Kuumba (Creativity) - To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. - Karenga
More from Karenga on Kuumba:
"It is a commitment to being creative within the context of the national community vocation of restoring our people to their traditional gretness and thus leaving our community more beneficial and beautiful then we, i.e., each generation, inherited it. The principle has both a social and spiritual dimension and is deeply rooted in both social and sacred teachings of African societies."
From others and what Kuumba means to them:
Guiding spirits honored as Kwanzaa continues - Democrat and Chronicle.com, Rochester, NY - "David Anderson held what looked like a chalice high over his head as members of an audience of about 60 shouted names in his direction. The names were likely those of parents, grandparents, siblings — representations of spirits that, while long gone, will always serve as guides in the struggle to maintain responsibility, respect and charity in one's life. Anderson then, as a part of the sixth day of Kwanzaa celebrations held in the Rochester area, poured water from the Kikombe cha umoja, or unity cup, over a bowl of soil as a remembrance to ancestors. He also says, ". . .it's important for the younger generation to recognize elders and learn from their teachings. This is also the way the principles of Kwanzaa, which include faith and collective work and responsibility, should be recognized throughout the year."
Living Kwanzaa: The sixth principle is creativity - RecordOnline.com, Josephine Finn represents the principle of creativity. “I tell people that when we make an honest effort to learn or do whatever we must, the creative spirit in the universe will assist us in that task,” she says.
Kwanzaa dinner unifies friends - Lawrence Journal-World, “For me Kwanzaa is a reminder of my heritage, and it’s a time for me to celebrate the survival of those tribal traditions that got my people through slavery,” said Turner, a Kansas University doctoral student and director of AARP Kansas.
When describing Kuumba in the first paragraph, Karenga used words such as "sacred" and "spiritual." The celebrants of Kwanzaa in the other paragraphs considered ancestors as "representatives of spirits" and that we'll be assisted by the "creative spirit" in the universe. Not claiming to be religious but showing religious qualities, Kwanzaa remains a borderline religious ceremony.
Next, the last day of Kwanzaa, Imani (faith).
