Time

What time is it?  When does the day begin?  In the Swahili culture the day starts at sunrise.  In the Arab world the days starts at sunset.  In the Western world the day starts at midnight.  Since most of East Africa sits on the Equator, the sunrise is at 6:00 a.m. and sets at 6:00 p.m.  You get 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness every day of the year.  Thus, the day begins at 6:00 a.m.  

The Swahili day divides into these time periods:

·         Alfajiri – early morning when the morning light has started to shine, but the sun has not risen

·         Asubuhi – morning time between sunrise and a little before noon

·         Mchana – around noon to around 3:00 p.m.

·         Jioni – 3:00 p.m. to a little before 7:00 p.m.

·         Usiku – 7:00 p.m. to early morning

Sample times are:

·         5:00 a.m. – 11:00 alfajiri

·         6:00 a.m. – 0:00 asubuhi

·         7:00 a.m. – 1:00 asubuhi

·         Noon – 6:00 mchana

·         6:00 p.m. – 0:00 jioni

·         Midnight – 6:00 usiku

It’s really quite simple.  Fortunately for me, all clocks in town run on Western time.  Although, we did try to have breakfast at a local place called Lulu’s.  Their sign said they opened at 8:30 am.  They were not open.  We went back home.  Perhaps they were operating on Swahili Time.