Nguzo Saba (the seven principles)
The Nguzo Saba are the seven principles of Kwanzaa, one for each day from 26 December to 1 January: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).
Meaning
Nguzo saba (n-GU-zo SA-ba) is “the seven principles” in the holiday’s own translation. Word for word, in Madan’s Swahili-English dictionary of 1903, saba is seven and nguzo is a “pillar, supporting column, post”, and figuratively “fundamental principles”, as in nguzo ya imani, the articles or pillars of faith; in house-building, nguzo are the poles that hold up the roof. Maulana Karenga set out the principles as “the moral minimum set of African values” that African Americans needed to rebuild and strengthen family, community and culture. Each has its day and its candle in the Kinara (see Mishumaa saba (the seven candles)), and each day’s greeting is “Habari gani?”, answered with that day’s principle. The official Kwanzaa website asks that a poster or some written form of the Nguzo Saba always be part of the Kwanzaa set; it is one of the holiday’s two supplemental symbols, beside the flag.
Origin and history
The principles came before the holiday. Karenga co-founded the organisation Us on 7 September 1965, Britannica records, and gave it a doctrine, Kawaida, with a value system for the group and for all people of African heritage: the Nguzo Saba, which he developed from his knowledge of African culture and the Swahili language. A diagram on the official Kwanzaa website still carries the date “© 1965”. He created Kwanzaa in 1966, Britannica writes, to introduce the principles on a national level, and the official website names introducing and reinforcing the Nguzo Saba as one of the reasons the holiday was made. The National Museum of African American History and Culture describes the principles as drawn from communitarian values found throughout Africa. Swahili, the official website explains, was chosen as a Pan-African language, to reflect a commitment to the whole of Africa rather than to one people.
The seven principles day by day
The definitions are Karenga’s, as the official Kwanzaa website gives them.
| Day | Date | Principle | Definition | Candle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 December | Umoja (unity) | To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. | Black |
| 2 | 27 December | Kujichagulia (self-determination) | To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. | Red |
| 3 | 28 December | Ujima (collective work and responsibility) | To build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together. | Green |
| 4 | 29 December | Ujamaa (cooperative economics) | To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. | Red |
| 5 | 30 December | Nia (purpose) | To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. | Green |
| 6 | 31 December | 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. | Red |
| 7 | 1 January | Imani (faith) | To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. | Green |
What the Swahili words mean
Several of the names are everyday Swahili words. Madan’s dictionary gives umoja as “oneness, unity, identity, concord”; ujima as “work in common, co-operation, mutual help”, as when neighbours build a house or bring in a harvest together; nia as “intention, purpose, resolve”; and imani as “faith, trust, confidence”. Ujamaa, the official website notes, “literally means familyhood”.
A symbol for each principle
The official website pairs each principle with a symbol from an African tradition. Umoja has the Dagi knot, which it calls a Pan-African symbol of unity found among the Yoruba, the Hausa and the Bushongo. Kujichagulia has the Akan throne; Ujima, the Adinkra symbol akoma ntoaso, of shared effort and obligation; Ujamaa, two interlocking half circles, the Nsibidi symbol of togetherness and family; Nia, the Egyptian hieroglyph nefer, beauty and good; Kuumba, the Dogon “seven vibrations of divine creation”. Imani has the Egyptian ankh and djed together, for life and for stability.
Read next
- Next in Kwanzaa symbolsKinaraThe kinara is the candleholder of Kwanzaa, made to hold seven candles in a row: three red, one black in the centre and three green. Maulana Karenga, who created the holiday in 1966, calls it a symbol of “our roots, our parent people”, the peoples of Africa.
- The official Kwanzaa website pairs Imani (faith) with the ankh and the djedAnkhThe ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for “life”: a T shape with a loop on top, held by the gods and worn as an amulet.
See also
Mishumaa saba (the seven candles), Kikombe cha umoja (the unity cup), Djed pillar, Kwanzaa colours (bendera), Mkeka (the mat), Mazao (the crops).
Sources
- The Symbols of Kwanzaa (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “The Symbols of Kwanzaa”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), Supplemental Symbols: Nguzo Saba Poster
- Kwanzaa: Roots and Branches (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Kwanzaa: Roots and Branches”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), National and Pan-African Meaning (from Karenga, p. 31)
- Umoja (Unity) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Umoja (Unity)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading and symbol caption
- Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading and symbol caption
- Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading and symbol caption
- Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading, symbol caption and introduction
- Nia (Purpose) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Nia (Purpose)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading and symbol caption
- Kuumba (Creativity) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Kuumba (Creativity)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading and symbol caption
- Imani (Faith) (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Imani (Faith)”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), heading and symbol caption
- Maulana Karenga (Encyclopaedia Britannica), Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Maulana Karenga”, Encyclopaedia Britannica, section “US and Kwanzaa”
- Kwanzaa (National Museum of African American History and Culture), National Museum of African American History and Culture, “Kwanzaa”, Explore: Moments, National Museum of African American History and Culture (Smithsonian), introduction and history
- Swahili-English Dictionary (A. C. Madan, 1903), A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), Internet Archive (University of California Libraries scan), entries Nguzo; Umoja; Ujima; Nia; Imani; Saba
- The Celebration (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “The Celebration”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), Candle Lighting
- Greetings, Gifts, and Colors and Decorations (Official Kwanzaa Website), Organization Us, Official Kwanzaa Website, “Greetings, Gifts, and Colors and Decorations”; text summarised from Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture (University of Sankore Press, 2008), Official Kwanzaa Website (Organization Us), Greetings
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Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 8, 2026. How we research
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