Habari Gani? Kuumba!
Today, on the sixth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Kuumba (Creativity) which is to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful & beneficial than we inherited it.
This sixth day is one of the most lively and festive of the holiday. Falling on December 31, New Years Eve, it is a time to celebrate!
Today is the Karamu feast, one of the most significant Kwanzaa celebrations overall. While the Karamu feast has various levels of formality – key elements are sharing a meal and cultural creative expression. Since it corresponds with the principle of Creativity (Kuumba), we encourage families to do arts and crafts activities. Then, the crafts can be given as Zawadi (gifts, which are exchanged on day seven, January 1).
Today’s arts & craft activity comes from our Communications Director, Lorena.
For many people, when they hear the word “creative” or “creativity”, they automatically think it is something exclusive to “artists” or that you have to be good at drawing. For me, we are all artists; and creating and creativity are a part of our birthright! When we create, we tap into our humanness and our desire to make beauty and meaning of our shared experience.
This Kuumba, I invite you and your family to get messy and learn more Adinkra symbols and textiles through a fun printmaking activity.
Adinkra is a printed or stamped traditional cloth made by the Ashanti people in Ghana. Adinkra cloths are thought to have a protective function and they communicate messages through their designs, which relate to sayings or proverbs.
Click the button below to read all steps and learn more about how Adinkra stamps and cloths are handmade in Ghana.
Enjoy!
-Lorena