GATHERINGS CELEBRATE BEGINNING OF KWANZAA.

Byline: Sharline Chiang Daily News Staff Writer

From private gatherings in homes to outdoor ceremonies filled with colorful dancers and music, African-American families across the Los Angeles kicked off the seven-day Kwanzaa celebration of unity on Friday.

Having just enjoyed Christmas, Daa'iyah Muhammad, 20, of North Hollywood, spent the first day of Kwanzaa - called Umoja - at home exchanging gifts with loved ones.

The daughter of a Muslim father and Christian mother, Muhammad said Kwanzaa offers her family a separate holiday to cherish their common heritage.

``Kwanzaa is a celebration of African-Americans getting together and getting to know ourselves,'' she said.

``A lot of African-Americans have become so Americanized, it's sort of a way to a way of getting back to our culture and spirituality.''

The Kwanzaa Gwaride festival, sponsored by the Kwanzaa People of Color, soared at Leimert Park in Los Angeles, where participants began the day with the ritual pouring of the libation. Today, they'll stage a parade that starts at 9 a.m. at Adams and Crenshaw boulevards and ends in the park.

On South Crenshaw Boulevard, the city's Department of Water and Power and Kwanzaa Fest Inc. joined to sponsor another celebration, which opened with a candle-lighting ceremony.

Maulana Karenga, head of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966 to celebrate African-American unity and values such as self-determination, responsibility and creativity.

While more and more families are celebrating Kwanzaa, many African-Americans are just learning about the holiday, its traditions and meaning, organizers said. Many people still need to understand that Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, one that does not conflict with religious holidays such as Christmas, said Melva Parhams, president of Kwanzaa Fest Inc.

``They look at us and say, `What are they doing?' So we show them,'' Parhams said.

``My hope is for everyone to participate and get involved so they can learn to celebrate a holiday designed with them specifically in mind.''

Kwanzaa is based on Nguzo Saba, Swahili for seven principles, which are celebrated each day. The principals are:

First day, Umoja, for unity;

Second day, Kujichagulia, for self-determination;

Third day, Ujima, for collective work and responsibility;

Fourth day, Ujamaa, for cooperative economics;

Fifth day, Nia, for purpose;

Sixth day, Kuumba, for creativity;

Seventh day, Imani, for faith.

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4 Photos

PHOTO (1) Adwda Nyamekye, 6, waits for the Kwanzaa Gwaride festival to begin Friday at Leimert Park in Los Angeles.

David R. Crane/Daily News

(2) Kwanzaa Queen Taresha May, left, lights a candle downtown to mark Umoja, the first day of the holiday.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News

(3--4) A dancer representing a gazelle, left, performs during the Kwanzaa celebration Friday at Leimert Park. Musicians in African-inspired clothes, above, play drums and kazoos to provide spirited accompaniment.

David R. Crane/Daily News