Marabou storks

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Marabou storks

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

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Explanation

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

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

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


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

Dandora garbage-
Marabou storks scavange
for food

Andrew Otinga



. Photo by Isabelle Sensei



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

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on a thorn tree
one marabou stork...
gazing

Isabelle Prondzynski


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a marabou stork
prepares to fly-
footsteps

Andrew Otinga


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The Coming of Marabou Storks

About 300m from Bahati School compound, a dump site was recently established. This dumpsite has turned out to be a habitat for a certain species of birds which only used to be found around Nyayo Stadium. They are called Marabou Stocks. These birds are helpful and destructive at the same time. For one, they engulf bones like nothing, thus getting rid of the bones along with other organic wastes from the environment. However, after engulfing the bones, they retreat to their newly found domicile, which is, unfortunately, the famous acacia tree outside Bahati School.

And my goodness, if you happen to look at their droppings, you will marvel at how many undiscovered wonders of nature there still are. These birds produce pure white chalk. The acacia tree and its entire cool base where we used to rest, is nowadays hardly recognizable. It is smeared in pure white chalk. Other vegetation around the acacia too, has not been spared. Even the morning glory and other creeping plants under and around the acacia are smeared white. If you happen to be new and mistakenly go to rest on the wooden benches under the acacia, be ready to go take a fresh bath.

stinky dumpsite —
Marabou Storks stooping
all day long

Patrick Wafula
February 2013

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MORE

. haiku with maribou from Kenya .


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Related words

***** Thorn tree, Naivasha Thorn, Fever Tree

***** . Migrating Birds (wataridori) and stork .


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Umbrella Tree

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Umbrella Tree

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

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Explanation

Schefflera actinophylla
(syn. Brassaia actinophylla)

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

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Schefflera actinophylla

MORE
. Photos by Caleb Mutua


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There is another tree by this name.


Umbrella tree (Acacia tortilis)



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


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way



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HAIKU

grey sky --
a stripped umbrella
tree

Patrick Wafula


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blowing wind -
a yellow umbrella leaf
floats in dusty air

Collins Ogutu



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Related words

***** WKD : Reference


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Brick making Tanzania

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Brick making in Arusha

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

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Explanation

Brick-making kilns in Arusha have the following seasonality:

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

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



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



Text and photos : Patrick Wafula


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU




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

Patrick Wafula


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Related words

***** Arusha (Tanzania)

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Kisii in Nyanza

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Kisii in Nyanza

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

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Explanation





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Report by Patrick Wafula
November 2010

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

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

Picking of tea is at its peak.

zebras and sheep
grazing side by side--
Narok plains

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

sharing gooseberries
with kids on the matatu--
market day

Ogembo Street--
pumpkin varieties and
seeds on display

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

hill after hill--
flowering wattle and
blue gum

humid dawn--
the morning star shines
over the hill


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More Haiku from Patrick's trip, December 13


Kisumu and Lake Victoria



cool sunset breeze--
Lake Victoria wrinkles
and wrinkles again

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

Kisumu--
car and boat washing
on the lakeshore

sunset breeze--
fishing boats rowing
into reed parking

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

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



Kakamega:




forested hillside--
the weeping stone weeps
in the sunset





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





Bungoma: Nzoia Sugar

traffic jam--
tractor trailers carrying
harvested sugarcane

smoking factory--
stretching plantations
of green sugarcane

grey spirals

in the blue sky--
Nzoia Sugar Co.



Bungoma: Webuye Papermill:

panpaper mill--
spiraling grey smoke
in a blue sky

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

long trailers
queuing with logs of pine--
panpaper mill

paper mill--
the aromatic scent
of pulverized pine



Trans-Nzoia: Kitale

slow traffic jam--
lorries carrying maize
to cereal board

lorry shop--
spilled maize grains
on the roadside

after harvest--
cattle grazing on maize
stalks

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






. More Photos from Patrick Wafula



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Related words

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Poetic Haibun

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Poetic Haibun

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Explanation

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


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


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

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Construction and Development

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

cracked tarmac --
the weight of the old
excavator

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

yawning --
the dusty air enters
my throat

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

bare roots --
the withered flower
falls off

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



free verse : Beryl Achieng
haiku : James Bundi


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

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

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

Isabelle Prondzynski

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Short biographies


Beryl Achieng’

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

My inspiration for writing haiku comes from nature.

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


Beryl Achieng’
Photo © Caleb Mutua


. . . . .

James Bundi

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

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

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


James Bundi
Photo © Caleb Mutua


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Reactions

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

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

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

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


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. Traffic Park Kukai
October 30, 2010 　


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SOWETO VILLAGE

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

filthy smell--
the increasing heap of
kitchen dumps

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

burst sewerage--
stepping on stones to
cross the road

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

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





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

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. Soweto Stage Market, Nairobi 　


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More Poetic Haibun

. DUST! MY NAME. by James Bundi 　


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Traffic park Kukai

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Traffic park Kukai
October 30, 2010

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


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. PHOTO ALBUM 　



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HAIKU


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

~ Abednego Mwanzis (Peacock, F1)

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

~ Rhoda Mutheu (Peacock, F4)

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

~ Monica Ndunge (Peacock, F2)

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

~ Kelvin Wanjala (Bamboocha, F2)

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

~ Dominic Kuvonga (Peacock, F2)

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

~ Sylvia Kalekyo (Peacock, F3)

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

~ Jecinta Mueni (Peacock, F2)

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

~ Stephen Macharia (Bamboocha, F2)

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

~ Fanuel Alala (Peacock, F3)

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

~ Eric Mwange (Bamboocha, F3)

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

~ Titus Mutungi (Peacock, F1)

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

~ Wayua Pauline (Peacock, F2)

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

~ Peter Nguribu (Bamboocha, F3)

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

~ Samuel Pirias (Bamboocha, F2)

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

~ Scholarstica Mumbe (Peacock, F3)

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

~ Elijah Juma (Peacock, F1)

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

~ Isaac Ndirangu (Bamboocha, F2)

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

~ Stanley Mutinda (Peacock, F3)


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. The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi 　


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Cabbage

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Cabbage

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

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Explanation

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

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

Text by Andrew Otinga

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Cabbage vendor on the way to the market


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MORE PHOTOS
by Caleb David Mutua






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Worldwide use

Japan

kigo for early summer

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

SAIJIKI
Summer Vegetables


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


cabbage heap-
a grocer winking
at me


Soweto slum-
a cabbage vendor calls
at the gate


muddy puddle-
the stench of a
rotten cabbage

Andrew Otinga


***** More Cabbage Haiku from Kenya


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Related words

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Flame tree Erythrina

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Flame tree

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

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Explanation

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

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

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


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

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

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

Photo and text by Patrick Wafula



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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


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


Partrick Wafula, Nairobi

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Related words

***** Bombax blossom

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


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Fences and hedges

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Fences and hedges

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

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Explanation

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

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


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Barbed wire fence

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

Isabelle Prondzynski


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Cactus fence

TBA


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

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

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

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

Siboko Yamame Winslause



Mukuru Kayaba is a district of Nairobi.


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

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

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

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



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Worldwide use

Japan

. kakine 垣根 hedge, fence
kakoi 囲い, saku さく. hei 塀 .
ishigaki　石垣　stone wall, stone fence
ikegaki 生け垣 "living fence", hedge

With haiku by Basho, Buson and Issa.


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HAIKU


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

Caleb David Mutua
September 2010


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a photographer hides
behind a kayaba fence-
Kirima saga

Andrew Otinga


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Related words

***** WKD : Reference


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Jeevanjee Gardens

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Jeevanjee Gardens

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

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Explanation

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



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

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


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. . . CLICK here for Photos of the park!


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


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

September morning--
first blossoms scatter on
clean Jeevanjee paths

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


Jeevanjee Garden--
a jacaranda flower
rests on the garbage

Jeevanjee clean up--
gravel and jacaranda
on the wheelbarrow


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

Caleb David Mutua
Kenya Saijiki Forum, September 2010




. CLICK HERE
More photos by Caleb David Mutua


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

Isabelle Prondzynski


Queen Victoria in the WIKIPEDIA !


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Related words

***** Nairobi City


***** Jacaranda (tropical tree)



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Mandazi doughnuts

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Ndazi (singular), mandazi (pural)

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

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Explanation


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

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


Freshly cooked mandazi for sale at the roadside

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

Text and photos : Isabelle Prondzynski


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


dirty plates --
cooking red mandazi
at the roadside

cold morning
and a red smoky fire --
brown mandazi

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

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

Harrison Wambua




Preparing mandazi for passing pedestrians in the evening

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rainy morning --
mother eating mandazi
with tea with zeal

~ Jane Mumbua


in the hotel --
people drinking tea with
huge mandazi

~ Samuel Ndung'u



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

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

Patrick Wafula

Visiting the Rift Valley
HAIBUN

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

Caleb Mutua


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Related words

*****


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Nairobi City

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Nairobi City

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

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




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

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

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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From the Kenya Saijiki


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


***** . Nairobi International Trade Fair


***** Jeevanjee Gardens and Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee


***** . Kayole and Patanisho 　


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

***** . Mkokoteni hand cart .


***** . Hamza terminus


***** . Langata cemetery


***** . Nairobi Animal Orphanage 　


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way



Kibera

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

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

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


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HAIKU

Haiku from Patrick Wafula


Wakulima Market--
soiled porters offload mangoes
from lorries

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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

Soweto stage market --
women buy cabbages
vyondos are full

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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truants swimming
in a seasonal lake--
Jogoo Road

traffic lights
on Jogoo Road--
smell of hot tires

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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



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


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


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


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


September 22, 2010


. . . CLICK here for Photos of grevillea flowers !

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



. Landhies Road haiku
by Andrew Otinga


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Photo by Patrick Wafula


bare jacaranda branches
adorned in purple blossoms--
Moi Avenue

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


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Patrick on January 2011, coming back from a trip


Nairobi sunset—
an orange sun sitting
on the Ngong Hills

Nairobi sunset—
flying crows littering
the orange dusk sky


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Doonholm road-
my tall shadow cast on
rusty mabati

Andrew Otinga

. . . CLICK here for Photos ! Donholm Nairobi


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Soweto market--
loud speakers advetise
Valentine products

Valentine morning--
vendors arrange flowers
in the wheelbarrow

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

Caleb Mutua, Kenya
Kenya Saijiki Forum February 2010



Muthurwa Market--
school girls gather around
success card vendors

Muthurwa Market--
the cabbage vendor juggles
a big one

Caleb Mutua, Kenya



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soweto stage --
muddy water stuck on
displayed potatoes


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


Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Muthurwa Market Photos !




Soweto stage--
she slices pineaples
into a white bowl

Andrew Otinga
September 2010




Soweto market-
greenish mould sprouts over
a decayed tomato

Asava Kelvin


Soweto market-
a naked madman eats
a rotten watermelon

muthoki

September 2010




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

. . . . .


Soweto market--
she sprinkles water
on withered vegetable

Douglas Nugi
July 2011


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an old man
repairs an old bicycle
along thika road

Antony Njoroge


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


. . . . .


Thika highway--
a boda boda motorbike
hit a truck

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

Barrack Elungata


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

Caleb Mutua

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Muthurwa terminus--
a new peddler hawks
boiled maize

hussein haji


Muthurwa bus terminal
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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

Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Kayaba Photos !


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


Masimba stage-
blood stuck on the
stumbled blocks

Masimba stage-
blood trickling on his
left shoulder

Sibiko Yamame Winslause


. . . CLICK here for Photos !


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Machakos Country Bus Station

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Machakos terminus-
a short man advertising his
herbal merchandise

Andrew Otinga

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Donholm road-
my tall shadow cast on
rusty mabati

Andrew Otinga


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


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the muddy path
coloured with flowers...
Kawangare

Anthony Njoroge

. . . CLICK here for Photos : Kawangware Slums!


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. Ngong Road



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Related words


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


Place Names used in Haiku


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Urban Haiku - Worldwide


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BACK to the Worldkigo ABC Index

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Referendum August 2010

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Referendum August 2010

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

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





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

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

The referendum question was announced on May 13, 2010:

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

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

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


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Things found on the way


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HAIKU

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

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

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

sleepless night--
adding up the green
vote

bright dawn--
the referendum results
go green

Patrick Wafula


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Caleb Mutua shares these thoughts:

First it was the mud-smearing campaigns...

referendum game--
kids elect their YES and NO
speakers

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


Then the peaceful election...

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


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


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


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


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


referendum day--
sensei shows me his inked
little finger

Caleb Mutua

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


referendum----
euphoria warms a cold
morning

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

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

Catherine Njeri


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Later in August

Caleb Mutua writes

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

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

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

The mood was there alright...

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

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




promulgation day--
Kenyans wave flags atop
Uhuru Park trees

chilly promulgation--
those without flags wave
their jackets

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




smoke of the guns

promulgation--
cheers and shouts after
each gun-salute

promulgation--
smiling president waves the
sealed constitution

Kenya reborn--
cheers shouts and more blaring
vuvuzelas

promulgation--
congested audience fall with a
cheering wave




the national colors


Look at more

. PHOTOS by Patrick Wafula



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Makadara polls --
a policeman handcuffs a
suspected vote buyer

Andrew Otinga
September 2010


Reference : Makadara by-elections


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Related words

***** WKD : Reference


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Hawkers for warm things

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Hawkers for warm things

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

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


Hawkers and vendors of things to keep warm


glove vendor


hot coffee vendor

porridge vendor

scarf hawker

sweater hawker

More is here for now.


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




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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


Jevanjee Garden—
thick sweater of today’s
preacher


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


coffee thermos--
a customer touches it
before buying

cold bus stage—
the piling of the white
coffee cups

city hawker
the thick scarf layer
on his neck


. . . . .


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

. Referendum Day August 2010 　


Caleb Mutua


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


Porridge vendor—
he shakes and shakes till
the last spill

Caleb Mutua



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linen shirt --
another hawker calls
as I pass

catcalls --
the hawkers melt for the
city askaris

Anthony Njoroge


askari ... Swahili word meaning "soldier"


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Related words

***** WKD : Reference


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Mabati iron sheets

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

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

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Explanation

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


Mabati fence


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

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

Video of mabati under pouring rain


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

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



Old and new mabati used to build a slum house


~ Text and photos : Isabelle Prondzynski

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

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

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

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

~ Patrick Wafula


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Worldwide use



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Things found on the way


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HAIKU


sunrise --
light through the mabati
wakes me up

sleepless night --
water drops from the old
iron sheets

~Isaac Ndirangu


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


World Cup --
they drum the mabati walls
celebrating Ghana


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


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


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

~ Caleb Mutua


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mabati sheets
play a lullaby rhythm --
soft rain

~ Elung'ata Barrack


A church built and roofed with mabati


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

~ Hussein Haji



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

~ Anthony Njoroge



sunny afternoon --
iron sheets shine exposing
sun rays

~ Vivian Adhiambo



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

~ Scholastica



leaking raindrops
from a rusty iron sheet --
rainy season

~ mwasia



reflection
from iron-sheet roofs --
sunny afternoon

~ Benard Nyerere



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

~ Martin Kamau



early morning
rain drops fall heavily on
the iron sheets

~ Kelvin Mukoselo

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cold drizzle
on our mabati roof --
grey morning


April rain --
the spattering on the
mabati roof

~ Patrick Wafula


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first sun-
the cracking sound
of mabati

Otinga Andrew
January 2012


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a bird shelters
under the iron sheet -
scorching sun

Jesca Auma
February 2012


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