Nakumbuka is a Kiswahili word that means I remember.
Nakumbuka is the name given to the annual day of observance for the Maafa (The African slavery holocaust).
Jomo Nkombe, a Tanzanian who lived in Canada, pioneered the idea of nakumbuka as a public ritual in 1990. From early youth, Nkombe was mindful of the slave trade initiated from the East African Coast. On coming to North America as a student, he met Americans and West Indians of African Heritage and became drawn into the history of the transatlantic slave trade from the West African Coast.
November 11 each year is observed as Veterans Day in the USA (Remembrance Day in Canada). The English, French, and Americans honor the Unknown Soldier; so Nkombe reasoned that we of African Heritage should also be honoring our unknown warriors who fell resisting slavery.
Observance of November 11 began as the anniversary of the Armistice, signed by the Allies and the Germans in 1918, which ended World War I.
In the early years following, Armistice Day was observed all over the world and particularly by the Anglo-Europeans in schools and churches and at the tombs of the Unknown Soldiers, where the Chief Executive or his representative placed a wreath. In many other communities, the American Legion was in charge of the observance, which included parades and religious services. At 11 A.M., all traffic stopped in tribute to the dead, cannons released volleys, and taps sounded.
November 11 has become a time to honor all those who have fought in various American wars, not just in World War I, but service members of all America’s wars. Although service members of African heritage lost their lives in the World Wars and subsequent imperialist wars, Veterans Day or Remembrance Day did not resonate with people of African heritage.
These wars were not pursued for the benefit of Pan-African liberation movements.
Nkombe’s idea was to commemorate Africans who died in slave rebellions and resisting slavery on the same day 11th November that America and the rest of the world commemorated their dead.
In 1990, Nkombe met with Ancestor Charles’ Mende’ Roach, a Canadian Jurist born in Trinidad, and requested him to take the idea to the World Pan African Movement, which was holding a Conference in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1991. At that conference, attendees determined that the World Pan African Movement promote Nakumbuka specifically with the idea of raising consciousness of the Maafa (African slavery holocaust) in which many millions died.
Nakumbuka was also tied to the idea of reparations for slavery. Among those who attended the Lagos Conference was an African American, Duane Bradford (Baye Kes-Ba-Me-Ra).
The first Nakumbuka ceremonies in Canada were in the early Nineties in Toronto, organized by Nkombe and Ancestor Roach.
It consisted of street processions symbolically called Bwagomoyo to Ujiji. This symbol memorialized the slave route from Bwagomoyo in the interior, to the slave trans-shipment point of Ujiji on the shores of what is now Tanzania. The participants regaled themselves in African clothing and some in slave garb with shackles. At the end of the processions, there was the breaking of chains ceremony and the oath of Nakumbuka, which involved a pledge for a lifelong struggle for the liberation of Africa and African people.
Part of the Nakumbuka ritual involves a call–and–response recitation of the names of ports from which enslaved Africans were taken away; participants respond with “nakumbuka!”
The first Nakumbuka Day observance in the U.S. was on November 11, 1994 in San Diego, California. and was created and facilitated by Baye Kes-Ba-Me-Ra (Duane Bradford). It was held at San Diego State University and hosted by ancestor Dr. Shikana Orrca-Tettah Temille Porter) also a member of the Association of Black Psychologists and consisted of a call and response of Nakumbuka. It has now been observed in the U.S. for 31 years.
In 2003, Nakumbuka was celebrated for the first time in Jamaica when Basil Lopez “Kusoonogo” introduced it there with the support of the faculty and administration of Mico College in Kingston. That commemoration was qualitatively different as the officialdom of the country was involved. The Governor of the country participated in the procession.
The Maafa is the unique historical fact that binds together those of African heritage. The aspiration of the Pan African Movement is to have Nakumbuka observed worldwide wherever people of Black African Heritage live.
In this season of gratitude, let’s acknowledge Nakumbuka Day and never forget our heritage before, during, and after the Maafa.
Duane Bradford
Bro. Baye Kes-Ba-Me-Ra (Duane Bradford), is a native of San Diego, California (USA). He holds a M.S. degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, B.A. degrees in Political Science, French Language and Human Behavior and an A.A. degree in French Language with extensive studies in the areas of Pan-Africanism, African-centered philosophy, African-centered education, journalism, and 30 years of experience in treating substance misuse and mental health issues among African peoples in the Americas and on the African continent. He is a member of the San Diego chapter of the Association of Black Psychologist and the 1994 recipient of the Abpsi Bobby E. Wright Community Service Award.
Images: Kofi Nartey on Unsplash
