20 min
The Celebration of Kwanzaa Day 7: Imani (faith) Wiki History!
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- Historia
Hello history lovers and welcome to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it.
Habari gani,
I’m Robin the host and in-house historian at rememberinghistory.com and I’m so glad that you’ve come back for this great and groundbreaking show. We’ve been doing something a bit different from our usual podcast show when we talk about different issues affecting the African American community, and discuss the great contributions of African Americans to their communities, the country and world. Today we are celebrating the last and final day of Kwanzaa. Wow, what an experience but it’s coming to an end. And we will focus on an issue that is deeply rooted in African and African American culture: faith (or as we say in Swahili: Imani).
I’ll begin—as usual--by bidding you the traditional greeting of Kwanzaa in the Swahili language: Habari gani! If you’re just joining us, you’re very glad to have you with us and I would strongly urge you to listen to the 7 previous podcasts that introduce Kwanzaa and explain each of the days of Kwanzaa.
We learned yesterday that Kuumba or creativity is linked to finding and living your purpose (called Nia). They are both founded on knowing your historical and cultural identity. Your creativity is YOUR unique way of making the world into a better place; a place that is more beautiful, more beneficial and more productive than when you were born. If you have any questions, please contact us at rememberinghistory.com website or the Wiki History Podcast page on Facebook. Stay with us today—everyone is welcome around the Kwanzaa mat (the mkeka)—but please take time to listen to the previous shows.
Let’s prepare ourselves to begin to Kwanzaa celebration for the seventh and final day. Take a deep cleansing breath before the celebration begins or find another way to quiet and focus your thoughts and energy. Perhaps you want to stand and do a few stretching movements. Just take a moment to get centered and ready to begin the celebration. Remember Kwanzaa IS a celebration but please also show respect for this solemn ritual.
Day 7: Imani (faith)
Habari gani! Your response: Imani!
One more time: Habari gani! Imani!
Now please give me the Swahili greeting. (pause) Imani!
The 7th day of Kwanzaa falls on January 1st. That’s right on New Year’s Day.
The last day of Kwanzaa...the first day of the New Year...has been a time of serious appraisal for African people. Also known as the "Day of Meditation" or "Day of Assessment," it is a period of self-reflection related to things done and things yet to be done. Following in this tradition, it is a time to ask yourself AGAIN the following three questions that we started with on Day 1: "Who am I?" - "Am I really who I say I am" - "Am I all I ought to be?" In addition, this is also a day when many Kwanzaa participants choose to pay particular homage to the ancestors...those of the community as well as those of the family.
This seventh day of Kwanzaa is Imani! Again, it means faith. What does faith mean in the context of Kwanzaa?
Dr. Karenga thought of Imani as believing in ourselves, our people, our parents and teachers, our leaders and the righteousnessness and victory of our struggle. It also stresses the importance of our vision for a better community and for a better world.
In the context of African spirituality, faith begins with a belief in the Creator (God) and in the positivity of the creation. Recognizing that all African spiritual traditions believe that we are formed in the image of the Creator, we are capable of self-mastery and development in the context of positive support, the ability to self-correct, care for and be responsible for each other. This allows us to also believe in our ability to create a just and good society. Faith in ourselves is essential.
We must also believe in the value and validity of our struggle fo
Hello history lovers and welcome to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making it.
Habari gani,
I’m Robin the host and in-house historian at rememberinghistory.com and I’m so glad that you’ve come back for this great and groundbreaking show. We’ve been doing something a bit different from our usual podcast show when we talk about different issues affecting the African American community, and discuss the great contributions of African Americans to their communities, the country and world. Today we are celebrating the last and final day of Kwanzaa. Wow, what an experience but it’s coming to an end. And we will focus on an issue that is deeply rooted in African and African American culture: faith (or as we say in Swahili: Imani).
I’ll begin—as usual--by bidding you the traditional greeting of Kwanzaa in the Swahili language: Habari gani! If you’re just joining us, you’re very glad to have you with us and I would strongly urge you to listen to the 7 previous podcasts that introduce Kwanzaa and explain each of the days of Kwanzaa.
We learned yesterday that Kuumba or creativity is linked to finding and living your purpose (called Nia). They are both founded on knowing your historical and cultural identity. Your creativity is YOUR unique way of making the world into a better place; a place that is more beautiful, more beneficial and more productive than when you were born. If you have any questions, please contact us at rememberinghistory.com website or the Wiki History Podcast page on Facebook. Stay with us today—everyone is welcome around the Kwanzaa mat (the mkeka)—but please take time to listen to the previous shows.
Let’s prepare ourselves to begin to Kwanzaa celebration for the seventh and final day. Take a deep cleansing breath before the celebration begins or find another way to quiet and focus your thoughts and energy. Perhaps you want to stand and do a few stretching movements. Just take a moment to get centered and ready to begin the celebration. Remember Kwanzaa IS a celebration but please also show respect for this solemn ritual.
Day 7: Imani (faith)
Habari gani! Your response: Imani!
One more time: Habari gani! Imani!
Now please give me the Swahili greeting. (pause) Imani!
The 7th day of Kwanzaa falls on January 1st. That’s right on New Year’s Day.
The last day of Kwanzaa...the first day of the New Year...has been a time of serious appraisal for African people. Also known as the "Day of Meditation" or "Day of Assessment," it is a period of self-reflection related to things done and things yet to be done. Following in this tradition, it is a time to ask yourself AGAIN the following three questions that we started with on Day 1: "Who am I?" - "Am I really who I say I am" - "Am I all I ought to be?" In addition, this is also a day when many Kwanzaa participants choose to pay particular homage to the ancestors...those of the community as well as those of the family.
This seventh day of Kwanzaa is Imani! Again, it means faith. What does faith mean in the context of Kwanzaa?
Dr. Karenga thought of Imani as believing in ourselves, our people, our parents and teachers, our leaders and the righteousnessness and victory of our struggle. It also stresses the importance of our vision for a better community and for a better world.
In the context of African spirituality, faith begins with a belief in the Creator (God) and in the positivity of the creation. Recognizing that all African spiritual traditions believe that we are formed in the image of the Creator, we are capable of self-mastery and development in the context of positive support, the ability to self-correct, care for and be responsible for each other. This allows us to also believe in our ability to create a just and good society. Faith in ourselves is essential.
We must also believe in the value and validity of our struggle fo
20 min