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Do they know it's Kwaanza?

[ Posted On: 2007-02-15 ]

Don't African-Americans know the meaning of Christmas anymore? Or is it now known as Kwaanza?

Kwanzaa derives from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza," meaning "first fruits" in Swahili. The official stance on the spelling of the holiday is that an additional "a" was added to"Kwanza" so that the word would have seven letters. Also, the name was meant to have a letter for each of the "Seven Principles of Blackness."

Kwanzaa is a celebration that has its roots in the civil rights era of the 1960s, and was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study around principles that have their putative origins in "African traditions" and "common humanist principles." It was created in 1966 by Ron (Everett) Karenga then the leader of the black nationalist United Slaves Organization. As Karenga stated." ..it was chosen to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.

In 1997, the first Kwanzaa stamp was issued by the United States Postal Service on October at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, California. In 2004 a second Kwanzaa stamp, created by artist Daniel Minter was issued which has seven figures in colorful robes symbolizing the seven principles.

Kwanzaa celebrates "The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa," or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba - "The Seven Principles of Blackness"), which Karenga said "is a communitarian African philosophy" consisting of "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world." These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason that Karenga used to refer to his synthesized system of belief. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, which are explained as follows:

Umoja (Unity) - To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) - To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) - To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) - To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose) - To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) - To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith) - To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

These principles correspond to Karenga's notion that "the sevenfold path of blackness is think black, talk black, act black, create black, buy black, vote black, and live black."

Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art, colorful African cloth, especially the wearing of the Uwole by women, and fresh fruits that represent African idealism. It is customary to include children in Kwanzaa ceremonies and to give respect and gratitude to ancestors. Libations are shared, generally with a common chalice, "Kikombe cha Umoja" passed around to all celebrants.

A model Kwanzaa ceremony is described as a ceremony which includes drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the "African Pledge" and the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the Pan-African colors, a discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance, and, finally, a feast. The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is "Habari Gani," Swahili words for "What's the News?"

At first, observers of Kwanzaa eschewed the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values and practice with other holidays. They felt that doing so would violate the principle of kujichagulia (self-determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday, which is partially intended as a reclamation of important African values. Today, many African-American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and New Year's. Frequently, both Christmas trees and kinaras, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African-American roots, share space in kwanzaa celebrating households. To them, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas.

Article Source: http://www.afroarticles.com/article-dashboard

About The Author: Timi Ogunjobi is a web developer and Technical Writer and publisher of The New Griot magazine -- timi[at]ensap.com | www.newgriot.org

| View Profile & All Articles By: Timi Ogunjobi |

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