The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa Mobile
Illustrate Core Pan-African Values With This Holiday Craft Project
Dec 14, 2008
Kwanzaa, beginning on December 26 and lasting for seven days, is a celebration of family, community and culture in the African American and Pan-African communities. As Dr. Maulana Karenga says on the Official Kwanzaa Website, “Kwanzaa brings a cultural message [to the world] which speaks to the best of what it means to be African and human in the fullest sense.”
The Nguzo Saba
Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday steeped in the foundational values represented through seven core principles. These principles—the Nguzo Saba—are often expressed first in Swahili. They are:
- Umoja – Unity
- Kujichagulia – Self-determination
- Ujima – Collective Work & Responsibility
- Ujamaa – Cooperative Economics
- Nia – Purpose
- Kuumba – Creativity
- Imani – Faith
The Bendera and the Mishumaa Saba
The Bendera is the flag of Kwanzaa. The color black on the flag represents African people wherever they live throughout the world. Red represents the struggles of African people around the world. Green represents the future and the hope that comes from the struggle of the African people.
The Mishumaa Saba, or seven candles, are symbolic of the Seven Principles. They remind the celebrants of the core values by which African people and people of African heritage are urged to live.
Typically, the candles sit on a Kinara, a candle holder. The Kinara is a symbol of the deep African roots, the parent people, continental Africans.
Materials Needed to Make The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa Mobile
- Construction paper: black, red, green (one 12 x 9 inch sheet of each color)
- Small scraps of yellow paper
- Ribbon (at least 52 inches)
- Glue, scissors, ruler, marker, etc.
How to Make the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa Mobile
- Start by cutting the ribbon into the following lengths: 1 piece of 12 inches; 1 piece of 4 inches; 2 pieces of 5 inches each; 2 pieces of 6 inches each; 2 pieces of 7 inches each.
- Next, create the Bendera, or Kwanzaa flag. Cut one black rectangle (6 x 9 inches). Cut two strips of red and two of green (2 x 9 inches each). Glue the strips to both sides of the black base, positioning them so that the red is on top and green on the bottom, with a strip of black showing in the middle.
- Note: When gluing the top red strip to the base, place the two ends of the 12 inch ribbon between the red paper and the black base, securing it in place to form a hanger for the mobile. Do the same when gluing the bottom green strip to the tagboard: insert one end of each of the seven ribbons to secure them between the green paper and the base. Arrange the ribbons so that the shortest one is in the middle, the next longer ones are on either side, and so on in order of length.
- Design the Mishumaa Saba (the seven candles). Cut seven rectangles (1 x 6 inches each) for the candles (3 red, 1 black, 3 green). Write the Swahili name for and/or draw the Nguzo Saba symbols that represent each of the seven principles, one on each candle.
- Finally, cut two flame shapes for each candle from yellow scrap paper. Glue two flame shapes together (back-to-back), with the dangling end of a ribbon secured in-between. Do the same for each set of candle flames. Then glue each of the seven flames to tops of the seven candle sticks, arranging them in the order of the Kwanza colors: 3 red, 1 black in the middle, and 3 green.
The Nguzo Saba (Seven Principles of Kwanzaa) mobile represents the core values expressed through the Kwanza holiday. This Kwanzaa craft project combines the symbols of the Bendera (Kwanzaa flag) and the Mishumaa Saba (seven Kwanzaa candles). The Swahili words and the symbols represented on the candles are a reminder of the deep roots of this African American and Pan-African celebration.
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