at All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi, 1 April 2007
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Worldwide use


Palm Sunday - Palmsonntag


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

boarding the bus
with a palm cross --
Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday --
prayers and birdsong
mix and blend

© Isabelle Prondzynski (1 April 2007)

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Patrick Wafula on Palm Sunday 2011

A very unusual phenomenon has come up in Kayole on this Palm Sunday morning. I happened to walk across Soweto/Kayole this morning and was amazed by a totally new phenomenon: hawkers upon hawkers pushing wheelbarrows, carrying sackfuls or armfuls of fresh palm fronds for sale in the viscinity of or around the Church gates; the culmination of all these activities was Saba Saba Street in Kayole. One handful of fresh, blessed palm leaves, they said, was Kshs 10/-



Palm Sunday--
hawkers pushing wheelbarrow
full of palm leaves

Saba Saba street--
fresh palm leaves in hand, youth
stroll to church

on both sides, hawkers
selling fresh palm leaves--
Kanisani Gate

a lady-hawker
shouts twenty bob per handfull--
PCEA Church gate


This will enable us to know and understand why people in Nairobi are buying Palm leaves, from the Biblical point of vew's importance of palm leaves:
source : Palm Sunday / Wikipeida


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church gate--
he sorts out palm leaves
from grass

busy Sunday--
hawkers selling
high grade palms

Soweto road--
he adorns his car
with palms

road junction--
bodabodas decorated
with palms

Brian Mulando, 2011


Bodaboda are bicycles which are used to transport people from place to place.


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Today, Palm Sunday.
Then Good Friday five days hence.
Easter but a dream.

~ Lionel E. Deimel
http://deimel.org/poetry/church_year.htm

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Palm Sunday
a scattering of hailstones
in the wheelbarrow

~ Paul Conneally (United Kingdom)
http://www.asahi.com/english/haiku/060424.html


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. Lent / Palm Sunday / Easter 2011 　

two men lead
the crowd with a cross-
Kangundo road

~ yamame


Holy Thursday-
the priest wipes men's
dusty feet

~ Catherine Njeri Maina


flag post--
a picture of a shiny
Easter egg

~ Synaidah Kalahi


a priest walks
through the crowd--
Easter mass

~ Scholastica Mumbe


a dog dives for
the thrown goat skull--
Easter feast

~ Brian ETOLE


Easter feast--
delicious aroma of
roasted goat meat

~ BRIAN MULANDO


on the road--
he struggles with a cross
on his back

~ Jacklyne Anyoso


Palm Sunday--
she covers her head with
a palm leaf

~ Violet Wangira


Easter rush--
her new shoes squeak
as she runs

~ Elijah Juma


hosanna hosanna-
a young boy shouts as
he follows a multitude

~ Boniface Bonnke


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Palm Sunday / Easter 2012 　

Palm Sunday -
an early sound of
the church bell

fresh palm fronds
hung at the entrance -
matatu ride

in the mirror-
a drunk man waves
a palm frond

Andrew Otinga

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Related words

***** Ash Wednesday

***** Lent

***** Easter


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Steppingstone, stepping stones

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Steppingstone, steppingstones

***** Location: Tropical regions
***** Season: Long rains, short rains
............. others see below
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

steppingstones, stepping stones,
step-stone bridge

The stepping stones take different shape and colour.In fact in muddy puddles, a lot of times we step on spounches or other things thinking that we stepp on the stepping stones.....

Caleb David Mutua, Kenya
June 2009

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A step-stone bridge
is a simple means for a pedestrian to cross a watercourse during periods of low flow while keeping feet and (particularly) footwear dry. This type, along with the log bridge are likely the oldest bridge types. Unlike all other bridges, this bridge has no spans. Water is allowed to course between the stones that form the steps. Step-stone bridges are often seen in gardens in China and Japan.
It is one of several principal types found in such gardens. Sometimes one will find these as informal crossings of small streams when hiking, as they are often built by hikers during the drier seasons and are subject to being swept away (or at least disarranged) during periods of high, fast water.
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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. . . CLICK here for "stepping stones" Photos !



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Worldwide use

Guyana

In Guyana it seems that heavy logs are often used as stepping stones because they are much more available but often wash away with flood on our coast land.

heavy rain
where are the logs outside
going in


The logs (planks) are temporary measures.used mainly at our gates ,on the concrete bridges of our homes or shops etc.,on the path going to our door.usually when we come home we find them washed away during heavy rain and the drains overflow, one maybe in place. we set them again next morning. it is like a game sometime,i think.

no planks
left leading to my door
heavy rain


kenneth daniels (GY)


WKD : South American Saijiki


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Japan

fumi-ishi, tobi-ishi 踏み石, 飛び石
steppingstone, stepping stone
topic for haiku

often a large stone where people leave their shoes before entering a tea room or building.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !

They also form a path in a tea garden or temple garden, see below.


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


stepping stones
in a puddle across my path...
the balancing art again


On Sunday I had a very interesting experience with stepping stones; we attended a Sunday Service in Mukuru slums where there are no roads, streets or bridges; only stepping stones link people across the quagmires, morasses and huge puddles. In our company, we had a lady in open shoes who had it very difficult stepping on stepping stone after stepping stone:

stinking morass...
stepping stones the only
bridge across

squelching
of stepping stones...
our weight

one foot in the mud
the other on the stepping stone...
crossing a morass

old concrete blocks
lined across deep stagnant water...
step-stone bridge

Patrick Wafula, Kenya
June 2009


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stepping stones ...
he uses his walking stick
to confirm

gathering rain ..
the distance between the
stepping stones

Caleb David Mutua, Kenya


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a young girl
stuck in a muddy puddle...
slippy stepping stones

stepping stones...
a bullfrog lays for
sunlight

silently clicking
he pulls the bike out...
the stepping stones

Catherine Njeri, Kenya
June 2009


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stepping stones
hidden in the marsh weeds -
hardly noticed

stepping stones
laid across the stream -
an acting bridge

Gideon Gichamba, Kenya

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dry puddle--
sun-baked mud on the
stepping stones

Caleb David Mutua, Kenya


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morning downpour--
an abandoned slipper on
the stepping stones

February downpour--
the lost stepping stones
are revealed

Hussein Haji, February 2010
Kenya Saijiki Forum


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zen temple -
stepping stones leading
to a different life



. Gabi Greve .
Kamakura, Temple Kencho-Ji
Summer 1990


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stepping stones
leading me...
nowhere

Sunil Uniyal, New Delhi, India
June 2009



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Related words

***** Puddle, puddles


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Flamboyant Tree

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Flamboyant (Swahili : Mjohoro)

***** Location: Mombasa and other parts of Kenya
***** Season: Short rains
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Latin : Delonix regia

The Flamboyant is the most spectacular among Kenya’s host of spectacular flowering trees. This umbrella-shaped tree produces huge clusters of brilliant red flowers could easily win the beauty stakes against the gorgeous jacaranda and tipu trees, which also flower during the short rains season.

In Nairobi, there is only one flamboyant I know (and I pay it a visit every day). It never flowered in past years, the climate being too cold in the Highlands -- but more recently, it has spoilt the neighbourhood with its blossom during the short rains, and its huge seed pods during the rest of the year.



In warmer places, it thrives, and it is the main blossoming tree of Mombasa at the Indian Ocean coast, and Kisumu on the shores of Lake Victoria. In Namanga at the Tanzanian border, I was so spell-bound while photographing a group of them, that I left my lense cap there and departed without it...

The only compensation for global warming that I have so far seen, is that flamboyants will become more numerous in Nairobi -- and that they will flower every year.



Text and photos : © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Flamboyant (Delonix regia)
Family : Caesalpinaceae

The original home of this magnificently spectacular tree is Madagascar, where it was first discovered in 1824. It has since been cultivated all over the tropical areas of the world including Kenya.

With its umbrella-shaped span of almost 30 ft (10 m), a height of between 30-50 ft (10-15m), and its canopy of scarlet flowers before the leaves develop, the Flamboyant is truly well-named. In Kenya it thrives best at an altitude below 4,500 ft (1,370 m), especially where it is warm and dry. Mombasa has a number of these trees planted in the town and they are a striking sight in the right season.

Being deciduous, the tree sheds its leaves during the dry season, when its long brown pods, almost 20 in (50 cm) in length, become markedly conspicuous.

John Karmali, The Beautiful Trees of Kenya, Nairobi 1988

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Flamboyant with green pods
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Delonix regia / poinciana regia

A spreading deciduous tree, in flower one of the world’s most strikingly beautiful trees, growing to 10 m but under ideal conditions to 15 m, with a flat or umbrella-shaped crown. Common at the coast, but at Nairobi’s altitude flowering only erratically; now almost extinct in its native Madagascar.

Bark : Grey and smooth
Leaves : Light green and feathery, up to 60 cm in length, twice-compound with up to 40 side ribs; leaflets small and oval-shaped, mostly less than 1 cm long, folding with the dusk and falling in the dry season.

Flowers : Brilliant scarlet-red clusters, often appearing before the leaves, each flower up to 10 cm across with 5 wavy petals, of which the uppermost is creamy white and splashed with scarlet.
Fruit : Heavy flat brown pods up to 75 cm in length, honeycombed into horizontal seed chambers and remaining on the tree for many months. The tree is fast-growing from seed.

Tim Noad and Ann Birnie, Trees of Kenya, Nairobi 1989.

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Flamboyant with brown pods
Photo © Isabelle Prondzynski



Click HERE to see more photos of this spectacular tree !


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Worldwide use

India

Flame of the forest Photos

Tulip Tree, African Tulip Tree, Flame of the Forest Spathodea campanulata
FAMILY: BIGNONIACEAE (Trumpet-creeper Family)

It may not be from Australia, but the African tulip tree Spathodea campanulata across from the San Diego Zoo's koala exhibit and in the Zoo's Gorilla Tropics area has such stunning orange-scarlet flowers that nobody cares. Also known as the flame of the forest, the trees can grow as high as 70 feet (21 meters) in their native tropical habitat.
© 2007 Zoological Society of San Diego
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/CF/plants/species_detail.cfm?ID=205

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

Flamboyant or Poinciana regia is usually known in India as Gulmohur in Hindi belt, in Bengali we call it Krishnachura, it has many varieties, Mother of Pondicherry gave its spiritual name: Realization.
It's plentiful flowers in spring dazzle the road sides and gardens.

Aju Mukhopadhyay, India, January 2007


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a gulmohur



Vidur Jyoti, India, May 2008


. Flame of the Forest Tree .
Gulmohar, Krishnachuda



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Tanzania

In Tanzania, Kenya's neighbour, this tree is known as the Christmas tree. It flowers during the lead-up to Christmas, which is the Tanzanian spring. Its bright red-hot blooms dazzle Arusha town. A walk along the Moshi-Arusha Road in November will show off this tree at its best, together with other blooming trees along this road.

Christmas tree--
red blooms sprinkled
in the trench



Text, photo and haiku : Patrick Wafula


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Trinidad and Tobago

We have both the Yellow and the Red Flamboyant flowering trees. They flower around June and may go until about September in bloom.




we celebrate
in T&T
flamboyant in blossom

celebrating as the Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago edged out Sweden to go the World Cup Finals 2006

© gillena cox, http://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/
archived at Thursday June 15th 2006

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Ivans's aftermath- -
a flame tree's red blossoms
in St Georges

* Ivan - - Hurricane Ivan September 2004
** St Georges- - the Capital of Grenada



© gillena cox, http://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/
archived at Thursday June 15th 2006

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

late shopping trip --
the flamboyant and its guard
at nightfall



Haiku and photo : Isabelle Prondzynski



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Related words

***** Nandi flame tree
Spathodea campanulata, African tulip tree
. . . CLICK here for Photos !




***** Tipu tree (Tipuana tipu) Kenya

***** Jacaranda (tropical tree) Kenya

***** Short Rains, a Haiku Season in Kenya


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Rift Valley

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Rift Valley

***** Location: Kenya and neighbouring countries
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Earth

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Explanation



For most Nairobians, the Rift Valley is where you pass when you take the Trans African Highway from Nairobi westwards, if you wish to visit the town of Naivasha or the city of Nakuru or any other towns and cities beyond -- including those in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the DR Congo.

The Rift Valley is huge -- the two walls forming either side of the rift, are very far apart. In between lies a fertile plain, filled with volcanoes, lakes and famous national parks. The lakes are especially famous for birds, including millions of flamingoes. Much of the Kenyan dairy industry lies here. The flower growers of Lake Naivasha export roses all over the world. The ascent on the other side provides land for wheat growing, followed by the large expanse of tea plantations around Kericho. Because of the depth of the rift, geo-thermal energy is also tapped and fed into the national grid.

The road which most travellers now take into the Rift, is a new one, built post-independence during the Kenyatta era, and provides spectacular views, including a glimpse into the inside of the extinct volcano Mount Longonot. The older road is even more picturesque, as it winds its way down serpentine bends into the valley -- both roads rejoin in Naivasha.

The city of Nakuru, which has been famous for its 7-km long jacaranda avenue, planted pre- and post-independence, has recently lost most of this treasure, cut down by the contractors commissioned to widen the road. The mayor of Nakuru is furious, and there has been a public outcry -- it is hoped that the jacaranda will be replanted and that, 40 years hence, their beauty may be restored.

Historically, the Rift Valley has been the scene of many land disputes, continuing occasionally today with so-called “tribal clashes”, often involving Kalenjin and Kikuyus, sometimes also Maasai.

The haiku below were written by Nairobians travelling into the Rift, either to visit one of the parks, or to stay with family up-country.

Text © Isabelle Prondzynski

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View from Mount Longonot, with the Rift Valley in the background

© PHOTO　www.tamasha-afrika.com/Kenya

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RIFT VALLEY REGION

The Kenyan Rift Valley is a section of 6 000 km rift system which stretches from the Dead Sea in the Middle East, south through the Red Sea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique.

Major geological upheavals caused a series of lakes in Kenya, some of which (Turkana, Naivasha and Baringo) are freshwater, but the others are soda lakes, with a high saline content. These are rich in algae and tiny crustaceans, which are the main food sources for the millions of flamingos gracing the lakes.

The upheavals also resulted in the sprouting of volcanic mountains, including Longonot and Mt Kenya. The scenery in the Rift Valley is breathtaking and the approach, via road or rail, from Nairobi will take you up gently through the highlands and bring you suddenly to the edge of the Rift valley, which drops away to a ribbon of green in the valley floor below.
http://www.go2africa.com/kenya/rift-valley/

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Great Rift Valley -- from Wikipedia

The Great Rift Valley is a vast geographical and geological feature, approximately 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) in length, which runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa. Caused by the geological process of rifting, it is a complex feature where several plates of the earth's crust join. The rift valley varies in width from thirty to one hundred kilometers, and in depth from a few hundred to several thousand meters.

The great rift system extends from Lebanon in the north to Mozambique in the south.

The Western Rift, also called the Albertine Rift, is edged by some of the highest mountains in Africa, including the Virunga Mountains, Mitumba Mountains, and Ruwenzori Range. It contains the Rift Valley lakes, which include some of the deepest lakes in the world (up to 1,470 meters deep at Lake Tanganyika). Lake Victoria, the second largest area freshwater lake in the world, is considered part of the Rift Valley system although it actually lies between the two branches. All of the African Great Lakes were formed as the result of the rift, and most lie within its rift valley.

In Kenya the valley is deepest to the north of Nairobi. As the lakes in the Eastern Rift have no outlet to the sea, these lakes tend to be shallow and have a high mineral content as the evaporation of water leaves the salts behind. For example, Lake Magadi has high concentrations of soda (sodium carbonate) and Lake Elmenteita, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, and Lake Nakuru are all strongly alkaline, while Lake Naivasha needs to be supplied by freshwater springs to support its biological variety.

The volcanic activity at this site and unusual concentration of hotspots has produced the volcanic mountains Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Nyiragongo, Mount Meru and Mount Elgon as well as the Crater Highlands in Tanzania. The Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano remains active, and is currently the only natrocarbonatite volcano in the world.

The Rift Valley has been a rich source of fossils that allow study of human evolution, especially in an area known as Piedmont. Because the rapidly eroding highlands have filled the valley with sediments, a favorable environment for the preservation of remains has been created. The bones of several hominid ancestors of modern humans have been found there, including those of "Lucy", a nearly complete australopithecine skeleton, which was discovered by anthropologist Donald Johanson. Richard and Mary Leakey have also done significant work in this region.

More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Flamingoes on Lake Bogoria
©　PHOTO www.tamasha-afrika.com/Kenya

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Rift Valley Fever is thus called because it was first identified in the Rift Valley of Kenya. Meanwhile, it has been found in other areas of Africa.

More here :
Rift Valley Fever, a haiku topic

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HAIKU

into the Rift --
our struggling bus
gathers speed

Naivasha --
surrounded by Naivasha thorns
in bloom

Rift Valley railway --
a single rail runs
through the bush

here and there
white clouds drift over
the vast Rift

from here
to the distant horizon
bush and hamlets

into the bush --
here and there a track
goes somewhere

Elmentaita --
the pink of flamingoes
drifts in stripes

a veil of rain
drifts over the Rift Valley --
August afternoon

~ Isabelle Prondzynski

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pine needles
whistling in the cool breeze --
Rift Valley highlands

sightseers winding
up their evening picnic --
grey sunset

misty green blue hills --
the bus struggles up the winding
tarmac road

the winding road
between pine and cypress forests--
cool misty highlands

two barefooted ladies
pad on soft green grass--
cool highland breeze

~ Patrick Wafula

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Patrick Wafula writes in August 2009

I would like to comment in advance that for those who have not practically visited this part of our country since the after poll ethnic violence in which more than 1,133 people lost their lives, they cannot appreciate the magnitude of this disaster, which has been exacerbated by the prolonged drought, on human beings.
At first I could not believe my eyes when I saw those IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) tents in clusters and the throngs of haggard people dejectedly sitting outside; I could also not believe immediately the expansive landscape of farms without houses; there are only tiny mabati houses with Kenya Red Cross logo across their roofs on some farms.
And then there are these desolate burnt houses and buildings dotting the landscape on the roadsides and the farms; the scenes stretch all the way from Nakuru, Elburgon, Burnt Forest to Eldoret.
Let the rest be said by haiku:


with empty sacks
refugees queue for relief food--
the Kenya Red Cross

scarred buildings
where houses and shops once stood--
IDP tents

IDP tents dotting
the Rift Valley without crops--
scorching sun

emaciated cattle
browsing on dry dusty grass--
a cloudless blue sky

a scorching sun--
scorched dwarfed maize
tasseling without fruit

landless and homeless
IDPs sit outside their torn tents--
I weep for my country


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Patrick Wafula writes in April 2010

Recently, after I arrived in Nairobi from Arusha, my 69 year-old Magdalene and my three sisters, Nangila, Nanjala and Nekesa stopped over at our Nairobi residence on their way from Makueni in Eastern Province, where they had gone to visit their sitawa (in-laws). So the night of Sunday 25th April was very special to us as we spent it together telling stories and catching up on family-social affairs. These wonderful moments brought us fantastic images from our home village, Nyasi Farm in the Rift Valley. Let me share some of these moments, especially the humorous ones, with you.
I would love to do it our way, the haiku way:

village story--
neighbours turn mosquito nets
into seat covers

a neighbour converts
mosquito net into a fishing net--
village story

first time in city--
she asks the cafe waiter
to bring the kettle

I am not able to share the real-time humour in the above haiku, but I will try to explain, starting with the first two: mosquito nets. It happens that Rift Valley, being the highest malaria infested zone in the country, the Ministry of Health is trying very hard to keep the disease at bay by supplying free treated mosquito nets to the residents there. Now look what our semi-illiterate and illiterate Rift Valley village folks, in their innovation, can do with them!

Now to the third haiku. My mother, being the brilliant and eccentric villager she is could not withstand being served tea without seeing the kettle, in that cafe; she was greatly puzzled by the manners of these urbanites who do not value something called good faith. Because, traditionally, in the village that is, one has to see the common kettle or plate from which the tea or food is served; and if you happen to serve a drink or food in cups or plates, you have to taste it first before handing it to your guest. This is what my mother calls good faith.

But even after two mugs of tea and two mandazi each in the Country Bus Station Cafe, it was not enough breakfast for my upcountry folk, who had also carried their own trusted traditional stuff just in case.

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

smoked meat--
childhood memories of
the blackened clay pot

Now to the just ended April holidays haiku. It has been full of heavy rains, which brought us bounties.

orange sunset--
children stalking grasshoppers
in the tall grass

contented car washers--
parking of muddy vehicles
scribbled with wash me

the miller's price tag--
fifty shs. for 2 kg of maize
plus grinding

late night shopping--
the milk hawker's shrill call
of buy two get one free

Patrick Wafula




Mandazi is similar to doughnuts

. Mandazi and Haiku



Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called yuca or manioc
Cassava in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Patrick Wafula writes in January 2011

ploughed farms—
leafless flame trees standing
in scarlet blooms

cold midnight—
women sell Irish potatoes
on the roadside

midnight mist—
moth after moth bump
into bus headlights

two oblivious zebras
slowly cross the road—
screeching brakes


full moon—
playing children’s song
floats on still air


two little girls collecting
maize stalks for firewood—
orange sunset

broken maize stalks—
dry merry gold rustling
in dusty whirlwind

a lone farmer collects
and burns maize stalks—
tilled farms


dusty whirlwind—
a Ford tractor towing
a disc plough



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. Trip to the Rift Valley in March, 2011 　


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in Makueni in the Eastern Province

dry riverbed--
sweating women crashing
stones in the sun

Patrick Wafula
July 2011


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Related words

***** Lake Magadi

***** Hell's Gate

***** Kajiado Mission

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Ramadan ends (Idd ul Fitr)

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Idd ul Fitr (Ramadan ends)

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: varies according to the Muslim calendar
***** Category: Observance

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Explanation

Arabic spelling: Eid-Al-Fitr

Idd ul Fitr is the joyful festival at which Muslims celebrate the breaking of the fast of Ramadhan. In Kenya, where Muslims constitute about 20 % of the population, this is a national public holiday for all, and for the non Muslims it is a welcome day of rest with no particular activities. Offices and banks close, but most of the shops and places of entertainment open, to benefit from the day of leisure enjoyed by their customers.

During the Idd day or days (the public holiday may fall on the day following the actual Idd declared by the Chief Kadhi of Kenya at the first sighting of the crescent moon), the Nairobi cityscape features many Muslim men wearing the white kanzu as well as Muslim women in their finery. More Kenyan Muslim women have recently taken to wearing black, but the majority don bright colours and flowing robes which suit with African styles of clothing. The Idd therefore adds a touch of celebration to the Nairobi streets, as well as a sense of joy and happiness.

For Muslims, the day starts either with an open air celebration in the Sir Ali Muslim Club and similar venues in the other major cities, or within the main mosques, such as the Jamia Mosque of Nairobi. Topical matters may be addressed in the sermons, such as (in 2005) the imminent constitutional referendum.

The Idd-ul-Fitr moves within the calendar year by about half a month each year, so that it follows the previous Idd-ul-Fitr after about eleven and a half months.

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Sisters Hawa and Ayman Ramadan (right) celebrate after attending Idd-ul-Fitr prayers at Loota Mosque in Mombasa to mark the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan yesterday.
Photo : Gideon Maundu
Daily Nation, 4 November 2005

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Muslims to mark Idd next Friday

Story by NATION Correspondent
Publication Date: 27 October 2005

Friday November 4 has been declared a public holiday to celebrate Idd-ul-Fitr.

Civil service head Francis Muthaura made the announcement in the Kenya Gazette.

One of the biggest holidays for Muslims, Idd-ul-Fitr, is marked at the end of Ramadhan -- the 30-day period of fasting and prayer -- which began in the first week of October.

The holiday falls on the first day of Shawwal, the 10th month in the Muslim calendar and is marked all over the world with great joy and festivities.

Idd means "recurring happiness or festivity" and fitr means "to begin". Iftar means "the breaking of the fast" and from these comes the name Idd-ul-Fitr.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=60195

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Muslims mark Idd-Ul-Fitr

By Alex Kiprotich, East African Standard
5 November 2005

Muslims yesterday thronged mosques for special prayers to mark the end of Ramadhan.

There was a festive mood in Nairobi as hundreds of Muslims clad in white kanzus and caps hugged one another after prayers led by Sheikh Ishak Ahmed at Jamia mosque.

Due to controversy over the sighting of the moon some of the Muslims marked the day on Thursday.

Women who turned up for the prayers had their hands beautifully decorated with henna designs and put on expensive jewellery.

"This is a very special day in Islamic Calendar and all faithful must look decent in the eyes of Allah," said Mwanaisha Zubedi.

The day, associated with large family gatherings over tasty meals and gifts for children, marks the end of one-month long fasting for Muslims.

Traders at Kiamaiko goat market did booming business.
Prices were increased from Sh 2,500 to Sh 3,500 per goat.

"Business is good today because many people are going to celebrate the end of fast and they do not care about prices," said a businessman.

Delivering the last khutbah of Ramadhan the imam of Nairobi's Jamia Masjid, sheikh Muhammad Swalihu, called for unity among Muslims.

He told them to shun violence during the referendum campaigns.

http://www.eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=31699

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Mr Ali Suleiman is all smiles after buying a goat for Idd-Ul-Fitr celebrations at Kiamako market, in Nairobi yesterday.
(East African Standard, 5 November 2005)

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Muslims pack mosques to mark Ramadan end

Reports by Elisha Otieno, Abdulsamad Ali and Mark Agutu
Publication Date: 5 November 2005

Muslims yesterday turned up in large numbers across the country to mark Idd-ul-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The chief kadhi, Sheikh Hammad Kassim, led them in prayers at mosques and other grounds as part of celebrations to mark the end of the annual fasting period on the Muslim calendar. He and other religious leaders prayed for peace and unity among Muslims in particular and Kenyans in general as the country prepares for the Constitution referendum on November 21.

In Nairobi, thousands in religious garb, were full of joy as they thronged the city centre after prayers at Jamia Mosque and other places of worship.

In Mombasa, the chief kadhi called for unity among Muslims, saying that they had not been spared the division as a result of the referendum debate.

"It is not true that there are black and Arab Muslims, or Muslims of this and that tribe; we are equal because we profess the same faith", he said as he addressed the annual Idd baraza, which was attended also by mayor Taib Ali Taib.

Sheikh Mohammed Idriss, the chairman of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), urged the faithful to reject people out to divide them along tribal or racial lines.

In Migori, the faithful congregated at Migori Muslim Primary School for a service and addresses by their leaders.

The leaders called for an end to the referendum campaign violence.

Migori mayor Junet Mohammed and Muslim leader Ebrahim Omar Hussein asked politicians to preach peace and stop making divisive and inflammatory remarks.

He asked the chief kadhi and imams to fix the dates for the beginning and closure of Ramadan, saying that there was confusion as Muslims mark them earlier or later.

(c) Daily Nation
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=60831

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From left, Abdul Wahab (9), Ibrahim Ahmed (10) and Haidar Munawar (9) hug each other during the Id-ul-Fitri celebrations at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru Town yesterday to mark the end of Ramadhan by Muslims.
Photo : Joseph Kiheri
Daily Nation, 4 November 2005



Mohammed Hassani plays "matari", an Islamic religious drum, during Idd-ul-Fitr celebrations at Treasury Square, Mombasa, yesterday.
Photo : Jack Owuor
Saturday Nation, 5 November 2005

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Ramadan in 2012
will start on Friday, the 20th of July and will continue for 30 days until Saturday, the 18th of August.

Based on sightability in North America, in 2012 Ramadan will start in North America a day later - on Saturday, the 21st of July.

Note that in the Muslim calander, a holiday begins on the sunset of the previous day, so observing Muslims will celebrate Ramadan on the sunset of Thursday, the 19th of July.
source :　www.when-is.com


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Worldwide use

Eid Al Fitr
Muslims have two major celebrations in the year. Both are called Eid (meaning celebration). Eid Al-Fitr, or the Celebration of Breaking the Fast, marks the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is the month of fasting.

Eid Al-Fitr is the celebration that comes at the end of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of fasting, every day from dawn until sunset. The Islamic Calendar follows the moon and so each year, the dates are shifted forwards by about eleven days in the normal calendar. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim year, and is followed by Shawal. The first three days of Shawal are the Eid days.

Zakat-ul-Fitr is a small amount that Muslims are obliged to pay as charity at the end of the month of Ramadan.

Read more here:
http://www.funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/eid.htm


Eid ul-Fitr - from the Wikipedia

Ramadan as a kigo.

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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

a cup of tea
to celebrate the Idd --
two Irish nuns

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Rows of lighted lamps
Flowers lovingly planted
Eid mubarak

Interestingly, the first week in November in 2005 has three religions celebrating a time to remember and contemplate -- All Saints, Ramadan and Diwali.

Anthony Tidswell
http://francevoila.com/archives/118.html


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across the street
a Muslim brushes his shoes --
Idd morning


Idd morning—
her henna design stretches
to her palm

Idd photos—
they enter the studio
in turns

Caleb Mutua
September 2011


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Soweto Mosque-
a large poster at the wall
written Happy Idd Ul Fitr

Idd ul fitr-
a muslim man sharpens
his panga knife

Soweto market-
a muslim man buys
a fat goat

Brian Mulando
August 2012


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From behind the clouds --
the crescent moon prompts
peace on earth


Written on the occasion of Id. August 2013
Kumarendra Mallick



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Related words

***** Ramadan



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