Kwanzaa: Celebration of the Good

There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled. There is a void in your soul, ready to be filled. You feel it, don't you?

—?Rumi

"Finally, Kwanzaa is a time for celebration of the Good, the good of life, community, culture, friendship, the bountifulness of the earth, the wonder of the universe, the elders, the young, the human person in general, our history, our struggle for liberation and ever higher levels of human life. The celebration of Kwanzaa, then, is a ceremony of bonding, thanksgiving, commemoration, recommitment, a respectful marking, an honoring, a praising, and a rejoicing.

In terms of inclusion, Kwanzaa has two basic kinds of celebrations, family-centered and community-centered, although public celebrations are also held. Family-centered celebrations may be any activities that the family chooses to introduce, reaffirm, teach and express the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles) in particular and African cultural values and practices in general. For example, at a chosen meal, one or more members can explain the principle for the day and say how s/he practiced it, or discuss an issue, event, or person of African history and culture, or organize an activity around the principles or other cultural focus.

Community-centered activities can be the collective African karamu (feasts) especially on 31 December, various school activities or any other collective activity which calls for ingathering of the people, reinforcing their cultural values and the bonds between them as people, and sharing the beauty, richness and meaningfulness of African culture."

Generally speaking, Kwanzaa provides the African American Community with a way to relate with themselves, with other people throughout Africa, and with inhabitants of the Caribbean Islands.

The Essential Values

"Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing community among African American people as well as Africans throughout the world African community. These values are called Nguzo Saba (in-goo' -zo sah' -bah) which in the Pan-African language of Swahili means the Seven Principles. These principles stand at the heart of the origin and meaning of Kwanzaa, for it is these values which are not only the building blocks for community but serve also as its social glue.

The Nguzo Saba, first in Swahili and then in English Are:

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 own community together and make our brother's and sister's 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 development of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) To always do 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."

Nguzo Saba was thoughtfully and permanently interwoven into the fabric of my African American male identity at the age of sixteen. And—the older that I get the more that I appreciate the great treasure found within the traditional celebration of Kwanzaa. It has been a focal point in my endless efforts to find meaning, purpose, spirituality and an honorable vocation through which to serve the broader African American Community. How bout that?

The Symbols

"Kwanzaa has seven basic symbols and two supplemental symbols. Each represents values and concepts reflective of African culture and contributive to community building and reinforcement.

The basic symbols in Swahili and then in English are:

Mazao (The Crops) Symbolic of African harvest celebrations and of the rewards of productive and collective labor.

Mkeka ( The Mat) Symbolic of our tradition and history and thus, the foundation on which we build.

Kinara (The Candle Holder) Symbolic of our roots, our parent people -- continued Africans.

Muhindi (The Corn) Symbolic of our children and thus our future which they embody.

Mishumaa Saba (The Seven Candles) Symbolic of the Nguzo Saba, The Seven Principles, the matrix and minimum set of values which Black people are urges to live by in order to rescue and reconstruct their lives in their own image and according to their own needs.

Kikombe cha Umoja (The Unity Cup) Symbolic of the foundational principle and practice of unity which makes all else possible.

Zawadi (The Gifts) Symbolic of the labor and love of parents and the commitments made and kept by the children."

"The two supplemental symbols are:

Bendera (The National Flag) The black, read and green colors given by the Hon. Marcus Garvey as a flag for African people throughout the world. The meaning of these colors are black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and hope that comes from their struggle.

Nguzo Saba Poster ( Poster of The Seven Principles)"

Lastly, I am overcome with eternal joy whenever I witness some of the brothers and sisters from our old neighborhood, and well after many years have gone by, still practicing The Seven Principles and having endowed them to their children and their children's children. People like Steady Rock, Alexander Martin, Jr., 'Big' John Callaway, Rich Mo, Shelia Cornelius, Phyllis Johnson, Karen Johnson and Margaret Leone just to both esteem and give a shout out to a few of them.

It's all good!

Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture,?authored by Maulana Karenga?The Creator of Kwanzaa,?1997