JALIYA

Jaliya celebrating Kwanzaa an African/African American and Pan-African holiday that celebrates family, community, and culture.

It is a seven-day holiday that begins on December 26 and continues through January 1. The name of the holiday comes from the Swahili words matunda ya kwanza, which mean “first fruits.”  The holiday’s roots are in harvest celebrations that are recorded from the earliest periods of African history.  These celebrations bear various names that reflect the languages of the societies that have celebrated them as well as those that still celebrate them, including Pert-en-Min in ancient Egypt, Umkhosi in Zululand, Incwala in Swaziland, Odwira in Ashantiland, and Odu Ijesu in Yorubaland.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 in the United States by Dr. Maulana Karenga, an activist scholar who was professor and chair of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.  Rooted in ancient African history and culture, Kwanzaa was developed in the modern context of African American life and struggle as a reconstructed and expanded African tradition.  It emerged during the Civil Rights War of the 1960s and thus reflects the movement’s concern for self-determination, a “return to the source,” and the reaffirmation of African identity and culture.