KWANZAA: A Celebration with Roots

The Observer, January 11, 1997



hristmas and Carnival are the main December celebrations in St. Kitts and Nevis. However, in North America the commemoration of Kwanzaa has become increasingly popular with people of African descent. Although it isn't widely celebrated here, some families have adopted Kwanzaa as a way of "trying to get back to our own culture, to African roots," in the words of Oni, a Kittitian woman who celebrates the festival with her family.

"Kwanzaa is a family celebration to mark the past year and give thanks for everything that was successful," she said. Oni learned of Kwanzaa while living in the U.S. and since "Christmas didn't really have any significance for me," she began celebrating Kwanzaa with her family. This year the celebration involved only her immediate family, though she hopes to expand it next year.

Basseterre High School guidance counselor Ingrid Charles-Gumbs also celebrated Kwanzaa this year. "My family is just getting into it and the children are very excited about it," she reports. Gumbs organised an exposition about Kwanzaa at BHS in November 1995. Like Oni she hopes to create larger celebrations in the future.

Kwanzaa is not a festival originating in any of the 55 African countries nor is it an "African" Christmas celebration, rather it is an African-American celebration of life which is commemorated from 26 December to 1 January. In recent years it has received increased media attention and is reportedly commemorated in some way by as many as 20 million people in the U.S.

Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga introduced the festival in the U.S. in 1966. Dr. Karenga created this festival for Afro-Americans as a response to the commercialism of Christmas and the loss of connection with Africa. The holiday was born at a time when Black Americans were engaged in major efforts to obtain civil, political and economic rights through the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements. The word "kwanza" is a Kiswahili (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) word meaning "first."

Kwanzaa is a spiritual, festive and joyous celebration of the oneness and goodness of life, which claims no ties with any religion. Its principles, practices and symbols are geared to the social and spiritual needs of African-Americans. While the Kwanzaa celebration is a seasonal event, the principles used in celebrating are meant to be a year-round way-of-life.

The Kwanzaa Information Center describes Kwanzaa as "an African-American holiday to help Black Americans relate to the past in order to understand the present and deal with the future." The major goal is "to develop self and facilitate a positive Black self-esteem to help them live their lives and to encourage the highest level of positive Black self-esteem and spiritual development."

Candles are lit in a special candle holder on each of the seven nights, and on 31 December participants celebrate with an "ingathering" meal, often with cuisine from various African countries.



Principles of Kwanzaa

The Nguzo Saba are the principles established for Kwanzaa. According to the Kwanzaa Information Center, these are values "by which Black Americans must order their relations and live their lives, if they are to make decisions about their lives and begin to build a new world and a new people to develop it."

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

2. KUJICHAGULIA (Self Determination)To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

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

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

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

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

7. IMANI (Faith)To believe with all our hearts in our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our people and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.



Symbols of Kwanzaa

The symbols of Kwanzaa include crops (Mzao) which represent the historical roots of African-Americans in agriculture and also the reward for collective labor. A straw mat (mkeka) symbolizes tradition as the foundation on which all else rests. The candle holder (Kinara) reminds believers of their ancestral origins in Africa. The seven candles (Mishumaa Saba) remind participants of the pinciples and the colors of the African liberation flag red, black and green. Corn/maize (Muhindi) signifies children and the hope associated with the younger generation. Gifts (Zawadi) represent the commitment of parents to their children. "Gift giving is more educational than traditional Christmas gifts," notes Gumbs who appreciates that it involves "less expenditure than Christmas." The unity cup (Kikimbe cha Umoja) is used to pour libations to the ancestors. Each member of the family drinks from it in a reinforcing gesture of honor, praise, collective work and commitment to continue the struggle begun by our ancestors.

Although Kwanzaa has been slow to take root in the Caribbean the growing interest in African culture and life has created fertile ground for this celebration to provide another road to understanding and pride in the African heritage of St. Kitts and Nevis.