Stars and Night Sky

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Stars and Night Sky

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Heavens

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Explanation

It all started with a challenge from Alan Summers to the members of Kenya Saijiki on 2 March 2007 :

Can I ask something?

Can I in fact, challenge you?! ;-)

I don't know how much clear night sky you can see, because of city lights, but where I live, in Bradford on Avon, because I am near the country, there are fewer street and house lights and I can see the Milky Way, and Orion's Belt, very clearly, can you see them?

Do you have different words for stars and groups of stars?

I would love to get to see haiku that involve the stars, from very local names to regional names, maybe your own names for stars too.

I hope it is okay to set a challenge?

Your fresh haiku is very inspiring to me, and that is how every person who writes haiku should be, constantly inspired by their neighbour's haiku.

Thank you very much for allowing me to share in your haiku,

Alan

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Alan’s challenge was greeted enthusiastically, and the members of Kenya Saijiki set themselves a deadline of 30 March to submit their STARS and NIGHT SKY haiku, so that the best could be chosen and awarded prizes on 3 April 2007.

Submissions were sent to Kenya Saijiki anonymously, the identity of the students or adults only known to the authors, their Patrons and myself. Finally, all 142 haiku were handed over to Alan (backed by Gabi Greve in Japan and myself) for selection and evaluation.


The student prize winners of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge

The adults and students greeted the results at their meeting of 3 April 2007, and the happy prizewinners were cheered enthusiastically. It is encouraging that half the prizes were won by students in Form 1, who had been writing haiku for only two months or less. They have the benefit of support from their older schoolmates, who started last year, as well as from the experienced and dedicated Patrons of their haiku clubs. They are also making good use of their time in Form 1, before exam pressures begin to bite hard, particularly in Forms 3 and 4!

The prize winning haiku are to be found below -- enjoy!

Text and photo © Isabelle Prondzynski

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Total Eclipse of the Moon

While the Challenge was taking its course, many parts of the world were treated to a spectacular total ecliupse of the moon on 3 March 2007. News of this event reached Kenya too late, but those members of Kenya Saijiki who were at that time outside Kenya, enjoyed one of the most spectacular eclipses in years.

Isabelle Prondzynski


WKD : ECLIPSE and Haiku



Photo © Gerry Lynch
Eclipse and Haiku

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McNaught Comet

We also enjoyed information about the Comet McNaught, which had been visible in many parts of the world in January 2007 :

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

http://www.cosmopoetry.ro/comet/

The second URL takes a while to open -- it contains beautiful photos and haiku about McNaught sightings around the world.

Our no. 12 prizewinner, Walter Otieno, was one of those who saw the comet and admired its long tail -- see his haiku below.


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Alan was so enthusiastic about the first entries received, that he could not resist reading some of them at the Destination : World event at the University of the West of England on 16 March 2007!
University of the West of England


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HAIKU

The Prizewinners

Students :
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With the comments of Alan Summers :

1.
----
story-telling
around the bonfire --
a shooting star

~ Anne Njoki (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Storytelling is such an important part of culture in any country, and here we have other strong words that carry so much weight, in "bonfire" and "shooting star". What a lovely atmosphere is evoked here, and that is a very important part of haiku, evoking (showing) not telling, not putting everything onto the page, yet it's all there to be read if you look for it.

2.
---
pointing at the full moon --
the baby stops crying
as she watches the moon

~ Catherine Njeri Maina (Bamboocha)

The other person doesn't need to be mentioned in any more words, because we can all imagine it is either our older brother or sister, an aunt, an uncle, or a parent, sharing the wonder of the moon with a child. Wonderful!

3.
---
a thief stealing
from our neighbour's shop --
moonlight

~ Caren Cheptoo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

This has a good allusion to a classic haiku, and I can imagine more than one meaning here. It could be a straight meaning of a thief stealing or trying to steal from a shop at night, or a thief "window shopping" at night and all he can steal is the moonlight. A good haiku is where readers can take different meanings from the poem and add a little of themselves, so a haiku is not only the shortest poem in the world, but when people share their own
meanings it also becomes the longest poem in the world!

4.
---
dark night --
people sleep
and snore

~ Felix Ogutu (Falcon)

This is packed with sounds and movement, and has that lovely sense of gentle humour that a haiku can have!

5.
---
starlit night
staring at the crescent moon
as I light the jiko

(jiko is Swahili for a brazier used for cooking and heating)

~ David Caleb Mutua (Peacock)

Ah, light on light! Wonderful. We have the starlight, and the author is about to "light" another light (the jiko) which also heats and cooks, and all the time, the author is also staring at the light of the moon!

6.
---
a woman's song --
over her garden stand
the Scorpion

~ Samuel Ndung’u (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Good simple haiku, with layers of meaning if you want to hunt for them. Of all the constellations, the author has chosen the Scorpion, intriguing, and using the great teasing serious humour that a haiku can hint at.

7.
---
late evening,
on the bumpy road --
stars in the side mirror

~ Irene Akoth (Bamboocha, Form 1)

This haiku has all the ingredients to make it a "micro novel"! The language is simple, it shows, rather than tells, which is a good thing to do with haiku, and all this without any verbs too. Remarkable!

I get sounds, smells, I'm jolted on a journey, and it reminds me of my time travelling through the Australian Bush in the Northern Territory!

8.
---
in a trough --
a moth flaps its wings
shaking the stars

~ Raymond Otieno (Bamboocha)

I love "shaking the stars"! This haiku contains an important part of haiku, and that is the life / death cycle, and what better choice than a moth, but not one burnt in a candle, but in water, flapping, and shaking the stars. Many levels to appreciate here on re-readings too!

9.
---
silent night --
no noise apart from light
from the moon

~ Joan Barasa (Peacock)

We may not really "hear" the moon, or even the stars in the night sky, but I love "no noise apart from light from the moon"! There is in fact a sound we can pick up by scientific means, but a poet always does the same without needing them!

10.
----
spread over the sky,
showing Abraham’s descendants --
uncountable

~ Leonard Imboyoka (Falcon)

This is quite a different style of haiku, and I like "Abraham's descendants", very original. After all, aren't we all one people, and as numerous as the stars? A very good original haiku.

11.
----
slowly, lovers
walking in the darkness --
a falling star

~ John Mwangi (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Good use of grammar. I am transported immediately, and feel an empathy, a sharing, of the experience.

12.
----
across the clear sky --
the long glowing tail
of a comet

~ Walter Otieno (Bamboocha)

What a wonderful image and sense of atmosphere this conjures up.

13.
----
dark-blue sky,
full of twinkling stars --
barking dogs

~ Anne (Falcon)

I like the fact that it is both a fact there are barking dogs, but that I could also think of the stars as barking dogs! Great metaphor, whether intended or not, it's something that occurs in a well written poem.

14.
----
children playing
outside without fear --
full moon

~ Mary Obwamo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Very beautiful!

15.
----
the donkey braying
on the narrow path --
starry dawn

~ Vivian Adhiambo (Bamboocha, Form 1)

Very real!

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Adults :
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Adult prizewinners of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge

1.
---
a twilight girl
running on the street --
glittering stars

~ James Macharia (Bahati)

I love the stunning "a twilight girl" which falls headlong into a great poem!

2.
---
moon and stars
the only witnesses --
two lovers eloping

~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas)

Very very atmospheric!

3.
---
clouds move
some stars are covered
it darkens

~ Adelaide Luvandale (Patron, Peacocks)

A very chilling, moody, atmospheric last line, I love it!

4.
---
clouds move slowly
unveiling a lone bright star
in the west

~ Anne Nechesa (Patron, Peacocks)

I really like that word choice of "unveiling" which extends the poem, an important technique in such a short poetry form as a haiku.


Congratulations to all!

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Other entries
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Students :
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pale dawn --
the Scorpion paving
way for the sun

my brother jumping
on the corridor,
clapping at Gemini

~ Anne Njoki (Bamboocha, Form 1)


comets around
shining moon --
wakes the crickets

twinkling stars --
fireflies glow around
full moon

~ Depporah Mocheche (Bamboocha)


under the flowers --
cry of crickets and
twinkling stars above

over our house --
round face of the moon
peering between clouds

~ Raymond Otieno (Bamboocha)


in the sky --
round face of the moon
among twinkling stars

the moon behind
dark clouds, few stars --
more darkness

dark-blue sky --
moon rising from
behind cypress trees

a young boy gazing
at the glittering stars --
full moon

a cold breeze
under the twinkling sky --
a shooting star

~ Catherine Njeri Maina (Bamboocha)


out at night,
looking towards heaven --
the Gemini

twinkling stars,
pattern in the sky --
the Orion

at night
over the shop
light of Scorpion

twinkle twinkle,
little star in the sky --
I wonder what you are

I see light,
no lamp around --
but the moon

what is that
above the sky --
shooting star

my brother talking
in his sleep -
ray of moonlight

Sabastian
opening the door at night --
moonlight

~ Samuel Ndung’u (Bamboocha, Form 1)


shooting star
across the dark-blue sky --
silent night

bright moon,
Orion blinking --
peaceful night

glowing stars
on a cloudless blue floor --
sound of crickets

bright night,
Orion sparkling --
sleeping dogs

~ Cyprian Awino (Bamboocha)


singing and playing
in the wheat field --
the southern cross

late from trip,
we yawn and laugh --
the crescent

warm bright night -
charm and splendour
from the stars

~ Irene Akoth (Bamboocha, Form 1)


in the lawn, parent giving
advice to her young ones --
a shooting star

streak of lightning,
cutting across the dark sky --
night rain

bats flap their wings
across the full moon --
children singing

~ Mary Obwamo (Bamboocha, Form 1)


a shooting star,
interrupting the dark night --
lighted faces

~ Francis Mwangangi (Bamboocha, Form 1)


an aeroplane
passing in the sky --
glittering stars

Sharon
washing cloths outside --
shooting star

a child crying
somewhere in the darkness --
glittering sky

Caren
looking up the sky --
a half moon

~ Caren Cheptoo (Bamboocha, Form 1)


story time --
children laugh at fireplace
as moon shines

jumping up and down,
children admiring the bright moon --
hour before dinner

~ Frederick Mwale (Bamboocha, Form 1)


beautiful sky --
glittering stars spreading
throughout the heavens

~ Caroline Wanjiru (Falcon)


a clear sky,
stars twinkle brightly --
morning star

the sky is blue
like still water in a lake --
glittering stars

~ Carolyne Wangui (Falcon)


up the sky --
stars twinkle and shine
forming beautiful patterns

~ Beatrice Wanjiku (Falcon)


a dull sky
with no moon -
dull night

~ Milly Wambui (Falcon)


the sky at night --
falling stars twinkle
brightly

~ Joseph Musombi (Falcon)


high stars shining,
round-shaped moon --
children playing outdoors

watchmen well armed,
light shining from the sky --
chilly night

~ Margret Wanjiru (Falcon)


bright blue sky,
studded with diamonds --
Venus

~ Joyce Ng’amure (Falcon)


cloudy sky,
stars not twinkling --
cold night breeze

~ Hillary Indako (Falcon)


blue sky,
stars twinkle high--
half moon

~ John Okwaro (Falcon)


shiny tiny dim lights,
scattered all over the blue sky --
play song of children

children cheering
at spectacular cluster of stars --
their play song

~ Boniface Mutua (Falcon)


a serene sky --
yells and screams break the silence,
waking Jane

bats gnash their teeth,
searching for their dinner
under the night sky

~ Patrick Gakuo (Falcon)


clouds in the sky,
storm is about to strike --
thunder bolt

~ Lucy Maina (Falcon)


in a bright sky,
moon hanging lonesomely --
serenity

~ Nancy Akinyi (Falcon)


stars twinkle
producing light
that shines in the sky

~ Hamza Shaban (Falcon)


the blue sky
glittering with stars --
silent night

when darkness knocks,
stars open and glitter --
night splendour

~ Rebecca Syokau (Falcon)


the moon
looking through blue eyes --
flashing diamonds

~ Jane Njeri (Bamboocha Form 1)


dark clouds
blocking the moonlight --
night drizzle

~ Mercy Wangui (Peacock)


at night --
the dog barks at
the shining moon

~ Josephine Wanjiku (Peacock)


husband and wife
arguing loudly --
starry night

~ Anne Wairimu (Peacock)


people chasing
cattle rustlers --
starry night

~ Stephen Nzomo (Peacock)


the watchman
lighting a fire --
full moon

Kioko bathing
in cold water at night…
the stars

~ Sarah Adero (Peacock)


stressed Grace
crying in her dark room --
bright stars

~ Irene Muthengi (Peacock)


in the morning,
my brother preparing to go to school --
morning star

at night
our young brother crying --
moonlight

~ Grace Nyambura (Peacock)


the bright moon
and few glittering stars
on a cloudy night

from the cardinal points
lays the dull sky with
very shiny stars

it is very silent
clouds seem to be moving
and the stars glitter

quietly the moon shines
as the stars glitter beautifully
making the sky wonderful

how wonderful
is the sky with millions
of glittering stars

the sky is clear
stars make it wonderful
as they glitter

meteorites shift
from point to point --
dim moom appears

cloudish sky --
stars glitter in the distance,
where is the moon

clear sky
with cloudish patterns --
beautiful stars glitter

the moon doesn't
appear its late but stars
still glitter silently

silence in the sky
stars glitter quietly making
the sky beautiful

~ Hussein Hajji (Peacock)


after the sunset
crickets make a lot of noise
welcome the bright sky

on the shiny stars
lighting up the whole village
business continues

attracting the eye
one in the midst of many
sharing to light up

~ Loise Wangeci (Peacock)


it is at night
moon shines brightly
a wonderful night

~ Jacinta Minoo (Peacock)


the twinkling stars
shining on a blue broaad sky
many stars shining

~ Barrack Elungata (Peacock)


silent bright sky
the night is beautiful
there is no rain

~ Anonymous (Peacock)


how cold is today
the cloud covering the sky
signs of rain

where are the stars
clouds hiding them
a lot of darkness

area with light
coming from stars
the light in the streets

how lightful is the moon
a lot of light from
it and stars

beautiful clouds
hiding the stars --
the moon shines

stars everywhere
shining and glittering --
stars are beautiful

how bright is the moon
glittering a lot of light --
moon is bright

~ Sebastian Kimeu (Peacock)


the night is bright
the stars are glittering all over
there is silence

the sky is bright
the moon and the stars are
glittering leaving a bright light

the sky is bright
because of the moon
and the glittering stars

the dark has covered
the sky leaving the dark all over --
no moon or stars

the sky is silent --
stars are glittering very brightly
and the moon is shining

bright sky --
light all over from
moon and stars

sky full of brightness --
the stars are glittering
and the moon shining

~ Joan Barasa (Peacock)


stars all over
in the blue beautiful sky
they are lovely

beautiful sky
stars shining all over
the night is bright

~ Kelvin Mukoselo (Peacock)


full moon
that is the Gods touch
mama tells me

sky-blue
countless stars shining overhead
God knows their name!

beautiful starry night
shooting stars burning bright
what a scene!

~ David Caleb Mutua (Peacock)


silence up there --
lonely moon shivers
as stars glitter quietly

as stars glitter
the moon appears late at nine --
silence up there

clear sky --
stars accompany
the lonely moon

lonely is the moon
and the sky with glittering stars --
the moon appears

lonely moon --
the stars scattered all over,
making it beautiful

stretching from
north to south pole, the dark sky
is seen with dim moon

~ Peris Wanjiru (Peacock)


the lonely stars
all the night --
glittering sky

uncountable stars
moving from one end,
making the sky beautiful

I see the stars
as they glitter
all night

I see the stars
randomly moving --
glittering hours

the bright stars
over the clouds,
as they glitter

~ Mary Sharon (Peacock)


moon in the sky
produce light at night while
the stars shine all over

how beautiful stars are
at night glittering and shining
while moon produces light

~ Peris Njeri (Peacock)


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vast dark-blue roof
studded with glittering lights --
night sky

~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas)


young people
dancing together --
kililimbi night

(kililimbi is Swahili for "flame" -- fire or liveliness)


shooting in the street,
a thief killed --
bright moon

~ James Macharia (Bahati)


stars shine
we have full moon
I see a passing star

on the horizon
I see stars and moon
it's very beautiful

it's very bright
though its midnight
I see full moon

~ Adelaide Luvandale (Patron Peacocks)


lighting the sky
little stars twinkle
in bright clusters

falling from the sky
the bright star shines
to unknown destination

~ Anne Nechesa (Patron Peacocks)


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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/



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Related words

***** .. .. .. .. MOON and its LINKS..

***** ..... Southern Cross

***** Leonid Meteor Shower .. .. Geminid Meteor Shower


Haiku Clubs of Nairobi


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THE KENYA SAIJIKI
Please send your contributions to
Gabi Greve / Isabelle Prondzynski
worldkigo .....

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SPIDER Haiku Club

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SPIDER Haiku Club

Dear Haiku friends,

We are a newly registered haiku group under the name Spider. We are located in the Soweto Slums of Nairobi and in the neighbourhood of Bahati Community Centre.
In fact, we are a sub-branch of the Bamboochas. Right now it is raining here in Nairobi and this is our introduction haiku about the long rain:

The Long Rain:

gray sky all day
spattering sounds on the roofs
umbrellas over heads

We are so delighted to be part and parcel of the haiku movemnet. We look forward to enjoying haiku adventures together with all of you.

Our school's name is Brookfield Secondary school and as we have already stated our nickname in Spiders.

Thank you all!



The Spiders.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kenyasaijiki/message/99

SPIDER Haiku Club Records


........................................Brookfield Secondary School

nice looking students--
dressed in white and blue
smiling all the time

Patrick Wafula, April 2006

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THE SPIDERS HAIKU COLLECTION MARCH-APRIL 2006
KIGO: THE RAIN SEASON AND CHRISTMAS

Long Rains in Kenya.

people wear coats
gumboots and umbrellas
malaria is back

floods everywhere
houses are destroyed
emergency teams busy

cars are stuck
muddy clothes
laundries busy

Terry Lutivini


children play in puddles
muddy clothes
omo disappears from shops

*omo: detergent.

flowers blossom again
bougainvillea blooms pink
aromatic air

frogs emerge
termites flying in the drizzle
plenty of proteins

Lake Victoria is flooded
Ngege is back on our tables
Plenty of flies

*ngege: type of fish

soil erosion
flooded houses in Soweto
a woman drains her house

Patrick Wafula


Multi-coloured umbrellas
Floods all over the country
Mud all over

Fishermen happy
Plenty of fish in rivers
A lot flies all over

Farmers happy
Green vegetables in the garden
Healthy faces

Evening drizzle
Traffic jam on Jogoo Road
Mama Njeri is late

Enough water
No rationing of electricity
Heavy jackets


ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo

CHRISTMAS IN KENYA

by Terry Lutivini

people are smart
new hairstyles new clothes
new clean shoes

new things
people go to church
dances everywhere

at Machakos bus station
all buses travel upcountry
congested buses

buses are full
many happy faces
music and dancing

people are drunk
music noise everywhere
a staggering drunk

full stomachs
domestic animals happy
dirty toilets

flurry of shoppers
cars all over the place
shops open

churches full
offerings and gifts in plenty
many smiling faces

too much traveling
accidents all over
traffic police busy

empty schools
empty offices
workers rest

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Meeting of the Haiku Clubs of Nairobi
November 2006

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Related words

***** Bahati Haiku Club, Nairobi

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THE KENYA SAIJIKI
Please send your contributions to
Gabi Greve / Isabelle Prondzynski
worldkigo .....

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Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

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Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa)

***** Location: Trinidad & Tobago, Tropics, other locations
***** Season: Tropical rainy season, Autumn in cold climates
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation
Hibiscus sabdariffa
Family: Malvaceae (mallow family)
Common Names: Roselle, Florida cranberry, Indian sorrel, Jamaican sorrel


http://pharm1.pharmazie.uni-greifswald.de/

The Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) a perennial, has its origins in Tropical Africa; also called Florida Cranberry. The calyx of the Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a used to make a Christmas beverage here in Trinidad and Tobago. The calyx is burgandy coloured and the drink also is that colour. Around November (sometimes late October) sorrel is sold in the market. There has been recent research where the Sorrel is being investigated as a cure for some forms of cancer.

.. .. .. My Sorrel Recipe
3 lbs Sorrel
2 litres Water
3 cups Sugar
3 inch twist of Orange peel
15 grains of Clove
stick of Cinnamon
1 cup Rum (optional)
Pull calyx off seed pods, wash the Sorrel calyx. Put in a large pot. Add Spices and one cup of Sugar.
Add 2 liters or enough water to cover the amount of sorrel in the pot. Boil for about fifteen minutes.
Let cool, strain the coloured liquid into a large container. Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar or sweeten to taste. Add rum (optional). Bottle and Refrigerate.

Gillena Cox

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Sorell Kills Cancer Cells
We draw it, we dry it, we drink it and have even made chutney from it.
Now sorrel, Jamaica's favourite Christmas beverage could be in for bigger things.
Research at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville shows that sorrel, which is grown in three varieties in Jamaica, could be a treatment or cure for certain types of cancer.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20020323/lead/lead2.html


Sorrel (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is a seasonal plant indigenous to the Caribbean. When ripe (usually around Christmas time), the fleshy red calyx is used to make a refreshing beverage.
Look at a great picture here:
http://www.ttltt.com/culture/sorrel_steeping.php


Sorrel Beverages
http://www.christmas.com/pe/1222
http://www.christmas.com/pe/1487
http://www.christmas-world.freeservers.com/trinidad.html

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Read more about the Red Sorrel
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/kitchen/2003su_redsorrel.html

Originally Native To Tropical Africa also called Florida Cranberry.
http://www.floridata.com/ref/H/hibi_sab.cfm

A close relative of Roselle (Hibuscus canabinus L. - kenaf) is used for it's fibers, a raw material in the production of paper and paperboard products.
http://www.tropilab.com/roselle.html

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Things found on the way

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HAIKU

those burgandy mounds
sorrell in the market stalls
Christmas time is here

Gillena 2001

a nip in the air--
sorrel piled high
evening market

Gillena Cox, 2003

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wood sorrel
a bumblebee works
the last patch of sun

Robert Gilliland
http://www.nhi.clara.net/mg0123.htm

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first boyfriend—
she plucks him
wild sorrel

Anna TambourNew South Wales, Australia
http://www.worldhaikureview.org/3-2/treetops_h2.shtml

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Related words

***** Trinidad and Tobago Saijiki


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Silence

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Silence in Brussels
by Isabelle Prondzynski


what is it that makes
the night time fountain so still?
city life goes on...




One of my favourite haunts in Brussels is the large fountain at the Parliament side of the Royal Park. During the day time, families come to enjoy the jets of water, dogs swim in the basin, and this year a duck raised her young there (until the dogs saw their chance...).

At night time, the water ripples gently, the moon shines through the plane trees, bats dart and swoop. Many of the park benches are occupied by people sitting, meditating and appreciating the stillness. And all the while, just metres away, drivers hoot, the metro passes underground, and airplanes above -- but the fountain spreads its own inner peace and silence.

carless sunday --
tea and a read
in silence

For several years now, Belgians have enjoyed a carless Sunday in September. While many go out to join in street activities that day, others relish the clean air and stillness of their gardens.

fog in the city
the silence
of the closed airport

Brussels, 2005

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Carless Sunday in Brussels

. September 22 World Car Free Day. .



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Short Rains Season

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Short Rains

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Short Rains
***** Category: Season

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Explanation

The season of short rains is one of the four seasons of the year in Kenya. It takes place every year from mid-October to mid-December. The season is called “short rains” as opposed to “long rains”, not because of the amount of rain or the number of rainy hours each day, but because the season does not last as long as that of the long rains.

The season may have a lead-up period during which the occasional shower or drizzle falls. This is followed by the first rainfall, which is heavy, indeed usually torrential. A period of regular rain follows -- usually starting mid afternoon to early evening and continuing well into the night, rarely until the morning. There may be cloudy, or more often sunny, periods during daylight hours.

This again is followed by a period when the rains thin and peter out, until they are finally over by Christmas at the latest.

The short rains are the time to see Kenya at its best. Nairobi is bright with jacaranda and tipu tree blossom, as well as the occasional flamboyant tree at its most glorious. The temperature is pleasant, and the general atmosphere is optimistic and full of energy.

If the rainfall is too heavy, flooding results, with much damage and often, loss of life. If it is late, too light, or finishes early, drought results, with crop failures and hunger. Both these effects are currently exacerbated by the consequences of global warming.



The kigo associated with the short rains include the following :

(a) Those which are valid for both rainy seasons :

gumboots
Mud (Swahili : matope)
Umbrella
stagnant water
Mosquitoes in Kenya
bullfrogs
flooding
puddles
heavy clothing
Power failure, blackout

First rainfall, imminent rain
rain clouds
raindrops
break between the rains
drizzle
downpour
shower
Flooding in 2006


(b) Those which are specific to the short rains :

Advent
AIDS, World AIDS Day
Christmas
flamboyant tree blossom
Kenyatta Day
Jacaranda blossom
Moi Day
New Year
tipu tree blossom
School exams KCSE / KCPE


Text and photo : Isabelle Prondzynski

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Kenyan geranium in the rain

Photo : Isabelle Prondzynski

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Haigaonline,
in its December 2006 edition, published a beautiful haiga collection from the Nairobi haiku clubs :

SHORT RAINS
Isabelle Prondzynski and Students of the Kenya Haiku Clubs



Read the haiku here :
http://www.haigaonline.com/issue7-2/kenya/00.htm


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Here is a taster of the Short Rains haiku from the Nairobi haiku clubs. More can be found in the relevant kigo pages (follow the links above), as well as here :

Short Rains, a Haiku Season in Kenyaxx

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people wearing
heavy jackets --
short rains

~ Danson Mwangi (Bamboochas)


dark rain clouds
hanging below the sky --
people buy umbrellas

~ Paul Brown (Bamboochas)


a student bends at
muddy stagnant water,
cleaning her shoes

~ Cyprian Awino (Bamboochas)


people striding to work
with umbrellas under armpits --
the short rain

~ Danson Oduory (Bamboochas)


wet clothes taking too long
on the hanging line --
the short rains

~ Catherine Njeri Maina (Bamboochas)


trees are swaying
birds and frogs migrating --
a sign of rain

~ Adisa (Falcons)


children in gumboots
jumping in the mud --
ouch! the legs stuck

~ Keago (Falcons)


clouds hang low
turn from grey to black
a heavy downpour

~ Leonard (Falcons)


the street --
dominated and coloured by
numerous umbrellas

Caleb David Mutua (Peacocks)

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early morning --
files of students and employees
jump puddle after puddle

~ Patrick Wafula (Patron, Bamboochas)


work pending
as black out rages --
dark office

~ Adelaide Luvandale (Patron, Peacocks)

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. First short rains - October 2010 　
Patrick Wafula


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Related words

***** Many specific short rains kigo can be reached by following the hyperlinks above in the kigo list.



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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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Back to the Worldkigo Index

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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BACK to the Worldkigo ABC Index

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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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