Khalid Abdul Muhammad (1948-2001) will be forever remembered as a leader amongst leaders and our Black revolutionary General who gave the African nation an example of true love, commitment, sacrifice, and manhood. He gave us a clear example of what it takes to become the righteous and self-governing people that we once were and will be again.
In 1995, Khalid Muhammad created an African Holiday (Holy Day) called “GYE NYAME.”
GYE NYAME means “None is greater than God the Creator.” It serves as a central symbol amongst the great and powerful Adinkra symbols given to us by our sisters and brothers in West Africa.
General Khalid Muhammad felt a strong need to create this powerful holiday through the tradition of MAAT, Yoruba, and the mighty Akan. GYE NYAME was created to keep our people connected to our mother Africa and to have an alternative to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. It was first celebrated in Cleveland, Ohio, by over (500) Pan-Africanists in a study circle called Egbe Nyame.
This beautiful celebration and commemoration designed to be acknowledged and practiced on the (4th) Thursday of November. I am most confident that this holiday will be celebrated by Black people, not only in North America but throughout the world. When Maulana Karenga created the cultural celebration of KWANZAA, many of our people thought it was merely a small cultural fad that would eventually just fade away. I don’t need to elaborate on what the first celebration of KWANZAA in 1966 has blossomed into today.
GYE NYAME’s Symbols and Rituals
GYE NYAME is an enriched ceremony that includes libation, prayer, and the altar, which houses the (9) cultural and spiritual symbols.
1-The Fitila (Black GYE NYME candle holder and the white candles (2-3 inches) This is GYE NYAME’s nucleus symbol, which represents the spiritual and binding energy of our prayers emitted into the universe.
2-The Eni and Aseea (MAAT and African Universal Flag-Red, Black, and Green) The mat represents the elders who stand on the threshold of the ancestral realm. The flag is our Universal African liberation flag given to us by the Honorable Marcus Garvey through the authorization of the (UNIA-ACL) Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
3-The Ife Ashe (Communal unity cup) The unity cup is very essential to the ceremony. Once the ritual begins, whoever lights the candles first sips (or gestures) to drink from the unity cup and then passes it on to the elders and around the circle. To acknowledge the sacredness of the gesture, the cup should be held with both hands as it is being passed around.
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