This is not Daarit; but it is.

***image1:left***Many kids. More kids than grown ups. Bzhu wetabazehu�.Be fruitful and multiply,  said the good  book. If only this was on the grounds of the real Mariam Daarit! It is San Jose, June 9, 2002.

Mariam Daairt was more than a social event; it was a tourist event. It was almost a non-denominational event. Gunbot 21 is celebrated in the Orchard gardens of Daarit, on the riverbed of Daaarit and all over the place. If not for the brief period of time when the tabot is carried around, the event is almost a non-denominational.

People flocked to Keren to enjoy the celebrations. Taxis used to clog the already small town roads. Shopping flourished and traders welcomed Mariam Daarit with enthusiasm�

� but what is Mariam Daarit?

***image4:left***It started in the days of Abune Yacob (Justin de Jacobis), who was the leader of the Catholic church of �Abbysinia.�  It was also in the days of the French priest Abune Touvier.  In 1869, a group of French nuns known as �deqi feqri� [Daughters of Charity] opened an orphanage in an area where Abune Tuovier granted them a piece of land for agricultural development.  They grew orchards. The French Lazarists sent a bronze statute of the Virgin Mary to the sisters; the nuns located a huge Baobab tree and curved a shrine in its trunk.  After blessing the statue of the Virgin Mary, they placed her in the shrine.

The shrine of Mariam Daarit is over 121 years old and has survived many wars and battles. In World War II, a group of Italian soldiers took refuge inside the shrine to avoid bombing. It is believed that a bomb struck the trunk of the Boabab tree and landed between the soldiers but�the bomb didn�t explode. The hole can still be witnessed on the walls of the trunk.  The orchards that the sisters planted still stand. 

*image2:left***Japan Garden is in the city of San Jose, thousands of miles removed from Keren; many time zones away from Hebo, Tsena-Degle, where the body of Abune Touvier rests.  But what happened yesterday in Japan Garden in the city of San Jose is a duplication of what Kerenites celebrate the world over, in one form or another. The day is observed as a religious event by Catholics and as a day of strengthening familial bonds and a get together for Kerenites all over the world.

***image3:left***The day is observed with a lot of emotions and love of brotherhood and sincerity�the way Mariaam Darrit has been celebrated for decades and the way the pure water of Mariaam Daairt forces itself on those who have it in their blood.

Some things are not the same; some things are sorely missing: the grounds of the Japan Garden were nothing like the moist grounds of the real Daarit. The gwayla and merry sounds of the people partying in Daarit was not there, either; people just had to do with their nostalgic memories.

***image5:left***Yet, there was brotherhood.   There was merriment�American style.  I didn�t see it but in the vast beauty of Japan Garden, there must be an Orchard tree or two.   There were Eritreans�and most encouraging of all, Eritrean children.   And, there was Aba Gabriel, a young priest who led the prayers for the day and gave the celebration color and grounded it in its religious roots.

Kereneites, and non-Kerenites; Catholics and non-Catholics.
Happy Mariam Daarit Day to you all.

NB: The above is just simple highlights. Any corrections in the dates or facts is very much appreciated.