DIRECTIONS FOR TODAY (SUNDAY ☀️):
We will be meeting BY THE RIVER UNDER THE BAMBOOS not up in the noisy field that’s been the usual spot. It’s where we did the Drum Circle in 2020. See below..
WHAT TO BRING:
– kikoi/mat to sit on
– snacks/water
– jacket/shuka/hat
– 60/- on MPESA to pay Arboretum entrance (event itself is free though donations are very welcome)
– your kalimba if you have one (some will be provided)
DIRECTIONS
– From main entrance, take the first main path to your right (ignore the first small one)
– At the bottom the path will loop to the left past the Pedestrian entrance. Keep going.
– Keep walking near the river until you reach a clearing with bamboo and you will spot us there! (Ask the group if it’s Afrikan New Year / Spirituality Beyond Religion)
* From Pedestrian Entrance (Kileleshwa Matatu #48), turn right and just walk along the river until you find us under the bamboos!
There will be a few friends around Arboretum to point you in the right direction before we start (and if you get really lost call 0717685161)
TRY COME BY 1:30PM in case of getting lost, and then you are welcome to help us direct people to the gathering ❤️??
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Welcome to a celebration of the beginning of the new year according to the Ethiopian, Eritrean and Egyptian calendars. Let’s usher in the sunny days and fresh beginnings as a collective..
This month’s Spirituality Beyond Religion is a special one as we celebrate a New Year from the Continent rather than an imported one. This date represents the transition from cold to the seasons of sun and flowers. In September we also have the equinox (when day and night have equal hours).
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* We will be honoured with some movement and Hikau by Pablo Imani, teacher of Tama-re Smai Taui Afrikan Yoga. Hikau is Word, Sound and Power. The ancient Africans called mantra Hikau, used for our connection with the cosmic forces of nature personifying the principles and power of these forces here and now within our own being.
* We will then be guided into Capoeira with Salim Rollins. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian practice combining martial arts, dance, music and spirituality.
* We will conclude with a Kalimba meditation circle with Breathren. Kalimba is a relative instrument of the Mbira, and these beautiful instruments originate across the African continent.
If you feel called to share something in this celebration, please get in touch with 0717685161.
*~* Spirituality Beyond Religion is a free conscious gathering based on love and mutual upliftment. All welcome. *~*
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According to Ethiopian legend, King Solomon gave the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba jewels during a state visit over 3,000 years ago. Upon her return, at the end of the dry summer season, yellow flowers began to bloom in the foothills surrounding Addis Ababa, signifying the end of a long drought and the start of new life within the country. In honour of their former empress, the festival was named Enkutatash, meaning the ‘gift of the jewels’, a name it still bears to this day.
Traditionally, it is a time when we forget the grievances and embrace a collective shared experience. Gifts are often exchanged, and bouquets of the yellow flowers are given to guests.
In Egypt, the New Year was known as Ni Yaro, when the Nile had its annual flood that would keep the farms fertile for the year. This was able to be predicted when Sirius – the brightest star in the night sky – first became visible after a 70-day absence (mid-July)
Happy Kemetic New Year!!
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