Origin and Meaning
Kwanzaa is a festival initiated by Maulana Karenga - an American Black Power activist. The utmost inspiration for Kwanzaa is the First Fruit Festival celebrated in Southern Africa which acts as a type of sacrificial ceremony of giving the first fruits in a harvest to God or the gods who are believed to be responsible for the abundance of food.
It is said that the origin of Kwanzaa arose in the 1960s remarkably during the Black Nationlist Movement. The festival is an opportunity for African-American to express appreciation and endearment towards their rich African culture and historical legacy. Karenga, the man who first introduced Kwanzaa, pinpoints the focal point of the festival as “you must have a cultural revolution to have purpose, identity and direction, before a violent revolution”.
It can be surprising to acknowledge that this is not the initial purpose of the Kwanzaa. Originally, when the holiday is instituted, Karenga aims to replace Christianity as he believes “white” religion should be rejected by Africans. Such belief was altered in 1997 henceforth the meaning of the Kwanzaa festivalis what we now appreciate - a celebration of culture, community and family.
Symbols
It is worthy to note that the Kwanzaa holiday consists of seven symbols and two supplementary ones representing various cultural and communal aspects of Africa and values of African.
Symbol | Meaning |
Mazao (The Crops) | These are symbolic of African harvest celebrations and of the rewards of productive and collective labor. |
Mkeka (The Mat) | This is symbolic of African tradition and history and therefore, the foundation on which we build. |
Kinara (The Candle Holder) | This is symbolic of African roots, their parents - continental Africans. |
Muhindi (The Corn) | This is symbolic of children and the future which they embody. |
Kikombe cha Umoja (The Unity Cup) | This is symbolic of the unity power and communal kingship of the African which makes all else possible. |
Mishumaa Saba (The Seven Candles) | These are symbolic of the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles, the matrix and minimum set of values which African people are urged to live by in order to rescue and reconstruct their lives in their own image and according to their own needs. |
Zawadi (The Gifts) | This shows the transgenerational commitment regarding labor and also parental love |
Bendera (The Flag) | The colors of the Kwanzaa flag are black, red and green - the colors of the Organization Us. In specific, black means the people, red depicts their hardships, and green for the future as rewards from them overcoming such struggles. The Bendera is based on the national flag given to the Africans by the Hon. Marcus Garvey, with slight adjustments in order and interpretation of the colors made in the 1960s along with many African countries. |
Nguzo Saba Poster | The Nguzo Saba poster or some form of the written Nguzo Saba should always be a part of the Kwanzaa set. For it is these Seven Principles which give Kwanzaa its core and seven days of cultural focus. |
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