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Animation: The Nguzo Saba - Seven Principles of Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa
yenu iwe
na heri!
[ kwahn-ZAH
YEH-noo EE-weh
nah heh-REE ]

Happy Kwanzaa!


Prema's Kwanzaa Web
| Kwanzaa | Nguzo Saba | Links |
Practice Kwanzaa, every day!
 | Umoja | Kujichagulia | Ujima | Ujamaa | Nia | Kuumba | Imani |
 | Siku ya Taamuli | Tamishi La Tutaonana |

....... Practice the Principles of Kwanzaa, every day!

KWANZAA
January 1
Nguzo Saba Kwanzaa Meditation

Siku ya Taamuli 
Day of Assessment and Meditation


The last day of Kwanzaa is the first day of the new year, January 1.

Historically this has been for African people a time of sober assessment of things done and things to do, of self-reflection and reflection on the life and future of the people and of recommitment to their highest cultural values in a special way.

Kwanzaa is based upon the premise of KAWAIDA:

"that social revolutionary change for Black America can be achieved by the act of revealing and disclosing individuals to their cultural African heritage."

Each year, on January 1st, Dr. Karenga suggests that we ask ourselves the three (3) Kawaida questions, originally posed by Frantz Fanon, author of "Wretched of the Earth."

KAWAIDA QUESTIONS:

1. Who am I?

"To answer the question of "Who am I?" correctly, then, is to know and live one's history and to practice one's culture."

2. Am I really all I say I am?

"To answer the question of "Am I really all I say I am?" is to have and employ a cultural criteria of authenticity, i.e., criteria of what is real and unreal, what is appearance and essence, what is culturally-rooted and foreign."

3. Am I all I ought to be?

"And to answer the question of "Am I all I ought to be?" is to self-consciously possess and use ethical and cultural standards which measure men, women and children in terms of the quality of their thought and practice in the context of who they are and must become - in both an African and human sense."

And it is, of necessity, a time to recommit ourselves to our highest ideals, in a word, to the best of what it means to be both African and human in the fullest sense.

This Day of Assessment or Day of Meditation is noted in the first-fruits celebration of the Akan by J. B. Danquah. He states that the Akan have one day during the first-fruits harvest in which they simply engage in quiet reflection:

"The idea on this (day) is to maintain a quiet, humble and calm attitude with regard to oneself and towards one's neighbors."

It is thus a good time for reassessment and recommitment on a personal and family lev el.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga

SOURCE: "The African American Holiday of Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family Community & Culture"
by
Maulana Karenga, University of Sankore Press, Los Angeles, California, 1988, ISBN 0-943412-09-9

 | Umoja | Kujichagulia | Ujima | Ujamaa | Nia | Kuumba | Imani |

Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga

 | Siku ya Taamuli | Tamishi La Tutaonana |


   

Prema's Kwanzaa Web

Practice the Principles of Kwanzaa, every day!  

Kwanzaa yenu iwe na heri!
(kwahn-ZAH YEH-noo EE-weh nah heh-REE)
Happy Kwanzaa!
 | Kwanzaa | Nguzo Saba | Links |

.... Official Kwanzaa Website
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