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Welcome to the second day of Kwanzaa, Kujichagulia (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah) or 
self-determination: to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
If you are still wanting to make a kinara, the Family Fun website has a pattern you can use. Or, the “Family Education” website has a more involved version.
Family Fun also has a VERY cute Kwanzaa necklace made out of pasta.
And if you are feeling adventuresome, here here is a recipe for a Ghanian peanut butter soup.
As promised yesterday, here is more information on two more of the seven symbols, from the History.com website:
Mazao: Fruits, Nuts, and Vegetables
Mazao, the crops (fruits, nuts, and vegetables), symbolizes work and the basis of the holiday. It represents the historical foundation for Kwanzaa, the gathering of the people that is patterned after African harvest festivals in which joy, sharing, unity, and thanksgiving are the fruits of collective planning and work. Since the family is the basic social and economic center of every civilization, the celebration bonded family members, reaffirming their commitment and responsibility to each other. In Africa the family may have included several generations of two or more nuclear families, as well as distant relatives. Ancient Africans didn’t care how large the family was, but there was only one leader – the oldest male of the strongest group. For this reason, an entire village may have been composed of one family. The family was a limb of a tribe that shared common customs, cultural traditions, and political unity and were supposedly descended from common ancestors. The tribe lived by traditions that provided continuity and identity. Tribal laws often determined the value system, laws, and customs encompassing birth, adolescence, marriage, parenthood, maturity, and death. Through personal sacrifice and hard work, the farmers sowed seeds that brought forth new plant life to feed the people and other animals of the earth. To demonstrate their mazao, celebrants of Kwanzaa place nuts, fruit, and vegetables, representing work, on the mkeka or straw mat.
Mkeka: Place Mat
The mkeka, made from straw or cloth, comes directly from Africa and expresses history, culture, and tradition. It symbolizes the historical and traditional foundation for us to stand on and build our lives because today stands on our yesterdays, just as the other symbols stand on the mkeka. In 1965, James Baldwin wrote: “For history is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the facts that we carry it within us, are consciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations.” During Kwanzaa, we study, recall, and reflect on our history and the role we are to play as a legacy to the future. Ancient societies made mats from straw, the dried seams of grains, sowed and reaped collectively. The weavers took the stalks and created household baskets and mats. Today, we buy mkeka that are made from Kente cloth, African mud cloth, and other textiles from various areas of the African continent. The mishumaa saba (candles), the vibunzi (corn), the mazao (crops), the zawadi (gifts), the kikombe cha umoja (unity cup), and the kinara are placed directly on the mkeka.
Here is a site for an easy-to-make child’s version of the mkeka and here is another version. For a more involved mat (a project for an older child, or with Mom and/or Dad’s help), you can go here or here. Finally, here is a page of several Kwanzaa coloring pages. Happy creating!
