Kwanzaa

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also Kwan·za (kwän'zə)
n.
An African-American cultural festival, celebrated from December 26 to January 1.

[Possibly from Swahili kwanzaa, first fruit of the harvest, from kwanza, first.]

45th Anniversary

Dec 26–Jan 1, 2012. African-American family observance created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga in recognition of traditional African harvest festivals. This seven-day festival stresses unity of the Black family, with a harvest feast (karamu) on the first day and a day of meditation on the final one. Kwanzaa means “first fruit” in Swahili.

See more events for Dec 26, 2011.

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For more information on Kwanzaa, visit Britannica.com.

from Swahili
This word originated in Tanzania

On the day after Christmas 1966 the Swahili word Kwanzaa entered the English language. It is possible to be so precise because Kwanzaa was no casual borrowing. Instead, it was a well-publicized adoption of a foreign word to designate a new cultural invention: a celebration of African American people, heritage, struggles, and hopes. Not a religious holiday and not intended to compete with Christmas, Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 through January 1. Its inventor, Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga, based Kwanzaa on African harvest celebrations. The name comes from Swahili matunda ya kwanzaa, meaning "first fruits."

Karenga devised seven symbols for Kwanzaa, naming them in Swahili. The symbols are mazao (crops), mkeka (a straw mat), kinara (candle holder), mishumaa saba (seven candles), muhindi (ears of corn), zawadi (gifts), and kikombe cha umoja (unity cup). Kwanzaa also has nguzo saba (seven principles): umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith).

In the Afrocentric 1960s, Karenga envisioned Kwanzaa as a means of furthering "social revolutionary change for Black America." In the less militant decades that followed, Kwanzaa developed a kinder, gentler image, to the point that beginning in 1997 it was celebrated, along with Christmas and Hanukkah, on a holiday stamp from the U.S. Postal Service.

The official Kwanzaa Song goes like this:

It can be sung "as often as is wished for elevation of the spirits." Kwanzaa yenu iwe na heri (Happy Kwanzaa)!

Karenga's choice of Swahili was no accident. It is a pan-African language, not restricted to one ethnic group or country but widely used for trade and official business throughout East Africa. It is one of the two official languages of Tanzania, where it originated, and also of Kenya. Nowadays it is the first language of more than a million Africans and a second language known by more than thirty million. A few other Swahili words of lesser note have also made their way into English: topi (antelope, 1894), bwana (boss, 1878), and panga (machete, 1925).

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Many people seem to think Kwanzaa is an ancient African holiday-another religious festival trying to get on the "holiday season" bandwagon. But Kwanzaa has only been around since 1966 and is not really African, although its symbols revolve around African motifs and the name is derived from the Swahili word that means "first fruits."

Kwanzaa is the brainchild of Dr. Maulana Karenga, the founder and present chair of the Black Nationalist Organization. He felt that significant advances among African Americans could not occur in the United States unless they happened within the context of a cultural base. If people are going to be moved, they need a sense of, in his words, "identity, purpose, and direction." It is not practical to think that will happen if your heritage and allegiance is to a nation that had enslaved your grandparents. The focus has to be on the future-what can happen instead of what did happen.

Kwanzaa is filled with symbols derived from Africa, but its purpose goes far beyond national remembrance. Through participation of Kwanzaa celebrations, African Americans come to understand their ancestral images, but the idea is to include people everywhere.

First Fruits originally was a holiday when African people would gather to celebrate the coming harvest. Most African Americans are urban dwellers and don't have many crops to harvest. But the joy of the season can be felt just the same. Seven principles are celebrated, and they are applied universally. Beginning on December 26th each year and continuing until January 1st, a candle is lit each day. Each candle symbolizes one of the Nguao Saba, the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Umoja (Unity). The object of this principle is to strive for wholeness in the family, community, nation, and race.

Kujichagulia (Self Determination). The goal on this day is to seek definition, to create and speak for yourself rather than to allow others to speak for you.

Ujima (Responsibility). Here the emphasis is on maintaining community, to shoulder the responsibility for the problems of others and work together to solve them.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics). The object of this day is to work toward building and maintaining local stores, shops, and businesses so the community profits together.

Nia (Purpose). The ultimate purpose of Kwanzaa is now in sight. It is to collectively work toward the development of community in order to restore the community to its traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity). Here the emphasis is on elevating the community, making it greater, more beautiful, and more beneficial each year.

Imani (Faith). The object here is to place trust in parents, teachers, leaders, and others, and also to strive for righteousness and its ultimate victory.

Sources: “Kwanzaa: The First Fruit Celebration.” Afrocentricnews. http: //www.afrocentricnews.com/ html/kwanza.htm. September 15, 2003.

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Maulana Karenga, a professor and chairman of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created the African American cultural festival of Kwanzaa in 1966. The celebration takes place annually from 26 December through 1 January. Although the American origins of this holiday are found in the struggles for black nationalism that transpired in the 1960s, its African origins are rooted in the historic "first fruits" celebrations that have been associated with successful harvests from time immemorial.

Essential to the celebration are the Nzugo Saba (seven principles), which outline the pan-African origins of African American peoples. The principles are: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith). One of the seven principles is featured on each day of the week-long celebration.

Millions of African Americans commemorate Kwanzaa annually in either family-centered or community centered celebrations. These events highlight the reaffirmation of community, a special reverence for the Creator and Creation, a respectful commemoration of the past, a recommitment to lofty ideals, and a celebration of all that is inherently good. During these cultural celebrations Kwanzaa candles are lit, children receive heritage gifts, and a commemorative meal takes place.

Bibliography

Karenga, Maulana. Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press, 1998.

December 26-January 1

An African-American celebration of family and black culture, Kwanzaa is thought to be observed by five million Americans and perhaps 10 million others in Africa, Canada, the Caribbean, and parts of Europe. The holiday was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, chairman of the Black Studies Department at California State University in Long Beach.

In Swahili, Kwanzaa means "first fruits of the harvest," and first-fruit practices common throughout Africa were adapted by Karenga for the celebration.

Each day of the seven-day festival is dedicated to one of seven principles: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith).

Families gather in the evenings to discuss the principle of the day, and then light a black, red, or green candle and place it in a seven-branched candleholder called a kinara to symbolize giving light and life to the principle. On the evening of Dec. 31, families join with other members of the community for a feast called the karamu . Decorations are in the red, black, and green that symbolize Africa, and both adults and children wear African garments.

Increasingly, colleges and museums are holding Kwanzaa events during some of the days. For example, in Chicago, an African Market is held on Dec. 28 by the Ujamma Family, a black self-help group. In New York City, the American Museum of Natural History celebrates Kwanzaa with an African Marketplace, poetry, folktales, and music.



CONTACTS
Kwanzaa, African American Cultural Center
3018 W. 48th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90043
323-299-6124; fax: 323-299-0261
www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org

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Unlike December holidays steeped in centuries-old traditions, Kwanzaa, the African American year-end feast, was not established until 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a cultural nationalist. The celebration, which occurs annually from 26 December to 1 January, is based on a compilation of several harvest festivals and celebrations from around the African continent. During the holiday week most Kwanzaa celebrants use a menu of traditional African American dishes, foods from the "mother continent," and foods from the African diaspora. The word "Kwanzaa" comes from the Swahili expression "matunda ya kwanza," meaning 'first fruits of the harvest,' but the American Kwanzaa is distinguished from the African one by the addition of a second "a" in the second syllable.

The holiday was originally celebrated by cultural nationalists who wished to express pan-African solidarity. In the intervening years, however, it has become a rapidly growing tradition with over 18 million people of all political leanings and in all walks of life celebrating the week following 26 December as a time of feasting, fasting, and self-examination.

The holiday is not designed as a replacement for or alternative to any of the other year-end festivities like the Christian Christmas, the Jewish Hanukkah, or the Hindu Divali (Festival of Lights, celebrating Laksmi, the goddess of wealth; also called "Diwali" or "Dewali"). Rather, it is a time for reflection and self-examination that can replace or be celebrated jointly with any or all of the year-end holidays.

The celebration of Kwanzaa is guided by the Nguzo Saba, the seven principles of self-awareness, so each day of the week-long festival is devoted to the celebration of one of the building blocks of self-awareness.

Umoja—

Unity

Kujichagulia—

Self-Determination

Ujima—

Collective Work and Responsibility

Ujamaa—

Cooperative Economics

Nia—

Purpose

Kuumba—

Creativity (The feast of karamu is held on this day and is a public celebration at which the community gathers to celebrate the holiday.)

Imani—

Faith

The number seven is at the core of the celebration. There are seven days, seven principles, and seven symbols of the holiday. The mazao are the fruits of the harvest that are a part of the celebration table, and the mkeka is the mat on which they are arranged. The kinara, the seven-branched candlestick, holds the mishumaa saba, the seven candles (three red, three green, and one black) that are lit every evening: first the black candle, symbolizing the people, and then, alternating, the red and green candles, symbolizing the principle that without struggle, there is no attainment.

Each Kwanzaa table has a centerpiece. On each centerpiece there are muhindi (also vibunzi), ears of corn, one for each child in the family who is still at home. If there are no children in the family, there is a single ear to remind the celebrants that, in the words of the proverb, "it takes a village to raise a child." The kikombe cha umoja, the chalice of unity, is the cup that is passed around or from which the ceremonial libation is poured. Finally, there are the zawadi, gifts, which should be educational and emphasize growth and self-knowledge.

Bibliography

Copage, Eric V. Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking. New York: Morrow, 1991.

Harris, Jessica B. A Kwanzaa Keepsake: Celebrating the Holiday with New Traditions and Feasts. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995.

Karenga, Maulana. Kwanzaa: Origin, Concepts, Practice. Inglewood, Calif.: Kawaida, 1977.

Karenga, Maulana. The African-American Holiday of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press, 1988.

—Jessica B. Harris

For a list of words related to Kwanza, see:

• Annual National and Religious Holidays - Kwanza: African: December 26 to January 1, harvest festival

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