Rastafari Culture and Spirituality

[RBG Street Scholar]

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Rastafari is a movement of Black people who know Africa as the birthplace of Mankind and the throne of Emperor Haile Selassie I -- a 20th Century Manifestation of God who has lighted our pathway towards righteousness, and is therefore worthy of reverence.

The Rastafari movement grew out of the darkest depression that the descendants of African slaves in Jamaica have ever lived in -- the stink and crumbling shacks of zinc and cardboard that the tattered remnants of humanity built on the rotting garbage of the dreadful Dungle on Kingston's waterfront. Out of this filth and slime arose a sentiment so pure, so without anger, so full of love, the Philosophy of the Rastafari faith.

Freedom of Spirit, Freedom from Slavery, and Freedom of Africa, was its cry.

Religions always reflect the social and geographical environment out of which they emerge, and Jamaican Rastafarianism is no exception: for example, the use of marijuana as a sacrament and aid to meditation is logical in a country where a particularly strain of 'herb' grows freely. Emerging out of the island of Jamaica in the later half of this century, the religious/political movement known as Rastafarianism has gained widespread exposure in the Western world.

Rasta, as it is more commonly called, has its roots in the teachings of Jamaican black nationalist Marcus Garvey, who in the 1930s preached a message of black self empowerment, and initiated the "Back to Africa" movement. Which called for all blacks to return to their ancestral home, and more specifically Ethiopia. He taught self reliance "at home and abroad" and advocated a "back to Africa" consciousness, awakening black pride and denouncing the white man�s eurocentric woldview, colonial indoctrination that caused blacks to feel shame for their African heritage. "Look to Africa", said Marcus Garvey in 1920, "when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is at hand". Many thought the prophecy was fulfilled when in 1930, Ras Tafari, was crowned emperor Haile Selassie 1 of Ethiopia and proclaimed "King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the conquering lion of the Tribe of Judah". Haile Selassie claimed to be a direct descendant of King David, the 225th ruler in an unbroken line of Ethiopian Kings from the time of Solomon and Sheba. He and his followers took great pride in being black and wanted to regain the black heritage that was lost by loosing faith and straying from the holy ways.

Rastafarians live a peaceful life, needing little material possessions and devote much time to contemplating the scriptures. They reject the white man's world, as the new age Babylon of greed and dishonesty. Proud and confident Rastas even though they are humble will stand up for their rights. Rastas let their hair grow natually into dreadlocks, in the image of the lion of Judah. Six out of ten Jamaicans are believed to be Rastafarians or Rastafarian sympathizers. The total following is believed to be over 1000 000 worldwide. 1975 to the present has been the period of the most phenomenal growth for the Rastafarian Movement. This growth is largely attributed to Bob Marley, reggae artist, and the worldwide acceptance of reggae as an avenue of Rastafarian self-expression. Marley became a prophet of Rastafarianism in 1975. The movement spread quickly in the Caribbean and was hugely attractive to the local black youths, many of whom saw it as an extension of their adolescent rebellion from school and parental authority. With it came some undesirable elements, but all true Rastas signify peace and pride and righteousness...Read More

[RBG Street Scholar]

"Coping with babylon" looks at the present state of the world as perceived by some of the most outspoken members of the Rastafarian movement. Shot on digital video in New York and Jamaica, "coping" lets the subjects tell their own story in pure documentary style void of third party narration. The Rasta faith is revealed to be dynamic and grounding, even as each denomination, or "house" of Ras Tafari, exhibits a unique form of resistance against the power structure that shapes our world, the "Babylonian system," in Rasta terminology.

Get your copy of coping with babylon from MVD Entertainment Group: http://mvdb2b.com/



Related Reading:

Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari Reader

by Nathaniel Samuel Murrell et al
paperback Temple University Press (1998)

This anthology explores Rastafari religion, culture & politics in Jamaica and other parts of the African diaspora. An Afro-Caribbean religious & cultural movement that sprang from the mean streets of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1930s, today Rastafari has close to one million adherents. The basic message - the dismantling of all oppressive institutions and the liberation of humankind - strongly appeals even to non-believers who are captivated by reggae music, the lyrics and the 'immortal spirit' of its enormously popular practitioner, Bob Marley. Probing into this still-evolving belief system, its political goals and cultural expression, the contributors to this volume emphasise the importance of Africana history and the Caribbean context. It brings together scholarly commentary, a long-hidden founding document of the movement, and the voices of leading Rastas who explain and critique the beliefs and practices associated with Rastafari. Also included are a glossary, an annotated bibliography, and an interview with the pioneering scholar of Rastafari, Leonard Barrett.

[RBG Street Scholar]

[RBG Street Scholar]

[shakim1969]

I would like to add on to this post.

Marcus Garvey and the Early Rastafarians: Continuity and Discontinuity

By RUPERT LEWIS

In Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari Reader, Edited by Nathaniel Samuel Murrell, William David Spencer, and Adrian Anthony McFarlane (Temple University Press 1998), pp. 145-158.

This chapter examines political aspects of the origins of the Rastafarian movement at a time when the Garvey movement was in decline in the 1930s. Its main intentions are to underscore ways in which Garveyism has affected the evolution of Rastafari and to identify the many similarities and differences that exist between the two anticolonial ideologies. Many interpretations of the origins of Rastafari have focused on two events during this period: the coronation of Ras Tafari as emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 and Marcus Mosiah Garvey's writings on the significance of this coronation for people of African descent.
In his capacity as president general of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), Garvey sent a cable to His Majesty Ras Tafari that read "Greetings from Ethiopians of [the] Western World. May your reign be peaceful, prosperous, progressive. Long live your Majesty."(1) That communique was printed in the New York-based Negro World newspaper on November 8, 1930. On that same day, Garvey published an article in his Jamaican newspaper, The Blackman, that read:

Last Sunday, a great ceremony took place at Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia. It was the coronation of the new Emperor of Ethiopia -- Ras Tafari. From reports and expectations, the scene was one of great splendor, and will long be remembered by those who were present. Several of the leading nations of Europe sent representatives to the coronation, thereby paying their respects to a rising Negro nation that is destined to play a great part in the future history of the world. Abyssinia is the land of the blacks and we are glad to learn that even though Europeans have been trying to impress the Abyssinians that they are not belonging to the Negro Race, they have learned the retort that they are, and they are proud to be so.

Ras Tafari has traveled to Europe and America and is therefore no stranger to European hypocrisy and methods; he, therefore, must be regarded as a kind of a modern Emperor, and from what we understand and know of him, he intends to introduce modern methods and systems into his country. Already he has started to recruit from different sections of the world competent men in different branches of science to help to develop his country to the position that she should occupy among the other nations of the world.

We do hope that Ras Tafari will live long to carry out his wonderful intentions. From what we have heard and what we do know, he is ready and willing to extend the hand of invitation to any Negro who desires to settle in his kingdom. We know of many who are gone to Abyssinia and who have given good report of the great possibilities there, which they are striving to take advantage of.

The Psalmist prophesied that Princes would come out of Egypt and Ethiopia would stretch forth her hands unto God. We have no doubt that the time is now come. Ethiopia is now really stretching forth her hands. This great kingdom of the East has been hidden for many centuries, but gradually she is rising to take a leading place in the world and it is for us of the Negro race to assist in every way to hold up the hand of Emperor Ras Tafari.(2)

I have quoted the full text of Garvey's article on the coronation because often commentators refer only to the last paragraph and stress the religious, prophetic dimension, that of a prince coming out of Egypt and Ethiopia stretching out its hands to God (Psalm 68:31), at the expense of other aspects of Garvey's thinking.(3) But Garvey addressed many issues: the attempts by Europeans to separate Ethiopia from the rest of Africa, European attendance at the coronation and its impact, the coronation as a symbol of black pride, and, most important, Garvey's expression of hope for a reign based on modernity within the framework of Pan-African solidarity. In Garvey's thinking and work, Ethiopianism functioned in accordance with his strong modernizing Pan-African outlook.

The emphasis placed on the coronation of Haile Selassie I was important in a colony where the British monarchy was the supreme symbol of power. In the UNIA, Garvey always emphasized a counterhegemonic perspective against European domination and exploitation of Africa. Consistent with this approach, he had written and produced a play, in June 1930, titled The Coronation of an African King, which had scenes set in several African, European, and West Indian capitals. The play was also a dramatic portrayal of the UNIA's work and the attempts by the U.S. and European governments to stem the tide of the Garvey movement.(4)

Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Jamaica in 1914. It took off in the United States in the period after World War I and became the largest Pan-African movement of the early twentieth century. The Garvey movement saw its heyday in the early 1920s, but by the late 1920s and early 1930s it was already in decline. Nonetheless, Garvey and the leaders of the UNIA represented early twentieth-century Black Nationalist leadership that mobilized the masses around a program of cultural, economic, and political modernity. They advocated an end to colonialism in Africa and the Caribbean and envisioned the eventual development of the African continent into a modern network of nations that would constitute a United States of Africa. The models for this network of nations were the United States of America and western Europe. In this respect, the Garveyites were an "African Westernizing elite." As African descendants, they claimed the heritage of early African civilization, but they also valued the achievements of the world that had enslaved and colonized them (the so-called Babylon), while rejecting its racial assumptions and notions of their subordinate position within that world.

Continuities

That Rastafari and Garveyism share many similarities is well known among their adherents, as well as among scholars who do research on these movements. Both movements are Afrocentric and unapologetically defend the beauty and dignity of Africa and people of African ancestry. While Garvey emphasized Africa's social and political redemption, Rastas include in that agenda a spiritual dimension, which they often clothe in Judeo-Christian thought and African concepts. Both Garveyism and Rastafari show great respect for the Bible and attempt to distance themselves from biased, Eurocentric interpretations of Scripture that contribute to the oppression of black people. Ken Post, whose work on Rastafari is well known, has stressed the importance of the Bible in Jamaican culture and Rastafari, pointing out that "the religious factor which Jamaicans of all classes had in common was the King James Version of the Holy Bible. For the majority of members of the lower and many of the intermediate classes, the contents of this book represented the essential truth. People were accustomed to search the Bible for answers to their problems."(5) read more

[RBG Street Scholar]

Great addition shakim1969..Excellent reading and learning for me...You've done precisely what I'm trying to achieve with the videos in RBG Tube, namely "to excite us to seek deeper and learn more detail". RBG'z Concept of ACCNL (Afrikan Centered Collaborative Network Learning)

[shakim1969]

Originally Posted by RBG Street Scholar

Great addition shakim1969..Excellent reading and learning for me...You've done precisely what I'm trying to achieve with the videos in RBG Tube, namely "to excite us to seek deeper and learn more detail". RBG'z Concept of ACCNL (Afrikan Centered Collaborative Network Learning)

I'm just trying to do my part to educate the masses.