By Claude Wilson, Gleaner WriterAFRO-CENTRIC Jamaicans will join African-Americans in the United States in celebrating the annual seven-day family-oriented festival of Kwanzaa, which begins on December 26, Boxing Day.
Dubbed 'Kwanzaa A Yard 4', the local celebration is being hosted at Wilderness House of Arts along the St. Mary highway between the small town of Galina and Oracabessa.
According to festival co-ordinator Ireko Baker, the events commence at 3:00 p.m. each day with collective discussions conducted by invited subject specialists leading the discourse on one of the seven principals of Kwanzaa.
FOUNDED IN THE UNITED STATES
Founded in the United States in 1966, Kwanzaa has began gaining adherents in Jamaica. The observance is rooted in an old African first harvest tradition that largely emphasises family and community togetherness.
Kwanzaa in part resembles the Judeo-Christian fall festival, Feast of Tabernacle, and the secular Jewish feast, Hanukkah, in its emphasis on the family.
But, unlike the first fruit festival of the Bible, Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday. It is a secular, cultural observance created to celebrate the black family, culture and community.
NOT AN ALTERNATIVE TO CHRISTMAS
"Kwanzaa is not an alternative to Christmas; it is celebrated as a pan-African cultural family holiday with its main aims being reaffirmation of our heritage, restoration of our cultural livelihood and celebration of all that is good in our lives," explained Shola Arewa, author of the book 'Opening to Spirit' and founder/director of Inner Vision in London, United Kingdom.
US President Bill Clinton validated Kwanzaa observance before leaving office in 2000.
"Kwanzaa focuses on the values that have sustained African-American through the centuries," he said.
The St. Mary celebration, which, according to Ireko, is one of at least three such observations of Kwanzaa across the island, will include video presentations, spiritually uplifting music, workshops, exchange of dietary information and traditional African wisdom.
Discourses on the principles of Kwanzaa are to be led by neutral medicine consultant Dr. Donovan White (self-determination), Gleaner columnist Amina Blackwood Meeks (creativity), JCDC executive director Marcia Hextall (unity), and Sister P (faith).
The celebrations end January 1, New Year's Day.
