Observing Kwanzaa
The Buffalo Hunt, Horace Pippin 1933
This year I observed Kwanzaa for the first time. This post goes into some detail about why I chose to observe it, what my experience was in trying it, and if I would try it again. My goal with this post is to share my experience, and I hope you enjoy it. This post is not a thorough history of Kwanzaa; for that, I recommend this book.
Origins
Over the past five years, most of my books have been about African and Caribbean American history. With the light brought on police killings of Black men, I think I at least partially started to read these books as an attempt to understand where we are today, but more than anything, I have a genuine interest in history. I wouldn't describe myself as Afrocentric, but I feel like history empowers me and helps me think critically.
Around Thanksgiving time, one of my recommended YouTube videos was about Kwanzaa. I have no idea what triggered that video to be recommended (All I watch are videos on programming, reviews of tech products, and business news on YouTube), but I watched it. It was unremarkable but got me thinking about all the books I read on Black history, and I wanted to look into it further. I spent a few hours on Wikipedia, esoteric web pages about Black History, and YouTube learning more about Kwanzaa. After my initial search, I put it away and didn't think about it. Later my daughter (5) asked me about Kwanzaa from something she saw on TV, and my search reemerged.
The idea of Kwanzaa kept nagging at me. I sketched out what it would look like to celebrate it in our family and decided, "what the hell!" I got some of the traditional symbols of the Holiday from an Etsy shop and started to sketch out what it would look like.
Positives
After sorting through my feelings on Kwanzaa and looking into it in more depth, I thought of the positives as:
1. A good backdrop for talking about family, community, and history with my 5-year-old and my wife
2. A fun tradition. Candles, conversation, and focused time seemed reasonable.
3. Opportunity to give gifts. Despite Christmas evaporating my savings, I can't resist another opportunity to give gifts.
4. Easy to adapt to our own needs. Kwanzaa is apolitical and non-religious (also descriptive rather than prescriptive), so we can make adjustments.
Concerns
As someone coming into it from the outside, Kwanzaa is a confusing holiday. Not any different from a holiday like Christmas (Which has Pagan and Christian roots), but it's clear the original intention of the Holiday (rooted in Black Separatism and Black Capitalism) was gone and replaced by something with a bit more commercial appeal. In my view, the changes have been for the better, but it was clear to me over my time observing that it's an extremely misunderstood and misrepresented Holiday.
My second concern was my fear that I rushed into it without a clear purpose. When I decided to observe and bought everything, it was still unclear what I hoped to get out of it. I am against participating without a clear plan or purpose, but I can't say I had one before day one of observing.
Finally, Maulana Karenga is the creator of Kwanzaa. Suffice it to say; he has a controversial and somewhat distributing past. Because of his past, I was considering scrapping plans to observe altogether. Still, after talking to a few people who observe Kwanzaa, it was clear that Holiday evolved past his influence.
Observing
Kwanzaa Setup
Kwanzaa has a ton of symbolism that is mostly optional, but for our observation, I got the following traditional elements:
- A Kinara (Candle Holder)
- Mkeka (Mat)
- Mishumaa Saba (seven candles)
- Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup)
- Zawadi (gifts)
We skipped the following traditional symbols because I couldn't get my hands on them:
- Mazao (crops)
- Mahindi (dried corn)
Starting on December 26th, we light a candle and discuss the Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles). There is an order the candles are supposed to be lit in, first the Black candle in the center, then alternating from red to green on the subsequent days. Each day we discuss one of the principles in order. The principles are:
- Umoja (Unity)
- Kujichagulia (Self-determination)
- Ujima (Collective work and responsibility)
- Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)
- Nia (Purpose)
- Kuumba (Creativity)
- Imani (Faith)
Historically, these principles were rooted in living these principles as a Black community to improve the Black community specifically. These principles are generalized to the community in general or as a personal reflection in contemporary observations. In talking about these principles, I made the following adjustments:
- Umoja (Unity) - What it means to be a good neighbor and help those in need in our community.
- Kujichagulia (Self-determination) - What it means to work hard and accomplish our goals. How we can share our accomplishments to help our community.
- Ujima (Collective work and responsibility) - Willingness to share our talents with those in need to help them accomplish their goals.
- Ujamaa (Cooperative economics) - Supporting our friends, acquaintances, and family members who own small businesses.
- Nia (Purpose) - How to be mindful of what we're doing and think of how to help others.
- Kuumba (Creativity) - How we can use our creativity to improve the lives of others, and enrich our own lives.
- Imani (Faith) - How we can be optimistic and hope for the best for the world and ourselves.
On Day 7 of Kwanzaa, we had a feast (Zawadi) and shared gifts. Our feast wasn't traditional African food, but Sushi and some french fries and chicken fingers for the kids. What I liked the most about it was an opportunity to talk about Faith, not in a supernal being as we sometimes do in our religious context, but more so Faith in human perseverance and ingenuity.
Final Candle Light Before Putting the Kinara Away
Observing Again
Kwanzaa was an overwhelmingly positive experience for my family. We will observe again next year with some additional modifications.
Thinking back on this experience, I didn't find a new sense of identity or connection with my heritage; I found a new way to express and celebrate ideas I believe in. My creativity, purpose, and self-determination are essential to who I am, but my selflessness and community complete me.