Kwanzaa

Historical Background

The celebrations of first-fruits harvests are recorded from the earliest African history and have various names depending upon the language of the society in which they are observed. Examples of such festivals are Pert-en-Min in ancient Egypt, Umkhozi in Zululand, Incwala in Swaziland, Odwira in Ashantiland, and Odu Ijesu in Yorubaland.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, an activist scholar and now professor of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created the U.S. Kwanzaa [Page 819]celebration in 1966 in the midst of the Black Freedom Movement. Kwanzaa was created to reaffirm African Americans' rootedness in African culture, to bring Africans together to reinforce the bonds between them, to meditate on the expansive meaning of being African in the world, and to introduce and reaffirm the importance of communitarian African values, especially the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles).

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in the context of the cultural and social change organization Us (us, African people), which Karenga chairs, and then in the country as a whole. However, Kwanzaa soon developed into an international pan-African holiday, now involving over 30 million celebrants throughout the world African community.

Meaning and Celebration

The meaning and activities of Kwanzaa are rooted in and organized around the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles), also developed by Maulana Karenga. These principles are directed toward cultivating practices that reaffirm and strengthen family, community, and culture. They are Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). In fact, one of the reasons Kwanzaa is 7 days is to dedicate a day to the discussion and modeling of each principle by those who celebrate Kwanzaa.

In addition, Kwanzaa is organized around five fundamental kinds of activities rooted in the practices of ancient African harvest celebrations: (1) the ingathering of the people to reinforce the bonds between them, especially those of family, community, and culture; (2) special reverence for the Creator and creation in gratitude for the bountifulness and goodness of the earth and with a self-conscious commitment to preserve and protect it; (3) commemoration of the past, in fulfillment of the obligation to remember and honor the ancestors and to reaffirm the fundamental mission and meaning of African history (i.e., to constantly bring good into the world); (4) recommitment to the highest African cultural, ethical, and spiritual values that bring forth the best of what it means to be African and human; and (5) celebration of the Good—the good of family, community, and culture; of work, struggle, and life; and of the wonder of the world and all in it.

Kwanzaa has seven basic symbols and two supplementary ones. Each symbol represents views and values rooted in African culture and contributive to the reaffirmation and strengthening of family, community, and culture. The seven basic symbols are the mazao (crops), symbolizing African harvest celebrations and the rewards of productive and collective labor; mkeka (mat), symbolizing tradition and history and therefore the foundation on which to build; kinara (candleholder), symbolizing ancestral roots, the parent people, Continental Africans; mishumaa saba (the seven candles), symbolizing the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles; muhindi (corn), symbolizing children and the future of African people they embody; kikombe cha umoja (unity cup), symbolizing the foundational principle and practice of unity, which makes all else possible; and zawadi (gifts), symbolizing the labor and love of parents and the commitments made and kept by the children. The two supplemental symbols are a representation of the Nguzo Saba and the bendera (flag), containing three colors: black, red, and green. These colors, respectively, symbolize African people, their social struggle, and the promise and future that come from the struggle.

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