SCOUTS CEREMONIES GUIDE BOOKkenyascouts.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CEREMONIES.pdfmade, then prayers, ... SCOUTS CEREMONIES GUIDE BOOK Page 12 ... When the guest is near the scout

B Y : J O S E P H A T G I T O N G A

TH E K E NY A S C OUTS

A SS OC IATI O N

SCOUTS CEREMONIES GUIDE BOOK

A GUIDE TO SCOUTING

SCOUTS CEREMONIES GUIDE BOOK Page 1

PREFACE

The scout fraternity has numerous ceremonies which are carried out throughout the scout

calendar.

The ceremonies depict the life of a scout and how he/she carries out things in a different but an

interesting way.

Throughout the history of scouting since its inception in Kenya in 1910, many ceremonies have

been carried out both for the individual scouts and also as a patrol, unit and the Association.

Once the young people join scouting, they embark on earning badges (awards) where they do it

for fun and at the end of it gain skills in a disciplined way.

Some of the ceremonies which are carried out are full of fun and help the scouts to have a sense

of belonging. It creates the sense of brotherhood and concern for each other. This gives them an

opportunity to discover themselves and hence be able to cope up with the challenges that face

them in life.

The guide will give you an opportunity to learn how the scout ceremonies are carried out. It will

also show the correct way of carrying out theses ceremonies.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I appreciate the inputs that have been made by various people in putting together this guide book.

Particularly I want to thank Mr. Francis Wachira (former National Executive Commissioner) for

his zeal to have the book written.

Others who have immensely contributed to this work are; Richard Iyaya (National Youth

Programme Commissioner), Justin Ireri (National Training Commissioner) and Dominic Munyi

among others.

I particularly thank Zachariah Munayi (National Youth Programme Assistant) for the computer

graphics, settings and editing of the book. Daisy Achieng’ (National Youth Programme

Assistant) for typesetting, roles well noted and appreciated.

This is another milestone in the youth programme delivery and the youth development.


1. GOING UP CEREMONY.

This is a ceremony where the Sungura scouts who have successively completed the Sungura

section are ushered in to the Chipukizi section.

Any Sungura scout who has completed the Sungura section has the right to undergo the

ceremony.

The Sungura scout must have attained all the standard badges which are Nyota I, II and III and

the link badge.

i. FORMATION:

The Sungura scout is escorted by his/her Sungura scouts who have not yet graduated. They are in

a horse shoe formation on one side. On the direct opposite side, the Chipukizi scouts who are

ready to receive the graduating Sungura are in a patrol and in a horse shoe formation facing the

Sungura patrol.

In between the two patrols, there is a line which is marked with ashes, ink, oil or whitewash or

soil/sand.

SL SL

SL CPL

SPL

Patrol flag SS Graduate

CS Grandaunt

Patrol flag

WOSM KENYA KENYA SCOUT FLAG


The two scout’s leaders are with their patrols. The Sungura scout leader leads the scout towards

the line. He/she may say a few words about the Sungura scout who is graduating. He then salutes

and the Sungura scout salutes back.

He escorts the Sungura scout towards the line. The Sungura patrol leader of the escorting patrol

commands the Sungura scout to squat, holding the ears then jumps the line towards the Chipukizi

patrol. After jumping the line, he is given a thunderous bravo and shouts of victory. He is

received by the Chipukizi scout leader who hands him/her over to the Chipukizi patrol leader

after giving brief remarks of welcome to the new section.

The Chipukizi scouts welcomes him/her with a thunderous yell as he shakes the hand of the

Chipukizi with the scouts hand shake. He then takes his/her position 8 in the patrol as the new

member. As

this is

taking place

a soft music

is played at

the

background.

The

Sungura

scout may

inspect the

guard of

honour

mounted by

the Chipukizi scout as a sign of honour and welcome.


ii. FLAGS:

The Kenya Scout Flag, the

WOSM flag, the Kenyan

National flag and the patrol

flags are flying at the specific

places.

The Kenya scout Flag, the

WOSM flag, the Kenya

National Flag are at the middle

of the two patrols. The patrol

flags are at the left hand of the

respective patrols.

After the welcome, the Kenya scouts Anthem is played.

The friends and the parents/guardians of the scout are allowed to congratulate the scout.

The announcements are

made, then prayers,

national anthem and the

reaffirmation of the scout

promise. The scouts and

the visitors are dismissed


2. THE WEDDING CEREMONY

Dress code

All scouts to wear the scout uniform. The groom would wear the ceremonial scout uniform.

Bride would wear the wedding dress of her choice.

When entering the church the scout will

form an ark with the staves. The bride

will pass through the ark as the scout

music will be played in the background.

He will be led by a scout marching in

front and escorted by another one behind

him. Upon reaching the seat, the two

scouts will match very fast to the

beginning of the ark to await the bride.

They will escort the bride up to the seat with a slow match. They will then have a quick match to

their position on the ark parade.

After this the parade will be

commanded and match away for the

religious ceremony to continue.

During the recession from the

church/mosque/synagogue/sanctuary,

the scout will parade and form an ark to

usher them out. At the reception, the

scout will mount a guard of honour which will be inspected by the bride and groom. Scout music

will be played by the band. At the end of the ceremony the scout anthem will be played and the

scout promise reaffirmed.


3. THE FUNERAL CEREMONY.

The funeral ceremony is a ceremony where the scouts send off one of their own in a dignified

manner.

The scout

will be in

their

uniform

and the

casket is

draped

with the Kenya Scout flag. From the morgue, the

scout will be the par bearers and the parade is mounted as the casket is taken to the vehicle.

The scout will be in a slow match as they carry the casket. The scout dirge will be played by the

band during this procession.

At home the scouts will carry the casket from the vehicle to the Dias.

There will be a parade with scouts forming an ark with their staves. The pall bearers will pass in

between as the band plays the scout

dirges.

At the graveside the send off trumpet will

be blown as all scouts stand at attention.

The scout will lay the wreath and after

the scout anthem will be played after the

prayer. The scout promise will be

reaffirmed at the end of it all.

The scouts will always find it worthy to

have a good scout send off to one of their own.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON SCOUTS BURRIALS

The ceremonial uniforms shall be advisable during scouts funeral ceremony

The association shall be

represented by the

county/district commissioners

in the funeral. They shall read

the Chief Commissioner’s

condolence speech. The

senior most commissioner

present shall read the speech

The secretariat shall coordinate commissioner’s visit to the bereaved later after

the burial with the association/commissioner’s contributions.

The association contribution shall be ksh.3000.00 (may be reviewed) plus

individual contributions of at least Kshs 500.00 for county commissioners

(proposed) and others.

The scouts shall sing kumbaya song and reaffirm the scout promise at the end of

the burial

process.


4. THE GUARD OF HONOUR

The guard of honour is a ceremony for the visitors to a scout gathering. The parade is mounted

by the scouts who are uniformed and have attained a standard level of training. The guard of

honour has three significant roles to the scouts.

- To display the achievements of the scouts. These are the awards that a scout has earned

which are represented by the badges on the scout uniform.

- To welcome the visitor to the scout gathering. The visitor is given a warm welcome by

being allowed to inspect the guard of honour. It allows him/her to feel as part of the

scout’s movement if he/she is not a member.

- As a sign of respect recognition and honour to the member of scout fraternity when a

scout/scouter is given an opportunity to inspect the guard of honour, this portrays a sign

of respect. The scouts respect one of their own and also respect the ranks of the senior

scouts/scouter. It also shows a sign of honour to the visitor who may be a scout or not.


The guard of honour also acts as a sign of recognition to the visitors. Guard of honour gives.

That recognition gives the visitor a chance to know more about scouting and want to be

associated with the movement.

i. Formation

The guard of honour is mounted either by one section or by different scout sections. These

sections are squirrels, Sungura, Chipukizi, Mwamba and Jasiri.

Each section takes its own place on the parade and is commanded by the section patrol leader.

The arrangement is that the lower section starts and then followed by other in order of seniority.

However mixed arrangement could be used though.


The scout mounting the guard of honour must know the simple scout drill. These drills are:-the

turns, the quick and slow march, eyes, left counter matching, halt and dress up.

During the inspection of guard of honour the parade commander should have the following

qualities:

a) Voice projection: his/her voice must be audible enough.

b) Give clear commands: must give clear commands which are not conflicting. This will

make the scouts to follow without any problem.

c) He/she must know the turns quite well.

d) Know where the guest should be during the inspection, i.e. the guest is always in the

inner side nearest to the scouts on the parade.

e) Be smartly dressed: should be in full scout uniform

ii. Process

Once the guest arrives, the National Anthem is played.

After the National Anthem, the parade commander marches to the guest and requests him/her to

inspect the guard of

honour. (Remember

the parade is ready

before the guest

arrives)

The parade

commander matches

in a very orderly

manner towards the

guest. He/she halts

and salutes.


He/she then says; Sir/Madam/ your Excellency/Your Honour/. The parade mounted by the

scouts is ready for your inspection.

He then salutes and turns as he/she waits for the guest to make his/her move.

Once the guest makes the first move, the band start playing.

The parade commander marches with the pace of the guest and as directed by the rhythm from

the band.

The march could be a quick one or a slow march.

When getting to a new raw the commander should make sure that the guest is the one near the

scouts.

When the guest is near the scout flag, the commander salutes, the

guest may salute if he/she is in scout uniform or bow if he is not in uniform.

After the inspection of the guard of honour, the parade commander escorts the guest of honour to

a reasonable distance. Then he marches in front of the guest and salute and thanks the guest for

inspecting the guard and asks for permission to march out the parade.

The following words could be used

‘Thank you sir, for inspecting the guard of honour’.

‘May I have the permission to march out (off) the parade sir?’

Once the permission is granted, the parade commander commands the parade to march past the

Dias.

Immediately the parade commander gets the permission to match out the parade and after

commanding the parade to forward quick march, the band starts to play the rhythms to guide the

marching.


The patrol leaders, once near the guest, command their section to the “eyes left” as he/ she

salutes.

The guest of honour stands to receive the salutes as the parade marches out.

When carried out in an orderly manner, the guard of honour is the most interesting ceremony that

scouts carry out

5. THE CAMP FIRE

Campfire is one of the scout ceremonies.

After scouts have been in a camp for a long period, a campfire ceremony is conducted. The

campfire ceremony is carried out for the following reasons:


a) For entertainment

The scouts always find a way of entertaining themselves, during the campfire, the scouts

present various songs, poems, jokes, stories and dances. The entertainment is aimed at

giving the scouts a chance to showcase their talents and cultural diversity.

b) For relaxation.

After a tedious week full of scouting activities, the scouts go to the campfire to relax.

Campfire is usually the last item in the camp programme. The scouts relax and exchange

ideas at the campfire circle. This moment brings about boarding to the scout and the scout

leaders.

c) For education

During the campfire presentations, the scouts learn new things from these presentations.

They also acquire new skills and therefore become better scouts.

CAMP FIRE PREPARATIONS.

The campfire is prepared in two ways; the pyramid and the alter

Pyramid

The firewood is arranged facing upwards from the centre outwards. The centre poles support the

rest of the firewood. For the fire to light without problems thinner twigs are arranged first

followed by thicker ones and the thickets as the last ones


Alter

In this way the firewood is placed on top on each other and at the end an alter is formed.

Thin twigs are placed in between the thicker ones for the fire to light without a problem.

The campfire ceremony should last between one and two hours.

Before the campfire, the patrols are requested to prepare the items that they will present.

The patrol on duty is tasked to prepare the campfire and to help in lighting the fire. Once the

campfire is over, the same patrol on duty puts off the fire and leaves the fire place better than

they found it.

Every campfire ceremony must have a programme. The programme guides the scouts on all the

activities to be carried out.

The programme may vary depending on the items to be presented. The following is a campfire

sample programme.

08:00pm: patrols assemble at the campfire circle

08:05 - 08:15: the master of ceremony calls the gathering to order and invites the guest of

Honour

08:15 -08:30 lighting of the campfire

08:30 –9:00 dances and songs around the camp fire

9:00 –9:40 presentation from the patrol

9: 40-10:00 announcements/ Final remarks/ Payers/ Scout promise/ Dismiss


The guest of honour will say the following words as he/she lights the fire:

“Friends from the south, from North, from East and from West as the fire burn let all our bad

deeds burn too

As the fire burn (warm the circle) let the warmth of scouting

spread in all the corners of the earth.

As the fire sparks let the good character of the scout spark up

to the sky.

As the smoke goes up let all our problems go up and never come back.

As the firewood turns to ashes, as the fire slowly burns down let our aspirations grow slowly to

the highest peak.

As charcoal burns to ashes let the good experience of scouts spread and reaches all the

corners of the world.

I therefore declare this campfire ceremony officially opened”.

Immediately this is done, the scouts dance round the fire with songs. The most preferred

Song to start is “campfire is burning; camp fire is burning, draw nearer.”

The master of ceremony takes the scouts through the programme up the end.

6. BATON HANDING OVER CEREMONY

This is a symbolic scout ceremony whereby the outgoing official (commissioners and secretariat

staff) shall hand over their offices to their successors.

They will include the Chief Scout, Chief Commissioner, Deputy Chief Commissioner, National

Programme & Training Chair persons, Chairmen of National technical committees and even

National Executive Commissioners.

Requirements

A baton, media, predecessor & successor, office keys and documents (files) symbolic,

predecessor’s gift (gifts), profiles of the two participants (predecessor & successor)


7. GIFTS

Chief Commissioner: His Portrait in Scout Uniform, Ceremonial/ Official Commissioner’s

uniform, branded wrist watch Association official gift

Process

The master of ceremony reads the profile of the predecessor then invites him /her on the podium;

the successor is invited onto the podium and profile read out. The predecessor matches towards

the successor holding the baton, the keys and a file. Says a few words to the successor then hand

the items over. The receiver salutes and says a few words ……then a scout anthem is sung to the

ululation of the crowd.

8. SCOUTING CEREMONIES PROTOCAL

Sitting arrangement

The guest of honor shall always sit in the

most middle part of the sitting

arrangement

The senior most commissioner/

Executive sits next (right hand side) to

the chief guest to clarify a few areas that

the guest may want clarification on

The commissioner or executive directly concerned with the event sits next to the guest of honour

on the left hand side to clarify on any issues concerning the event to the guest and or the chief

Commissioner.

Master of Ceremony

At the Scout level where the Chief Scout /Commissioner are involved, the National Executive

Commissioner/Deputy Chief Commissioner/ the Corporate & Communication commissioner or


their appointees shall be the master of ceremony. When it is programme or training activity, the

executive or commissioner shall assume the role accordingly or their appointees.

No more than five people should give speeches in a one sitting unless otherwise (depending on

the event).

International events Protocol

The country’s head of contingent shall remain the official spokes person of the contingent.

In case of any official meeting while out there, the master of ceremony shall be the head of

contingent (HOC) or an appointee.

Gifts/souvenirs

The contingent need to prepare gifts and souvenirs early enough before traveling. Plan and seek

for appointments beforehand. These should encompass items such as scarves, carvings,

paintings and other items with national identities.

Note: Members of the contingent to ensure that their remarks and speeches do not demean the

hosts and or other participants.

9. CONCLUSSION

It has been a long journey to accomplish this task. It is worth the time since time well spent has

an outcome that explains why it need that time. The road to properly organized Scouts events has

been set. It is for us to follow it for a good event that will attract more Scouts and non-Scouts.

This is the right path to follow.

Bravo.

Documents

SCOUTS CEREMONIES GUIDE BOOKkenyascouts.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/CEREMONIES.pdfmade, then prayers, ... SCOUTS CEREMONIES GUIDE BOOK Page 12 ... When the guest is near the scout