Cutural Event

Cultural Event Experience

Arrene Downey (Chapman)

HUM102

Kimberly Hughmanic

October 9, 2006

Kwanzaa is a non-religious, week-long holiday established in 1966 to celebrate African heritage. 1966 is during the age of Pluralism which was 1946 through 2000. This holiday is still celebrated today and was founded by Dr. Maulana Karensa.

Observances include candle-lighting, social gatherings, and reflection on seven community-oriented guidance principles. There are seven colored candles; black, green, and red, that represents each day of observance and is placed in a kinara (a candle holder). One candle is lit each day to represent the principle for that particular day of the week long celebration.

"The seven principles are: Umoja [OO-MO-JAH] ("U-N-I-T-Y" Queen Latifah) - To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, race. (Black Candle) Kujichagulia [KOO-GEE-CHA-GOO-LEE-YAH] (Self-Determination) - To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves instead of being defined, named, created for and spoken for by others. (Red Candle) Ujima [OO-GEE-MAH] (Creative Work & Responsibility) - To build and maintain our community together and make our sisters' and brothers' problems our problems and solve them together. (Green Candle) Ujamaa [OO-JAH-MAH] (Cooperative Economics) - To build and maintain our own stores and other businesses and to profit from them together. (Red Candle) Nia [NEE-YAH] (Purpose) - To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. (Green Candle)

Kuumba [KOO-OOM-BAH] (Creativity) - To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. (Red Candle) Imani [EE-MAH-NEE] (Faith) - To believe with all our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. (Green Candle)" (Kwanzaa Principles, 2000)

"Kwanzaa begins Tuesday, December 26, 2006 and ends Monday, January 01, 2007 this year. Kwanzaa is a unique African American celebration with focus on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce, and self-improvement. Kwanzaa is neither political nor religious and despite some misconceptions, is not a substitute for Christmas. It is simply a time of reaffirming African-American people, their ancestors and culture. Kwanzaa has come to be observed by more than18 million people worldwide, as reported by the New York Times. When establishing Kwanzaa in 1966, Dr. Karenga included an additional "a" to the end of the spelling to reflect the difference between the African American celebration (kwanzaa) and the Motherland spelling (kwanza). (Everything about Kwanzaa, April 2006) KWANZAA is derived from the Kiswahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza", which means "first fruits of the harvest" which is a depiction of the celebration of harvesting the first crops in traditional Africa." (The Afro centric Experience, 2000)

Invited by a close friend to this event my first response was asking if I should bring a Christmas present or dress in a festive manner. After being told the meaning of Kwanzaa, the next thought was to dress in African garb and head cover, which sounded