Aesthetics 6250 A.U. is open for submissions!
In 2K11 PKDG's Arts and Aesthetics Collective is doing something new with Aesthetics Magazine. In addition to receiving submissions for art and fashion we are now accepting prose. Articles, essays, poetry etc. So spread the word. For more info and to see past issues, see the link below.
Aesthetics 6250 A.U. - afrakan axis. expression unlimited.
Kwanzaa, created by Dr. Maulana Karenga and celebrated from December 26 through January 1, reflects an ancient tradition of first harvest celebrations, and is a time for "ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment and celebration." The celebration was created in part to serve as a regular communal celebration to reaffirm and reinforce the bonds between us as a people. It was designed to be an ingathering to strengthen community and reaffirm common identity, purpose and direction as a people and a world community. Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one so it is available to and practiced by Africans of all religious faiths.
Kwanzaa promotes the seven following principles:
1) Umoja (unity)
2) Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
3) Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
4) Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
5) Nia (Purpose)
6) Kuumba (Creativity)
7) Imani (Faith)
This stress on the Nguzo Saba is an emphasis on the importance of African communitarian values in general, which stress family, community and culture and speak to the best of what it means to be African in the fullest sense. They are a foundational value system for building family, community and maintaining culture.
5 Easy Ways to Celebrate Kwanzaa
1. Griots and djembes:
Invite Afrakan storytellers, musicians, and artists to your gathering to inspire your guests as they eat aperitifs and mingle.
2. Take Kwanzaa on the road:
On each day of Kwanzaa get together with your friends, coworkers or gather up the little ones to demonstrate that particular principle for the benefit of others. For example, on the day of Ujima promote a clothing & canned food drive door to door in your neighborhood to benefit underprivileged youth or the elderly of your community. Remember to wear traditional African garb, and say "asante sana" after they load up your baskets.
3. Our ancestors - the first ones to reap any harvest:
There would be no harvest for us without the hard work of those who nourished our parents, grandparents and so on in order for our families to continue. Honor the efforts and challenges of our forbearers by fasting on only fruit and water from noon to sunset each day. On the final day, walk in silence with your family to a body of water and offer fruit as you all call out the names of cherished loved ones who came before.
4. Wisdom of the old ways:
In many African traditions, a child's purpose and challenges are determined while it is still in it's mother's womb. This way the family can prepare to give that child what it needs to succeed and fulfill it's mission. It is never too late to realign with one's purpose. On the day of Nia, consider having a qualified priest/ess perform a reading for each of your family's members and for you all as one family whole. Take heed of and take pride in the wisdom you gain.
5. A feast fit for royally:
On the final day, have a grand feast featuring traditional African foods and preparations. After dinner, watch an African-centerd film like Quilombo or a Warm December. Listen to the music of Fela Kuti or Miriam Makeba. Enjoy each other as you light the final candle and committ to another year of cultural, familial and community-wide adherence to the Nguzo Saba.
Sherekea limbuka!
Enjoy the fruits of your celebration!
Remember to set up your Kwanzaa alter. Click here for the procedure: Lighting the Kinara and more
Referenced from Dr. Maulana Karenga and the
officialkwanzaawebsite.org
The cultural creativity of Afrakan people is ever redemptive. Afrakans in America continue in the ways of their continental ancestors in conceiving ongoing methods of institutionalizing our unique heritage. This is the time of the holiday tradition of Umoja Karamu. This celebration was initiated in 1971 by Brother Edward Simms, Jr. of Philadelphia, Pa. Umoja Karamu is a Swahili term that translates as “unity feast.” As practiced in The Temple of the Black Messiah, Umoja Karamu is held on the fourth Sunday in November.
Its purpose is to instill a sense of unity and appreciation of Afrakan heritage into Afrakan families. This is done through prayers to the traditional deities of Afraka, libations to honor our Afrakan ancestors, historical Afrakan centered readings and Afrakan centered films all of which culminates in a healthy, nutritious feast. In his own words Brother Edward Simms, Jr. states "[Umoja Karamu] injects new meaning and solidarity into the Black Family through ceremony and symbol. It is unique in that it bridges the gap between diverse religious persuasions through a ritual which is easily understood and appreciated by all the participants. Moreover, it draws on the collective Black experience with which most Black Folks are familiar."
The Umoja Karamu celebration is based on five major epochs in the lives of Afrakans in America and each represented by a distinct color. The feast should include foods representing the color of each epoch.The prayers, libations, historical readings and films should also center around these events:
1st Epoch - Afrakans prior to the invasions and influence of Europeans and Arabs. The color Black, is used to delineate the unity of the Afrakan people.
2nd Epoch - Captivity of Afrakans during which the Maafa occurs. The color white symbolizes the adversary and their role in the attempted destruction of Afrakan culture.
3rd Epoch - Self Emancipation. The fight against forced labor and captivity in the United States of America through revolts, Civil Rights and the Black Power movements. The color red is used to represent those who lived and died in service of freeing captive Afrakans.
4th Epoch - National Liberation. The fight for decolonization of Afrakan countries the formation of the Organization for Afrakan Unity and the diasporac Afrakan liberation movements. The chosen color is green, symbolic of land and all that comes from it.
5th Epoch – The Future of Afraka and Afrakans. The Afrakan Union, The African Socialist International, The Sankofa Movement. Afrakan centered perspectives for the future. The color gold is chosen for the future is a most valuable asset.
Kwanzaa, Umoja Karamu, Odunde. Afrakans in America – earnestly engaged in the reclamation of their culture and its institutionalization.
How often does a conscience, cultural cruise to the birthplace of one of the most influential leaders of the Afrakan diaspora occur? Not often. Where does one get the chance to meet other politically astute Afrakns while enjoying all the amenities of a cruise ship while en route to the Caribbean? Where else but onThe Marcus Garvey Legacy Cruise sponsored by The African People's Socialist Party. To learn more visit the link below.
In my last post we dealt a bit with the concept of self-mastery, as illustrated in the epic tale of Ausar, Auset and Heru. This concept is, to me, the whole point of the teachings. Sure, ultimately one could achieve "enlightenment" by studying the wisdom teachings, commune with the divine and gain entry into Pet (heaven) having resolved all of one's meskhenet (karma). But that is a lofty goal to say the least. Let's say we'll work our way up to that place of ideal spirituality. Even if that is your goal, you have to start somewhere.
For me, the starting point is self-mastery. It is a goal I can gauge, plot and eventually attain. I can tell when I'm succeeding based on how I react to others (especially when they really tick me off). It's like, the more I focus on my own self-control, or as I like to call it, my own sense of "self-awareness," everything else becomes muted and I can see myself as a causal force in the center of events.
If you want to kind of play around with this idea of self-awareness, here is an exercise I do often. It is based on a simple combination of fasting and meditation, as taught by ancient Afrakan priests and other teachers of spiritual discipline.
1st Guideline:
Eat only fruit in the morning and then for at least 7 hours eat nothing, drink only water. After the 7 hours, you may eat fruit again.
2nd Guideline:
Ignore your TV, phone, friends etc and sequester yourself in a quiet and private place where you won't be disturbed. For the 7 hours you may read wisdom texts and meditate on their meanings.
3rd Guideline:
To strengthen your self-mastery, recite hekau (mantras) to focus your mind while you breathe to a specific rhythm. I use "pot belly breathing" also known as pranayama...
-Sekayi Khita Hetep
I love wisdom teachings, whether they be proverbs, stories or mythologies, because of their ability to convey deep thought in a way that truly penetrates the mind. Being told that you should control your emotions is rather flat, compared to hearing an epic story of a hero or heroine who, while traveling along through much adventure, faces colorful characters who challenge him/ her and prove that the only way to defeat them is to shine a pure light of energy from the heart… a light that our heroine learned how to wield along her journey… now that really drives the point home and even entertains in the process. My favorite wisdom teachings originate in Afraka, and are full of drama, logic, and consequences that enrich.
One of the oldest and most retold stories is that of the Ausarian Resurrection. In ancient Kemet (known today as Egypt) the gods ruled the land with wisdom and evenhandedness. The land was fertile and the people prospered. Presiding over Kemet, were Ausar and Auset, who's love was a thing to behold. As their love and national prosperity grew, they aroused the jealousy of Ausar's brother Set who conspired in the shadows to overthrow his brother and take the throne for himself. Through trickery Set manages to kill Ausar by trapping him in a coffin and throwing that coffin into the sea. Auset, queen and devoted wife, searches near and far for her husband's body, eventually finding it had grown into a tree in a far away kingdom. She is able to retrieve it and returns home with it to Kemet. Once Set learns of Auset's efforts he promptly arrives to put an end to her plans to revive him. Set chops Ausar's body up into 13 pieces and spreads these remains across the distant reaches of the world.
Auset collects all of the pieces save one, his phallus and returns home once again to Kemet. There, with the help of her sister Nebethet, she performs sacred ritual over his remains and calls forth Ausar's spirit.
Through their spiritual union a child is conceived...
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