#inanga

Tracing Context

Tonight in the Northern Hemisphere, people are celebrating the Harvest Moon as the year turns from their summer to autumn. Way down here in the South however, we are swinging the other way. Our days are just starting to get longer, the temperatures are rising (when we aren't being pelted by the spring rains) and whitebait or inanga are heading upstream in their millions. To honor this turn of the season and nature's spring bounty, we can refer to this full moon in NZ as the Inanga Moon.

Beyond the Inanga, there is very little harvestable food at this time of year. Whitebait travelling upstream was literally a lifesaver to early Maori at this time of year, though these days we revere it as a delicacy. Kina is also abundant, fat and delicious.

Stunning yellow kowhai flowers drip from the trees attracting Tui to drink the sweet nectar they offer up and Manuka blossoms begin to emerge through the forests. Modern additions to NZ gardens show magnolia in full bloom, grapefruit and lemons ripening and Hens resume laying their eggs after a long winter.

This is when nature starts stirring and quickening into life. We often feel what is known at this time as "Spring Fever", and feel unaccountable urges to spring clean our homes, organise our finances, tackle new projects etc. But be sure to not get overwhelmed by taking on too much at once. Practice self care among all this. Ask yourself if you are ready for a surge of new growth, and what lies within you in seed form just waiting for the right conditions to burst forth? What new qualities would you like to encourage the growth of? How can you support what is green and tender within you right now? And among this, how can you care for and support the Earth and Nature as the wheel of the year turns to spring? Colours: Pale Green, Pale Yellow, Pink Flowers: Kowhai, Daffodil, Rhododendron, Manuka, Dandelion, Tutu, Karo, puawananga, Magnolia Stones: Rose Quartz, Rhodochrosite, Bloodstone, Aquamarine, Beryl Deities: Rongomatane, Hina, Panitinaku, Demeter, Brigid, The Green Man, Osiris, Eostre Ka mate te tete, ka tupu he tete - As one frond dies, another grows in its place...

Butterfly Messages from Heaven and Incidentally ‘Fishing’ with my Hands!

Have you ever had the feeling that certain chance occurrences or encounters with animals might mean something? Like they were delivering some message to you?

This happened to me today with butterflies. More specifically, white butterflies.

Image source. I could not react fast enough to take a picture or video of the butterflies that ‘visited’ me today.

At least 5 of them ‘visited’ me today. I use…

DANIEL NGARUKIYE - THE AWESOME SOUND OF THE INANGA

This is Rwandan traditional musician Daniel Ngarukiye performing the song "Inkuza" on the inanga at a home in Kigali, Rwanda.

The inanga is a traditional Rwandan stringed instrument made out of a carved out log. Western anthropologists sometimes refer to this type of instrument as a "trough zither," but let's just call it an inanga because that sounds much, much cooler.

The specific inanga that Daniel is playing here has nine strings, eight of which are tuned to a G sharp pentatonic scale and the ninth of which is used for tuning.

Daniel comes from a long line of traditional musicians. His grandfather played music in the court of the Tutsi kings that existed until 1961. He was taught to play by a friend of his grandfather who wanted to help him keep the musical tradition in his family.

Daniel earns his living playing music and can often be seen performing with other musicians around Kigali, including a regular gig at the famous Hotel Milles Collines. The pentatonic scale  jam he plays and sings here is probably my favorite performance by a musician in East Africa. It's soulful, percussive, bluesy, and beautiful and I think the world would benefit from hearing more music like this.

On this shoot I was assisted by Karina Michel who hosted and provided art direction and lighting, as well as Dida Nibgwire who helped with lighting and translation.