Annie Smith, November 5, 2020
****
Edited by Azizi Powell
Additional YouTube videos of "O Kwanzaa" are also included in this post along with the lyrics to "O Kwanzaa" are included in this post along with the meaning of the Swahili words
The content of this post is presented for cultural and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Teresa Jennings, the composer of this song. and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
Happy Kwanzaa! (Kwanzaa Faraha!) ❤️🖤💚
-snip-
This post is a complete reprint of a December 2017 and replaces the December 2024 pancocojams post that featured two videos that are no longer available.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/12/kwanzaa-childrens-song-o-kwanzaa.html for that 2017 post whose title is "Children's Song "O Kwanzaa" (information, lyrics, videos, & instrumental song file)" .
The 2017 post has six comments in its discussion thread. I wrote most of those comments about my memories of celebrating Kwanzaa in the late 1960s along with some information about that holiday's customs.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/12/hyperlinks-to-pancocojams-posts-about.html
for the pancocojams post "Hyperlinks For Pancocojams Posts About Christmas, Kwanzaa, Or Junkanoo (2012-2025)."
****
ADDITIONAL SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example # 2: O Kwanzaa
jennsahy, Published on Dec 22, 2008
2008 Prairie Hill School Holiday Program - 2nd Grade, Song 3
****
Example #3: O, Kwanzaa - Teresa Jennings
Louise Welbig, December 14, 2015
****
Example #4- Singing o kwanza
poodinker, Published on Dec 14, 2012
Xmas concert
****
Example #5: Oh Kwanzaa
Jonathan Perrin, Published on Dec 16, 2014
My son Rylen and his third grade class performing kwanzaa in there Christmas concert. 2014
****
INFORMATION ABOUT TERESA JENNINGS' SONG "O KWANZAA"
Judging from the number of videos of this song on YouTube, and the comments in those videos' discussion threads, Teresa Jennings' 2002 composition "O Kwanzaa" is by far the most widely sung Kwanzaa song (for children, and perhaps also for adults) in the United States.
As demonstrated in these videos, in the United States the song "O Kwanzaa" is sung in elementary schools by young children of all races/ethnicities during these school's Christmas or winter holiday programs.
Here's information about that song from https://www.musick8.com/html/mk8_fullimage.php?volumeid=V13_2 Music K-8,
The Resource Magazine For Elementary And Middle School Music Teachers (Volume 13, Number 2, Plank Road Publishing, November 2002)
" O Kwanzaa by Teresa Jennings
To help you bring Kwanzaa to your students, consider using the song in this issue, "O Kwanzaa." It is a unique blend of hip hop, gospel, and African styles which students will enjoy. A pronunciation guide is included on the music for the Swahili words. The division of part 2 is optional (as is part 2 itself), but it adds distinctly to the flavor of the piece. Be sure students emphasize the crescendo/descresendo for the best results in all parts. Have them listen to the recording for reference. Also let them play along on their own Orff/percussion instruments using our suggested rhythms (see page 64) or creating their own. See if they can identify the African percussion used on the recording."
-snip-
Click https://www.musick8.com/html/tjbio.php for biographical information about Teresa Jennings. Please share any additional information that you know about this composer. Thanks!
****
LYRICS: O KWANZAA
(Teresa Jennings)
O-o-o Kwanzaa
O-o-o Kwanzaa
O-o-o Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa!
O-o-o Kwanzaa
O-o-o Kwanzaa
O-o-o Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa!
O-o o
Seven days of celebration
Nguzo Saba
Seven days of celebration
Habari gani
Seven days of celebration
Nguzo Saba
Seven days of celebration
Habari gani
Harambee!
[repeat the entire song again]
-snip-
The second and third "o" in this song are elongated].
****
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE TO THE KISWAHILI WORDS (AND THE MODIFIED KISWAHILI WORDS) IN THIS AFRICAN AMERICAN SONG
Kwanzaa:
pronounced KWAN-zah
Kwanzaa is an annual winter holiday that occurs December 6 - January 1. Each day of Kwanzaa showcases one "principle" for good living. These seven principles are collectively called "the Nguza Saba". [phonetically pronounced N-goo-sah SA-bah]
The Kwanzaa holiday was created in 1966 by African American activist Maulana Karenga. (The Arabic word "Maulana" is pronounced mawl-LAH-nah) and means "religious teacher". However, Kwanzaa isn't a religious holiday and Maulana Karenga wasn't the leader of a religious organization.)
The word "Kwanzaa" is based on the KiSwahili (Swahili) word "kwanza" which means "first". The longer name for this holiday is "Kwanzaa ya Matunda" (mah-TOON-dah) meaning "First Fruits". Kwanzaa is a partly patterned after African harvest festivals. (Notice the symbols of corn and other fall vegetables that are traditionally laid on the Kwanzaa mat representing "crops".)
Singing songs about Kwanzaa helps reinforce awareness of and appreciation of multiculturalism by presenting additional opportunities to learn about and celebrate African American culture. African cultures, and other Black cultures throughout the world.
Additional comments about incorporating information and songs about Kwanzaa in schools' curriculum are found in the Addendum below.
**
Habari gani:
(pronounced hah-BAH-ree GAH-nee)
A lot of articles about Kwanzaa give the English translation of the Swahili words "Habari gani" as "What's the news?"*. However, the English translation for the Swahili words "Habari gani" actually is "How are you?" Among African Americans (and, by extension, other people in the United States) an informal way of asking "How are you?" are "What's happening"*. A somewhat more formal way of saying "What's happening?" is "What's the news?" Other informal African American greetings that have the same meaning are "What's up?", "What's going on" and "How [are] you doing?"
*In the late 1960s and the 1970s the African American Vernacular (informal) English greeting "What's happening?" was relatively widely used among African Americans. For example, that phrase was the title of a nationally televised sit-com (situation comedy) series about an African American family. That sit com aired on ABC (one of the three major television channels ABC, CBS, & NBC, given in no particular order) from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s_Happening!! for information about that series.
Among African Americans (if not people who speak Swahili in East Africa and Central Africa), the response to "Habari gani" is the Swahili word "Njema" (meaning "good".) However, during the week of Kwanzaa, people are "supposed"* to use another greeting strategy- a person is "supposed to" greet other people with the words "Kwanzaa Furaka" (KWAN-zah foo-RAH-hah) meaning "Happy Kwanzaa". In response, people are supposed to respond with the name of the particular Kwanzaa (Nguza Saba) day. For instance, on the first day of Kwanzaa, when someone says "Kwanzaa Furaha" to another person, that person responds by saying "Umoja". This pattern continues throughout the week and on the last day of Kwanzaa, when someone says "Kwanzaa Furaha" to another person, that person replies "Imani".
*I recall using this greeting custom in the late 1960s shortly after (African American) Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa. However, I'm not sure if Maulana Karenga was the one who created this Kwanzaa greeting custom. Kwanzaa was celebrated by very few African Americans people in the 1960s and 1970s and very few African Americans actually celebrate Kwanzaa now (in 2022).
Furthermore, in my experience, very few people who actually celebrate/d Kwanzaa are/were aware of and/or use/d this greeting custom that I've described above. This description is based on my affiliation in 1967-1969 with the Newark, New Jersey cultural nationalist organization Committee For Unified Newark (CFUN).CFUN was the first cultural origination in the east coast of the United States to celebrate Kwanzaa.(in 1967 or 1968). Maulana Karenga's Oakland, California Black nationalist organization "US" was the first organization to celebrate Kwanzaa (in 1966).
In my adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania there are some people who still use these Kwanzaa greetings. However, I often forget to use the "Kwanzaa Faraha"/ Nguza Saba day response.
.
**
Nguzo Saba [pronounced n-GOO-zah SAH-bah]
Swahili words which are given the English meaning "seven principles" [refers to the principle (such as "unity" and "purpose") that is celebrated each day of the Kwanzaa holiday.
**
Harambee:
[pronounced hah=RAH-bay], usually with the last syllable elongated]
****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE KISWAHILI WORD "HARAMBEE"
From http://www.dictionary.com/browse/harambee
harambee
"Harambee
noun
1.
a work chant used on the E African coast
2.
a rallying cry used in Kenya
interjection
3.
a cry of harambee
Word Origin
Swahili: pull together"
-snip-
Among culturally afrocentric African Americans (meaning: African Americans who are interested in the the cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora and incorporate some of those cultural indices into their lives), "Harambee" is considered and used as an exclamation meaning "All pull together!" (Work together. Be unified.)
The motion that is "traditionally" used for "the Harambee! salute" is:
"...the elder leads the guests in the Harambee (ha-RAM-bee) salute. Each person raises their right fist about as high as their shoulder, then pulls down forcefully until the elbow is next to next to their torso, saying “Harambee!” This is done seven times in unison." http://www.holidays.net/kwanzaa/7days.htm
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I57I2Vhag20 [at around 1:21] for a clip of this motion.
-snip-
I recall chanting "Harambee! All pull together!" (repeated one or more times and then ending in "Harambeeee!") when I was a member of the Black cultural nationalist organization The Committee For Unified Newark in the late 1960s.
While chanting "all pull together" we imitated pulling a rope toward our body like in the "tug of war" game.
***
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-swahili-terms-are-used-for-african.html for the 2015 pancocojams post entitled "Why Swahili Terms Are Used For The African American Originated Holiday Kwanzaa."
**
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee
"Harambee is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, e.g. fundraising or development activities. Harambee literally means "all pull together" in Swahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on its coat of arms.
Harambee events may range from informal affairs lasting a few hours, in which invitations are spread by word of mouth, to formal, multi-day events advertised in newspapers. These events have long been important in parts of East Africa, as ways to build and maintain communities.
Following Kenya's independence in 1963, the first Prime Minister, and later first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta adopted "Harambee" as a concept of pulling the country together to build a new nation. He encouraged communities to work together to raise funds for all sorts of local projects, pledging that the government would provide their startup costs. Under this system, wealthy individuals wishing to get into politics could donate large amounts of money to local harambee drives, thereby gaining legitimacy; however, such practices were never institutionalised during Kenyatta's presidency.
A popular etymology deriving the term from the name of a Hind goddess, Amba Mata (a form of Durga riding a Tiger) has been proposed, supposedly via Hindu railway linesmen carrying loads of iron rails and sleeper blocks who would chant "har, har Ambe!" ("praise Amba") when working. The first president, Jomo Kenyatta has been said to have witnessed such a railway line team as it worked in cohesion and harmony and derived the term from there. This has led to criticism against the official use of the term on the part of Kenyan Christians. The actual etymology of the term is, however, cited as genuinely Bantu, from the Miji Kenda term halumbe "to pull or push together".[1] The objections have also been dismissed based on the that even if the supposed derivation were true, it has become irrelevant to the term's modern usage and meaning.[2]"
-snip-
Also, read the information about Swahili in the Addendum below.
****
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ORIGINATED HOLIDAY "KWANZAA"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa
"Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the West African diaspora in the Americas. The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture, and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving.[1] Kwanzaa has seven core principles (Nguzo Saba). It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–67.
History and etymology
Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966, as the first specifically African-American holiday,[2] (but see also Juneteenth). According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest",[3] although a more conventional translation would simply be "first fruits". The choice of Swahili, an East African language, reflects its status as a symbol of Pan-Africanism, especially in the 1960s, although most of the Atlantic slave trade that brought African people to America originated in West Africa.[4]
Kwanzaa is a celebration that has its roots in the black nationalist movement of the 1960s and was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and Nguzo Saba, the "seven principles of African Heritage" ...
Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.[8]
Principles and symbols
Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba—the seven principles of African Heritage), which Karenga said "is a communitarian African philosophy," consisting of what Karenga called "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world." These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili word meaning "common". Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:[9]
Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' 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 developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Kuumba (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.
Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Kwanzaa celebratory symbols include a mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed: a Kinara (candle holder), Mishumaa Saba (seven candles), mazao (crops), Muhindi (corn), a Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup) for commemorating and giving shukrani (thanks) to African Ancestors, and Zawadi (gifts). Supplemental representations include a Nguzo Saba poster,[10] the black, red, and green bendera (flag), and African books and artworks – all to represent values and concepts reflective of African culture and contribution to community building and reinforcement.[11] Corn is the primary symbol for both decoration and celebratory dining.
Observance
... A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the African Pledge and the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the Pan-African colors, a discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance, and, finally, a feast (karamu). The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is Habari Gani?[16] which is Swahili for "How are you?"[17]
At first, observers of Kwanzaa avoided the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values, and practice with other holidays, as doing so would violate the principle of kujichagulia (self-determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday, which is partially intended as a reclamation of important African values. Today, many African American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and New Year's.[18] Frequently, both Christmas trees and kinaras, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African American roots, share space in Kwanzaa-celebrating households. For people who celebrate both holidays, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas.
[...]
Popularity
In 2004, BIG Research conducted a marketing survey in the United States for the National Retail Foundation, which found that 1.6% of those surveyed planned to celebrate Kwanzaa. In a 2006 speech, Maulana Karenga asserted that 28 million people celebrate Kwanzaa. He has always claimed it is celebrated all over the world.[1] Lee D. Baker puts the number at 12 million.[22] The African American Cultural Center claimed 30 million in 2009.[23] In 2011, Keith Mayes said that 2 million people participated in Kwanzaa.[23]
According to University of Minnesota Professor Keith Mayes, the author of Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition, the popularity within the US has "leveled off" as the black power movement there has declined, and as of 2009 between 500 thousand and two million people celebrated Kwanzaa in the US, or between one and five percent of African Americans. Mayes added that white institutions now celebrate it.[12]
The holiday has also spread to Canada and is celebrated by Black Canadians in a similar fashion as in the United States.[24] According to the Language Portal of Canada, "this fairly new tradition has [also] gained in popularity in France, Great Britain, Jamaica and Brazil".[25]
In Brazil, in recent years the term Kwanzaa has been applied by a few institutions as a synonym for the festivities of the Black Awareness Day, commemorated on November 20 in honor of Zumbi dos Palmares,[26][27] having little to do with the celebration as it was originally conceived."...
-snip-
Italics added to highlight those sentences.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THE INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION & SONGS ABOUT KWANZAA IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Kwanzaa is an annual winter holiday that occurs December 26 - January 1. Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African American activist.
My position is that the main purpose of incorporating a song or songs about Kwanzaa into elementary school's music and "social studies" curriculum is to help reinforce awareness and appreciation of multiculturalism by presenting additional opportunities to learn about African American cultures and Black African cultures.
However, it's important to teach that Kwanzaa is an African American created holiday which isn't traditionally celebrated in African nations. However, the idea for Kwanzaa partly comes from African harvest festivals such as the Homowo [ho-MOH-woh] festival in Ghana. (Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/11/ghanaian-harvest-festival-homowo.html for a pancocojams post about that festival.)
It appears to me that only a small percentage of African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa. My sense is that those people who celebrate Kwanzaa usually combine that celebration with their observances of Christmas and New Years. The colors for the African American flag are red, black, and green and pan-African colors are red, green, and gold. All of thee colors, and in particular red, black, and green are considered the colors for Kwanzaa. The fact that these colors are very similar to the red and green Christmas decorations makes it quite easy to combine Christmas decorations with Kwanzaa decorations.
It also should be noted that December 26th is also the first day of Hanukkah. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah for information about Hanukkah whose candle holding symbol and multiple days of celebration were used as a model for the Kwanzaa holiday.
Also click these links below for two other pancocojams posts about Kwanzaa:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-swahili-terms-are-used-for-african.html Why Swahili Terms Are Used For The African American Originated Holiday "Kwanzaa"
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/teddy-pendergrass-happy-kwanzaa-video.html Teddy Pendergrass - Happy Kwanzaa (video & lyrics)
Additional pancocojams posts about Kwanzaa can be found by clicking the Kwanzaa tag below.
Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-history-meaning-of-red-black-and.html for a related pancocojams post entitled The History And Meaning Of The Red, Black, And Green Flag
-snip-
My comments about the concept of Kwanzaa being patterned after African "first fruits" harvest festivals are based on internet sources as well as my memories as an early celebrant of Kwanzaa (in 1967-1969) when I was a member of the cultural nationalist organization The Committee For Unified Newark (CFUN), based in Newark, New Jersey.
CFUN, led by Imamu Amiri Baraka (formerly known as LeRoi Jones), was the first organization in the East Coast to celebrate and promote the African American holiday Kwanzaa (in 1967 or 1968) . Maulana Ron Karenga's Oakland, California cultural nationalist organization named "Us" (which had some significant differences from CFUN) was the first organization in the United States to promote and celebrate Kwanzaa (in 1966).
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SWAHILI (KISWAHILI) LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language
"Swahili, also known as Kiswahili (translation: coast language[7]), is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. It is a lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)...
Estimates of the total number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million.[2] Swahili serves as a national language of four nations: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the DRC.[citation needed] Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is related to Swahili.[10] Swahili is also one of the working languages of the African Union and officially recognised as a lingua franca of the East African Community.[11]
A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast.[12]"...
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comment are welcome.
Nguzo Saba [pronounced n-GOO-zah SAH-bah]
Swahili words which are given the English meaning "seven principles" [refers to the principle (such as "unity" and "purpose") that is celebrated each day of the Kwanzaa holiday.
**
Harambee:
[pronounced hah=RAH-bay], usually with the last syllable elongated]
****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE KISWAHILI WORD "HARAMBEE"
From http://www.dictionary.com/browse/harambee
harambee
"Harambee
noun
1.
a work chant used on the E African coast
2.
a rallying cry used in Kenya
interjection
3.
a cry of harambee
Word Origin
Swahili: pull together"
-snip-
Among culturally afrocentric African Americans (meaning: African Americans who are interested in the the cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora and incorporate some of those cultural indices into their lives), "Harambee" is considered and used as an exclamation meaning "All pull together!" (Work together. Be unified.)
The motion that is "traditionally" used for "the Harambee! salute" is:
"...the elder leads the guests in the Harambee (ha-RAM-bee) salute. Each person raises their right fist about as high as their shoulder, then pulls down forcefully until the elbow is next to next to their torso, saying “Harambee!” This is done seven times in unison." http://www.holidays.net/kwanzaa/7days.htm
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I57I2Vhag20 [at around 1:21] for a clip of this motion.
-snip-
I recall chanting "Harambee! All pull together!" (repeated one or more times and then ending in "Harambeeee!") when I was a member of the Black cultural nationalist organization The Committee For Unified Newark in the late 1960s.
While chanting "all pull together" we imitated pulling a rope toward our body like in the "tug of war" game.
***
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-swahili-terms-are-used-for-african.html for the 2015 pancocojams post entitled "Why Swahili Terms Are Used For The African American Originated Holiday Kwanzaa."
**
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee
"Harambee is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, e.g. fundraising or development activities. Harambee literally means "all pull together" in Swahili, and is also the official motto of Kenya and appears on its coat of arms.
Harambee events may range from informal affairs lasting a few hours, in which invitations are spread by word of mouth, to formal, multi-day events advertised in newspapers. These events have long been important in parts of East Africa, as ways to build and maintain communities.
Following Kenya's independence in 1963, the first Prime Minister, and later first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta adopted "Harambee" as a concept of pulling the country together to build a new nation. He encouraged communities to work together to raise funds for all sorts of local projects, pledging that the government would provide their startup costs. Under this system, wealthy individuals wishing to get into politics could donate large amounts of money to local harambee drives, thereby gaining legitimacy; however, such practices were never institutionalised during Kenyatta's presidency.
A popular etymology deriving the term from the name of a Hind goddess, Amba Mata (a form of Durga riding a Tiger) has been proposed, supposedly via Hindu railway linesmen carrying loads of iron rails and sleeper blocks who would chant "har, har Ambe!" ("praise Amba") when working. The first president, Jomo Kenyatta has been said to have witnessed such a railway line team as it worked in cohesion and harmony and derived the term from there. This has led to criticism against the official use of the term on the part of Kenyan Christians. The actual etymology of the term is, however, cited as genuinely Bantu, from the Miji Kenda term halumbe "to pull or push together".[1] The objections have also been dismissed based on the that even if the supposed derivation were true, it has become irrelevant to the term's modern usage and meaning.[2]"
-snip-
Also, read the information about Swahili in the Addendum below.
****
ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ORIGINATED HOLIDAY "KWANZAA"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa
"Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the West African diaspora in the Americas. The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture, and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving.[1] Kwanzaa has seven core principles (Nguzo Saba). It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–67.
History and etymology
Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966, as the first specifically African-American holiday,[2] (but see also Juneteenth). According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest",[3] although a more conventional translation would simply be "first fruits". The choice of Swahili, an East African language, reflects its status as a symbol of Pan-Africanism, especially in the 1960s, although most of the Atlantic slave trade that brought African people to America originated in West Africa.[4]
Kwanzaa is a celebration that has its roots in the black nationalist movement of the 1960s and was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and Nguzo Saba, the "seven principles of African Heritage" ...
Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.[8]
Principles and symbols
Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba—the seven principles of African Heritage), which Karenga said "is a communitarian African philosophy," consisting of what Karenga called "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world." These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili word meaning "common". Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:[9]
Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' 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 developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
Kuumba (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.
Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Kwanzaa celebratory symbols include a mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed: a Kinara (candle holder), Mishumaa Saba (seven candles), mazao (crops), Muhindi (corn), a Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup) for commemorating and giving shukrani (thanks) to African Ancestors, and Zawadi (gifts). Supplemental representations include a Nguzo Saba poster,[10] the black, red, and green bendera (flag), and African books and artworks – all to represent values and concepts reflective of African culture and contribution to community building and reinforcement.[11] Corn is the primary symbol for both decoration and celebratory dining.
Observance
... A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the African Pledge and the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the Pan-African colors, a discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance, and, finally, a feast (karamu). The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is Habari Gani?[16] which is Swahili for "How are you?"[17]
At first, observers of Kwanzaa avoided the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values, and practice with other holidays, as doing so would violate the principle of kujichagulia (self-determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday, which is partially intended as a reclamation of important African values. Today, many African American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and New Year's.[18] Frequently, both Christmas trees and kinaras, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African American roots, share space in Kwanzaa-celebrating households. For people who celebrate both holidays, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas.
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Popularity
In 2004, BIG Research conducted a marketing survey in the United States for the National Retail Foundation, which found that 1.6% of those surveyed planned to celebrate Kwanzaa. In a 2006 speech, Maulana Karenga asserted that 28 million people celebrate Kwanzaa. He has always claimed it is celebrated all over the world.[1] Lee D. Baker puts the number at 12 million.[22] The African American Cultural Center claimed 30 million in 2009.[23] In 2011, Keith Mayes said that 2 million people participated in Kwanzaa.[23]
According to University of Minnesota Professor Keith Mayes, the author of Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition, the popularity within the US has "leveled off" as the black power movement there has declined, and as of 2009 between 500 thousand and two million people celebrated Kwanzaa in the US, or between one and five percent of African Americans. Mayes added that white institutions now celebrate it.[12]
The holiday has also spread to Canada and is celebrated by Black Canadians in a similar fashion as in the United States.[24] According to the Language Portal of Canada, "this fairly new tradition has [also] gained in popularity in France, Great Britain, Jamaica and Brazil".[25]
In Brazil, in recent years the term Kwanzaa has been applied by a few institutions as a synonym for the festivities of the Black Awareness Day, commemorated on November 20 in honor of Zumbi dos Palmares,[26][27] having little to do with the celebration as it was originally conceived."...
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Italics added to highlight those sentences.
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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S COMMENT ABOUT THE INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION & SONGS ABOUT KWANZAA IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Kwanzaa is an annual winter holiday that occurs December 26 - January 1. Kwanzaa was invented in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African American activist.
My position is that the main purpose of incorporating a song or songs about Kwanzaa into elementary school's music and "social studies" curriculum is to help reinforce awareness and appreciation of multiculturalism by presenting additional opportunities to learn about African American cultures and Black African cultures.
However, it's important to teach that Kwanzaa is an African American created holiday which isn't traditionally celebrated in African nations. However, the idea for Kwanzaa partly comes from African harvest festivals such as the Homowo [ho-MOH-woh] festival in Ghana. (Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/11/ghanaian-harvest-festival-homowo.html for a pancocojams post about that festival.)
It appears to me that only a small percentage of African Americans celebrate Kwanzaa. My sense is that those people who celebrate Kwanzaa usually combine that celebration with their observances of Christmas and New Years. The colors for the African American flag are red, black, and green and pan-African colors are red, green, and gold. All of thee colors, and in particular red, black, and green are considered the colors for Kwanzaa. The fact that these colors are very similar to the red and green Christmas decorations makes it quite easy to combine Christmas decorations with Kwanzaa decorations.
It also should be noted that December 26th is also the first day of Hanukkah. Click https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah for information about Hanukkah whose candle holding symbol and multiple days of celebration were used as a model for the Kwanzaa holiday.
Also click these links below for two other pancocojams posts about Kwanzaa:
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-swahili-terms-are-used-for-african.html Why Swahili Terms Are Used For The African American Originated Holiday "Kwanzaa"
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/teddy-pendergrass-happy-kwanzaa-video.html Teddy Pendergrass - Happy Kwanzaa (video & lyrics)
Additional pancocojams posts about Kwanzaa can be found by clicking the Kwanzaa tag below.
Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-history-meaning-of-red-black-and.html for a related pancocojams post entitled The History And Meaning Of The Red, Black, And Green Flag
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My comments about the concept of Kwanzaa being patterned after African "first fruits" harvest festivals are based on internet sources as well as my memories as an early celebrant of Kwanzaa (in 1967-1969) when I was a member of the cultural nationalist organization The Committee For Unified Newark (CFUN), based in Newark, New Jersey.
CFUN, led by Imamu Amiri Baraka (formerly known as LeRoi Jones), was the first organization in the East Coast to celebrate and promote the African American holiday Kwanzaa (in 1967 or 1968) . Maulana Ron Karenga's Oakland, California cultural nationalist organization named "Us" (which had some significant differences from CFUN) was the first organization in the United States to promote and celebrate Kwanzaa (in 1966).
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INFORMATION ABOUT SWAHILI (KISWAHILI) LANGUAGE
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language
"Swahili, also known as Kiswahili (translation: coast language[7]), is a Bantu language and the first language of the Swahili people. It is a lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)...
Estimates of the total number of Swahili speakers vary widely, from 50 million to over 100 million.[2] Swahili serves as a national language of four nations: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and the DRC.[citation needed] Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is related to Swahili.[10] Swahili is also one of the working languages of the African Union and officially recognised as a lingua franca of the East African Community.[11]
A significant fraction of Swahili vocabulary is derived from Arabic through contact with Arabic-speaking Muslim inhabitants of the Swahili Coast.[12]"...
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