Kwanzaa and the Black Church
More and more Black people celebrate Kwanzaa instead of Christmas. Rev Ronald Nathan explains the African origins of this festival and explores why Black churches have ignored it
Fifty-seven years after its creation, Kwanzaa, the seven-day festival inspired by the harvest celebrations of Africa, has 40 million celebrants yet it is almost totally unknown in the Black Church in the Caribbean, United States of America and the United Kingdom. Amidst the commercialisation of Kwanzaa – with greeting cards, videos, films and music available at High Street stores – the Black Church has almost entirely ignored this festival.
Some Black Church leaders have voiced four prominent objections to Christian involvement with Kwanzaa celebrations. First, that Kwanzaa is anti-Christian. Second, that it is socialist.
Third, that Kwanzaa draws upon African cultural motifs and practices that are spiritually questionable, and fourth, that its founder, Maulana Karenga, was in prison at the time of its creation.
So how should the Black Church address events of an Africentric nature, such as Kwanzaa celebrations? It calls for an honest recognition that the Black Church is a conservative institution with its own traditions, including a Eurocentric affinity. Once we are willing to see that this affinity makes us highly suspicious of things African, we can then take action to orientate our programmes and activities to engage Africentric communities and their events.
Take, for example, in the study of Christian missions, it informs us that if we wish to communicate the Gospel to any ethnic or social group effectively, we must find a way of doing so within the cultural ways, spaces and places they occupy. So, it means we have to move out of our comfort zone if we wish to engage persons who don’t attend our churches. Kwanzaa provides just such a cultural space.
Kwanzaa’s activities also take us out of our comfort zone because it offers a deep theological, philosophical and psychological critique of the Black Church, and questions why it is so accommodating of Eurocentric values and models which are reflected in a hostility to its own African-ness.
The teachings of Kwanzaa are not an anti-Christian religious substitute; they are an African re-education programme. The teachings of Kwanzaa are not an anti-white project; they are an anti-inferiority programme. The teachings of Kwanzaa are not a socialist experiment; they are a community development strategy. The teachings of Kwanzaa are not a revenge initiative; they are a Pan African re-orientation to Africa’s history, cultures and prosperity.
Local churches therefore need to prayerfully consider whether they wish to incorporate Kwanzaa as part of their programme of cultural engagement and prophetic outreach to the Black and African community.
So, whether we celebrate Kwanzaa or stand on the sidelines of African cultural practices, we should not be surprised when our communities critique our relevance and our youths challenge our legitimacy by leaving our churches. If, however, we hold to the idea that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the capacity to redeem and transform culture, surely this includes our African-inspired cultural forms and institutions, such as Kwanzaa?
The Elements of the Kwanzaa Festival
Kwanzaa is a festival held annually between December 26 and January 1. It has seven principles (called ngozu saba) and seven symbols that are highlighted during its celebrations. The Swahili language is used to name its seven principles and symbols, which represent a process of values reinforcement drawn from the traditional African family and community.
The seven principles and their meaning are as follows:
· Umoja – Unity
· Kujichagulia – Self-determination
· Ujima – Collective Work and Responsibility
· Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics
· Nia – Purpose
· Kuumba – Creativity
· Imani – Faith
Each of the above seven principles are spoken of, in the above order, and illustrated on each day of the festival.
The seven symbols are the adornments of the festival:
· Mkeka – The decorative mat represents the foundation of African traditions and history
· Mazao – This assortment of crops, fruits and vegetables shows respect for those who laboured in the fields.
· Kinara – The seven-branched candle holder represents the origin from which all Africans came.
· Mishumaa – The seven candles represent one of each of the seven principles and is lit during the celebrations, starting with the black candle which represents Umoja (unity).
· Muhindi – The corn represents Africa’s children and their future.
· Kikombe cha Umoja – The Cup of Unity, out of which the libation is poured and the ancestors are honoured.
· Zawadi – The gifts represent the labour of the parents and the rewards of the children.
These symbols are laid out in an area or platform and is visible for all to see. Each day of Kwanzaa there is a programme of activities around the principles and symbols, involving members of the African family and community. Celebrations are encouraged in the home and also in the community. Some of the largest gatherings attract thousands of people.
In response to Rev. Nathan’s article, I must agree with the objections to Christians participating in Kwanzaa celebrations. His first objection alone would be enough. It is anti-Christian because Karenga created Kwanzaa to replace Christianity! There are books that Karenga has published that aren’t available to the general public. These books show Karenga’s true intentions for creating Kwanzaa. How did I get these books? I confiscated books from my younger sister after she joined Karenga’s US organization and denounced Christianity for being a white man’s religion. I had to know what brought about her change and I began attending these weekly Karenga led sessions. That’s how I learned about Karenga and knowing how he hates Christianity, (most religions in general) I was able to hear with my own ears straight from Karenga’s mouth!
But better yet are his writings that prove his intentions and why Christians shouldn’t have anything to do with this holiday. Here are a few excerpts that I’ll share from Karenga’s self-published books:
On religion: “…Kwanzaa is not an imitation, but an alternative, in fact, and oppositional alternative to the spookism, mysticism and non-earth based practices which plague us as a people . . . ” pg. 14 of Kwanzaa: origin, concepts, practice, 1977. (Spookism Karenga defines as “belief in spooks who threaten us if we don’t worship them and demand we turn over our destiny and daily lives … pg. 27 of Kawaida Theory, 1980)
On Christmas: “. . . it was chosen to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.” pg. 21 of “Kwanzaa: origin, concepts, practice 1977.”
A purpose in creating Kwanzaa: “…the key crisis in Black life is the crisis of ideology and culture, i.e., the critical lack of a coherent system of views and values that would give them a moral, material and meaningful interpretation of life…pg. 18 of “Kwanzaa: origin, concepts, practice 1977.”
About the ancestors: “Thus, their profound respect for the ancestors, which admittedly has a spiritual dimension, is best called veneration. The ancestors are venerated because they are:
– A source and symbol of lineage
– Models of ethical life, service and social achievement
– Because they are spiritual intercessors between humans and the Creator. pg. 21 of “Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture.
As Kwanzaa gained in popularity and acceptance especially among the Black church, Karenga’s later books on Kwanzaa contradict what his early books wrote. Now he says: “Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their religion or religious holiday…For Kwanzaa is not a reaction or substitution to anything.” pg. 117, Kwanzaa a Celebration of Family, Community and Culture, 1997.
So this long commentary is posting as a wake-up call to the Black church not to fall into Karenga’s plan he’s had all along: to get everyone on board his ancestor worshipping, God denying and human-centered religion. The Bible alone is all we need as our principles for life and morality found through knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior!