Rastafarianism

"The Rastafarian movement is no longer a mere revolutionary movement; it has become a part of the establishment, a part of officialdom."
~L. Barret

Rastafari is, before it is anything else, a way of life. It offers approaches and answers to real problems black people face in daily living; it promotes spiritual resilience in the face of oppressive poverty and underdevelopment. It produces art, music and cultural forms, which can be universally recognized and appreciated. More important, Rastafari provides a positive self-image, an alternative to people who need and cannot find or accept one elsewhere. I will reflect on the Rastafarian lifestyle, including history, population, music, symbols, and beliefs. The original Rastas drew their inspiration from the philosophies of Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940), who promoted the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in the 1920s. The organization 's main goal was to unite black people with their rightful homeland, Africa. Garvey believed that all black people in the western world should return to Africa since they were all descended from Africans. He preached that the European colonizers, having fragmented the African continent, unfairly spread the African population throughout the world. As a result, blacks were not able to organize themselves politically or express themselves socially. Their intellect had been stunted by continuous European oppression. Enslavement had provided blacks with a "slave mentality" so that they had come to accept white racist definitions of themselves as inferior. For Garvey, blacks in the Americas had not only been repressed physically, but their minds had been affected by years of white subordination. Slavery had degregaded them so badly that they actually considered themselves as little more than slaves.
As a result, programs aimed at the gradual integration of blacks into white society were worthless in Garvey 's eyes. His mission was to restore the lost dignity of blacks by severing ties with the white world. As he expressed in the New York Times on August 3, 1920, "We shall organize the four hundred million Negroes of the world into a vast organization to plant the banner of freedom on the great continent of Africa... If Europe is for Europeans, then Africa is for the black people of the world." After spending nearly a decade in the United States and Great Britain, Garvey returned to Jamaica in 1927, where he spread his political views among the black working class. He assured his followers, "No one knows when the hour of Africa 's redemption cometh. It is in the wind. It is coming. One day, like a storm, it will be here." He told blacks to "look to Africa for the crowning of a king to know that your redemption is near." This prophecy was fulfilled when in 1930 Prince Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned the new Emperor of Ethiopia. This is from where the Rasta movement took its name. Upon his coronation, he claimed for himself the title of Emperor Haile Selassie (Power of the Trinity) I. This announcement was a monumental event that many blacks in Africa and the Americas saw as the fulfillment of Garvey 's prophecy years before. After the crowning of Selassie, the Rastafarian movement gained a following and officially began. Ironically, Selassie was never a Rastafarian himself, and no one is really sure what he ever thought of his following. Also noteworthy is the fact that Garvey himself was admittedly not an admirer of Haile Selassie, and he went as far as to attack the Ethiopians as "crazy fanatics." "Nearly every black movement in recent American history inherits some legacy from Marcus Garvey---through the Urban League, the Black Panthers, the Republic of New Africa, People United to save humanity (PUSH), the Nation of Islam, and other groups. Garvey 's influence lives on. His memory certainly lives among the Rastafarians of his homeland"(Nicholas 16). There are between 3,000 and 5,000 Rastafarians in the United States. However, these figures may be slightly distorted as a result of the large number of people who have adopted the external appearance of Rastafarians. Worldwide, the total following is approximately 1,000,000 people. Most members are male. Traditionally, women have played a very minor role in Rastafarianism. Until 1965, the membership was essentially lower class, but this is no longer the case. Once considered "products of the slum," the Rastas have now penetrated the middle class. At present, the overwhelming majority of members are African, but there are also Chinese, East Indians, Afro-Chinese, Afro-Jews, mulattoes, and a few whites. Rastafarians are predominantly ex-Christians. As Dr. E.E. Cashmore observed, "The belief system of Ras Tafari was so vague and loosely defined, even at its inception, due to its lack of a single authoritative voice, that what was to be acceptable doctrine was largely matter of individual interpretation." However, in spite of that claim, early in the history of the movement Leonard Howell gave the Rastafarians six fundamental principles:
1. Hatred for the white race.
2. The complete superiority of the black race.
3. Revenge on whites for their wickedness.
4. The negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica.
5. Preparation to go back to Africa, and
6. Acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of black people.
Further, there are three overriding concepts that are key to Rastafarian beliefs:
Babylon: "Babylon" is the Rastafarian term for the white political power structure that has been holding the black race down for centuries. In the past, Rastas claim that blacks were held down physically by the shackles of slavery. In the present, Rastas feel that blacks are still held down through poverty, illiteracy, inequality, and trickery by the white man. The efforts of Rastafarianism are to attempt to remind blacks of their heritage and have them stand up against this Babylon.
I and I: This concept has become "the most important theoretical tool apart from the Babylonian conspiracy in the Rastafarian repertoire." Cashmore explains, "I and I is an expression to totalize the concept of oneness, the oneness of two persons. So God is within all of us and we 're one people in fact. I and I means that God is in all men. The bond of Ras Tafari is the bond of God, of man. But man itself needs a head and the head of man is His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia."
Jah: The Rastafarian name for God is Jah. The presence of Jah in His children and in the world is the triumph over the tribulations of everyday life. Ethiopia specifically, and Africa in general, is considered the Rastas heaven on Earth. However, there is no afterlife or hell as Christianity believes. Rastafarians do not have a sacred or preferred text. Though, certain sections of the Holy Bible are considered sacred, however the Rastafarians believe that some aspects of the Bible were changed by "Babylon," which has come to represent the white power structure. To greater represent the truth, Rastafarians reject the Bible used by most Christians, opting instead for a "black man 's Bible," known as the Holy Piby. 4 Also, Rastafarians give special significance to the Ethiopian Holy Book, the Kebra Negast.
The Rastafarian image went through a significant transformation in the 1970s. Whereas in the 1960s Rastas were perceived negatively, in the 1970s they became more of a positive cultural force, contributing to Jamaica 's art and music (especially reggae). In the late 1970s, one reggae musician in particular, Bob Marley, came to symbolize Rasta values and beliefs. But, more than this, Marley played a catalytic role in the Rastafarian movement worldwide. His popularity ensured a diverse audience for Rasta messages and concepts, and his music captured the essence of Rasta ideologies. It is a goal of Rasta brethren that their sisters and daughters be relaxed, contented, at ease with themselves and their way of life---as Bob Marley would sing it, " No woman no cry"(Nicholas 64). A true Rastas diet is strict as they only eat I-tal food. This is unique food because it never touches chemicals and is completely natural. The food is cooked, but served in the most raw form possible, without salts, preservatives, or condiments. Devoted Rastafarians, therefore, are completely vegetarian. Drinking preferences rest with anything that is herbal, such as tea. Liquor, milk, coffee, and soft drinks are viewed as unnatural. The term I-tal food is rapidly taking hold in Jamaica.
The defining colors of the Rastafarian religion are red, gold, and green. These colors were taken from the Garvey movement. The color red symbolizes the blood that martyrs have shed in the history of the Rastas. The yellow represents the wealth of the homeland. Green represents the beauty and vegetation of Ethiopia, the Promised Land. One of the most prominent symbols among the Rastafarians is the lion. The lion represents Haile Selassie I, the Conquering Lion of Judah. In Jamaica, it can be viewed on houses, flags, in their tabernacles, and just about any other place where Rastafarians have connections. It even appears in their artwork, in their songs, and in their poetry. The lion represents not only the King of Kings, but also the maleness of the movement. The Rastas stimulate the spirit of the lion in the way that they wear their dreadlocks and in the way that they walk. To the general public, the symbol of the lion represents strength, knowledge, and aggression.
Some Rastafarians have obtained a unique dialect and outward appearance. They are very expressive and they like to talk together and reason. We can reason about any given topic. Reasoning is the putting together of minds. We tend to speak with a dramatic tone, making our stories or points very clear and vivid. Words are power as seen in Genesis when the Earth was created by simply saying so and Rastas take the word and the number I as the most significant letter of the alphabet. I is the last letter in Rastafari and is part of His Imperial Majesty 's title. When speaking, we state I and I love Jah, for example. This includes himself and the presence of the Almighty when speaking. "Seen" is a word that is used to mean "I know" or "I read you". "Irie" is an ultimate positive. The word "over" is used instead of "under", as in "overstood" compared to "understood" and the word "last" becomes "first". In the same manner you do not go "backward", you go forward". Rastas who are angry or upset with someone will intone "Ras clot," or "bumba clot," all which are curses. Being called a "clot" is being told that you come as a blood clot, and not an ovum, from your mother 's womb. Even the base curse, for Rasta, has the most natural of origins"(Nicholas 40). Females are regarded as "sisters" or "daughters" no matter whether or not there is an actual blood relationship. Age, appearance, and sexual or marital relationships are also not factors. "Both roles are accorded the natural familial connotations of respect, love, protection and support. Sisters and daughters wear their dress length from mid-calf to floor. The reason for this is because Rastas believe that crime of lust, passion and infidelity are not present unless invited. It is said that a sister showing her knees is evil. Tight or form fitting clothes is not permitted. They have a natural beauty and grace about them. Rasta women function with a form of dignity. They say that a western woman is raised to believe that vanity is the key role in catching in a man, whereas Rasta women do not believe they need to look a certain way because a man will be with them for who they are and how they conduct themselves. Contrary to popular belief, pious Rastas do not smoke marijuana recreationally, and some do not use it at all. Most Rastafarian teachers, though, have advocated the controlled ritual smoking of "wisdom weed" for religious reasons or to aid in meditation. The use of this herb is very extensive among the Rastas, not only for spiritual reasons as in their Nyabingi celebration, but also for medicinal purposes. The following are a few of the Biblical texts that Rastas embrace as reasons Jah gave for use of the herb:
"... thou shalt eat the herb of the field." (Genesis 3:18)
"... eat every herb of the land." (Exodus 10:12)
"Better is a dinner of herb where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred there with." (Proverbs 15:17)
The dreadlocks on a Rasta 's head symbolize the Rasta roots, contrasting the straight, blonde lock of the white man. Dreads do not only portray the Rastafarian heritage, but their adornment is supported in the Bible: "They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in the flesh" (Leviticus 21:5). Further, dreadlocks have come to depict rebellion of the system and the "proper" way to wear hair. The main and basic way of life for Rastafarians includes the maintenance among all people of divine principles of life. These principles include loyalty, honesty, fear and love of God and self-attainment. The differences between Rastafarianism and a normal "mainstream" religion are numberless, including: no set membership, no authoritative leader, no offices of authority, no trained clergy and no involvement with the world as a whole. Rastafarianism is based upon an underrepresented minority, which needed hope in the face in utter demise. Even with its black foundation and orientation, Rastafarianism is open to anyone, of any race, who chooses to discover and is able to accept it. Rastafarianism has not faded away, and in fact has spread its brethren among many areas of the world. Rastafarianism is truly by the people, for the people.

Works Cited
Moodie, John. Hath… The Lion Prevailed? Chicago: RASTP, 1999.

Nicholas, Tracey. Rastafari: A way of Life. Chicago: RASTP, 1996.

Cashmore, E. E. The Rastafarians http://www.aros.net/~hempower/angels/him/rasta02.html
CHEERING NEGROES HAIL BLACK NATION; Free Africa Demanded at Second Day of Month 's Convention in Madison Square Garden. SEND SYMPATHY TO IRISH Head of Improvement Association Says Negro Will Fight to Acquire a Land of His Own. Determined to be Free. Will Shed Blood for Ideal. Will Strike for Freedom. To be Serf No Longer. New York Times (1857-Current. Aug 3, 1920. p. 7 (1 page)

Cited: Moodie, John. Hath The Lion Prevailed? Chicago: RASTP, 1999. Nicholas, Tracey. Rastafari: A way of Life. Chicago: RASTP, 1996. Cashmore, E. E. The Rastafarians http://www.aros.net/~hempower/angels/him/rasta02.html CHEERING NEGROES HAIL BLACK NATION; Free Africa Demanded at Second Day of Month 's Convention in Madison Square Garden. SEND SYMPATHY TO IRISH Head of Improvement Association Says Negro Will Fight to Acquire a Land of His Own. Determined to be Free. Will Shed Blood for Ideal. Will Strike for Freedom. To be Serf No Longer. New York Times (1857-Current. Aug 3, 1920. p. 7 (1 page)