by Minister Mxolisi Ozo-Sowande / Mxolisi T. Sowell
Thousands of years ago, Kemet was one of the names for the land now known as Egypt. Then and there, our ancestors had developed a yearly solar calendar comprised of twelve months having 30 days each, with 5 additional days –Epagomenal Days — belonging to neither of the months. This comprised a 365-day yearly calendar which was extended by one day every fourth year because our ancestors’ meticulous attention to celestial phenomena led them to understand that each solar cycle is 365.25 days. That understanding resulted in an extended Epagomenal Days period every fourth year.
The Epagomenal Days was a time for serious reflection and celebration regarding the ways and means, values and principles, by which humans ought to live, in light of their understanding that they were made in the image and likeness of the Creator, with the Creator entrusting unto them the mission of continuing and extending the Creation process. That spiritual-cultural-scientific consciousness was the foundation that led those ancestors of ours to write with their lives the most profound history of the ancient world, a foundation which has continued to positively influence and impact human development to this very day.
“What does this have to do with Kwanzaa?”, you ask.
So many of our people have been persuaded to see Kwanzaa as an anti-Christian, anti-Christmas undertaking. But it isn’t. At its very beginning, Kwanzaa’s chief innovator, Dr. Maulana Karenga, said Kwanzaa came into being to give our people something positive to embrace during the days following Christmas instead of the frivolous, materialistic, and commercialized self-destructive activities in which so many of our people engage during the period leading up to New Year’s day.
The Nguzo Saba Days of Kwanzaa were brought into being to give to Africans in America (and others!) what the Epagomenal Days gave to our Kemetian ancestors:
• time for serious reflection and celebration regarding the ways and means, values and principles — (which continue to have life in countless African traditions) — by which we ought to live in order to be in harmony with the mission of continuing and extending the Creation process;
• time to continue liberating ourselves from the negative – to grow in knowing how we who are made in the image and likeness of our Creator ought to be living our lives 24/7/365 or 366.
The 7 Nguzo Saba Days of Kwanzaa are calling on us to grow in knowing and showing:
• Umoja/Unity – Striving to maintain Unity in the family, community, nation and race; to love our neighbors (our people) as much as we love ourselves; knowing LOVE to be the crucial essence of the energy called Umoja/Unity – the immeasurable sense of oneness and respect that we hold for those that The Most High has deemed worthy of placement upon the Earth.
• Kujichagulia/Self-determination — Defining, naming, creating and speaking for ourselves (for our people); being in this world but not of it; being free of the mental, spiritual, and cultural incarcerations that inhumane and anti-African dementedness seek to impose upon and within our hearts, minds, and spirits.
• Ujima/Collective Work and Responsibility — Pursuing the greatest good for the greatest numbers of our people — in all areas of life; doing all we can, in every way we can, to help our sisters and brothers achieve the best outcomes that the potentials and/or challenges of life can bring; doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.
• Ujamaa/Cooperative Economics — Cultivating and activating economic consciousness and excellence; not falling in love with money and material trinkets, but loving to invest in and be supportive of the enterprises, efforts, and practices that improve the quality of our lives – family, community, “nation”, and race.
• Nia/Purpose — Gaining inspiration from Ancestral achievements and excellence; growing to know, respect and embrace the spirits of worthy ancestors; knowing our history as the superior creators and innovators in every area of human endeavor in the ancient world, and its ongoing impact; allowing that knowledge to serve as foundation and fuel for the works we must do as we pursue our traditional and potential greatness.
• Kuumba/Creativity – To do all we can, in every way we can, to grow in knowing and showing the power of the sacred essence which The Almighty has entrusted unto us; using that power to continue and expand the creation process, making our community – our world – more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it; growing in knowing and showing that we are “gods” — that we are capable of whatever the sacred essence inspires and empowers us to envision; knowing that what we decide to do or undo on earth is also bound or set loose in heaven.
• Imani/Faith – is the eternal flame of hope, courage and determination that is fueled by the presence and impact of the sacred essence within your being; it’s that ”something within” which wants us to know that without Works it is dead; it is the power which sent us the following message through Brother Ayi Kwei Armah (in “Two Thousand Seasons”) — “. . . there is a great force in the world, a force spiritual and able to shape the physical universe, but . . . that force is not something cut off, not something separate from ourselves. It is an energy in us, strongest in our working, breathing, thinking together as one people; weakest when we are scattered, confused, broken into individual, unconnected fragments.”
300 “Feast Days”
In addition to the Epagomenal Days, our Ancestors, in the relatively isolated and protected confines of the Nile Valley, saw fit to have over 300 “feast days” a year to help them stay focused on their highest potentials and greatest good. How much more must we do?
The least we can do is to establish some practices that make life in our homes and communities comparable to the “Feast Days” of Ancient Kemet. Consider the following set of suggestions.
Develop a Family Mission Statement: (example)
• “We are a family that follows principled behavior for loving relationships and character based on cultural, ethical values that we can pass on to our relatives, friends, associates and future generations. These values include the Nguzo Saba — Seven Cultural Principles of our African Way of Life. I promise to do all I can, in every way I can, to know and live these values to the fullest of my ability.”
• Include input and reflections from all members of the household, including the children and youth.
Create an environment that encourages and nurtures character/cultural development:
• Post the Seven Cultural Principles where they are available to everyone in the family
• Post words, phrases or visuals of the day/week/month on refrigerator, bulletin boards, or other convenient places
• Post things to be memorized in those convenient locations
• Post words of recognition, praise and congratulations for those who display desired development
• Use your imagination
• Insist on good character and cultural practices at all times by all members of the family
Family discussions (dinner time and other):
• Allow everyone to speak openly & honestly regarding their feelings about family values
• Discuss your observations regarding each one’s progress and areas for improvement
• Whom do you admire and why?
• What is the difference between a celebrity and a hero?
• What qualities would you like in the person you marry?
• Allow these discussions to make a profound impact on the 30-million word gap# under which too many of our children are said to suffer in the first 3-4 years of their lives, due to the lack of purposeful conversation in their homes, resulting in the development of an avoidance attitude when it comes to oral communications – and serious challenges in school.
# (“Talk grows your baby’s brain,” is one way it has been expressed. We need to encourage parents and guardians to talk to their children – almost all the time, about almost everything, weaving in the Pillars and Principles [by word and by deed] at every opportunity. Closing that 30-million word gap, in the most extreme cases, calls for as much as 2000 additional words of conversation per waking hour.)
Role play:
• Discuss and act out real or theoretical situations and the specific character values that apply for good outcomes
Assign character/cultural tasks:
• Individual household chores or tasks (indoors or outdoors)
• Chores or tasks requiring cooperation or teamwork
• Chores or tasks requiring service to others (within the household and/or within extended family or community)
• Decide on a family project of service to other households or the community (i.e. – helping another family with the implementation of this Character/Principles program when needed, due to circumstances such as working schedule of parent(s))
Develop a family library:
• Include historical, biographical books that reflect strong positive character/culture at work
• Fiction as well as non-fiction that encourage and demonstrate strong positive character/culture
• Take turns reading to one another daily (at least 20 minutes a day)
• Share and discuss your observations of what has been read
Be selective with television, videos & music:
• Develop effective strategies regarding TV, school homework and other assignments
• Exercise reasonable control over what children are allowed to watch
• Be selective regarding videos and video games, and music also
• Choose some programs, videos, games, music to be enjoyed and discussed together by the whole family
Parents/Adults: Be the model of what you teach!
• Remember – Children are inclined to emulate adults with whom they have positive relationship
Bro. Ayi Kwei Armah’s words in “Two Thousand Seasons” are appropriate for this, our Revolutionary enterprise: “This is work of undying worth, the only work of worth in these surroundings blighted with death’s tinsel, in all truth.” So let us be about this work – not only through the Kwanzaa/Nguzo Saba week, but for 300 days and more throughout the year! It’s the reason for every season under the sun!! The greatness awaits our return!!! It’s in our hands, if it’s in our hearts!!!