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What is the Rastafari Movement?



Rastafari is a new religion that developed in Jamaica in the 1930’s. Marcus Garvey a political leader born in 1887 is said to be the founder of Rastafari. Although he didn’t believe or practice the religion he is considered a prophet. His theory that a black king will be crowned in Africa was proven when Haile Selassie became Emperor of Ethiopia. This is what triggered the beginning of the Rastafari Movement.

Emperor Haile Selassie I was born Ras Tafari Makonnen on July 23rd 1892 in the Harar province of Ethiopia. After the theory of Marcus Garvey came true when he was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie is believed by the Rastafarians to be the Messiah and the God of the black people. However, Haile Selassie did not believe he was a God. He was viewed as the fulfillment of the biblical prophecies regarding the future Lion of Judah. Rastafarians also believe that he is related to King Solomon’s father, thus related to Jesus himself and that he is not dead.

The Rasta’s beliefs derive from the bible and are also influenced by African traditions. They call God ‘Jah’ and believe that Ethiopia is the Promised Land spoken about in the Old Testament. When worshiping Rasta’s meet weekly in various locations to worship Jah, which are called Reasoning Sessions. While worshiping, Rasta’s pray, chant, sing, dance, meditate and smoke marijuana. At these Reasoning Sessions the music played it called Nyabingi, which is the music of the religion. It combined gospel music with traditional African drumming. It is used to reach higher spiritual feeling. Reggae music was developed in the 1960’s and is used to promote and spread belief of the Rastafari Movement. The most famous artist is Bob Marley who successfully spread the Rasta Movement to the West and to Europe among other places.

There are presently approximately one million Rastafarians in the world today. Most Rasta’s live in the West Indies but there are a considerable amount of Rasta’s in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America.

**"Rastafari**" [] "Dec. 14th 2010
"Rastafari" [] Dec, 14th 2010 "Reflections on Haile Selassie" [] Dec. 14th 2010 "A Brief Introduction to Rastafarianism[] 2008, Dec. 14th 2008 //Water, Mark. (2002). World Religions Made Simple. Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers//

**__ Rastafarian Scripture __**



**__ ﻿ __**  In the Rastafari religion, the Holy Scripture is called the //Holy Piby//. This is also referred to as the ‘black mans bible’. The Holy Piby is an alternate version of the bible that has removed what is believed to be distortions while being translated to English by white leaders. To me the changing of the Holy Bible is the Rasta’s altering the book to fit around the beliefs and basis of their faith. The Holy Piby was written between the years of 1913 and 1917, and published in 1924 which is extremely new compared to the bible which was put together over a thousand years ago. There is no proof of sabotage by white leaders during the translation of the bible into English which is another point that I do not support of the Holy Piby. The Holy Piby was written and put together by Robert Athlyi Rogers who was born in Anguilla and committed suicide in 1931. This is another contradiction with the actual bible which was written by a series of people over a long period of time, and put together to complete the story. The Holy Piby was authored by one man who called each book by his own name which is similar to the books of the bible being named after their consecutive authors. The Holy Piby is based on the New Testament of the bible and focuses on the book of Revelations. Rasta’s believe that the book of Revelations contain the prophecies about the divinity of Haile Selassie I. Copies of the Holy Piby are rare and the book was banned in Jamaica and other Caribbean islands in the 1920’s, as it remains so today.



In addition to the Holy Piby, some Rasta’s respect the //Kebra Nagast//. The Kebra Nagast is the Ethiopian epic that tells the story of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon. It also tells the story of the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia. The fact that the Rastafari Movement originates from Ethiopia I believe that incorporating the story of Ethiopia into the faith is expected and necessary. Joining together the history of the birthplace of the reiligon within the faith I believe brings the believers closer to the religion and they feel that it is something of their own, developed by their people. The Kebra Nagast contains 117 chapters and about a thousand years old. A final book that Rasta's use is //The Promised Key//. The Proised Key is a book authored by Leonard Howell also known as 'The Gong' and published in 1935. It was first published with the Hindu title of Gangunguru Maragh which translated means 'teacher of famed wisdom'. This book's contents includes th e foundations on the Rastafarian movement. There however is some controversy that this book is a work os plagiarism because many of the contents are the same concept that are found in the Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy which is another widely viewed Rastafarian text in addition to concepts from the Holy Piby.

** LINK **: to the Holy Piby - separate links for each chapter of the book []

** Resources: ** "Rastafarian Beliefs" Oct. 9th 2009 [] Dec. 27th 2010 //Water, Mark. (2002). World Religions Made Simple. Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers // "Rastafari: Text" [] (Text subtitle) Dec. 27th 2010 "Imoprtant Books in Rastafarian Theology" [] May, 28 2003, Dec. 27th 2010 "Brief History of the Kebra Nagast" [] Dec, 27th 2010

** Rastafarian Rituals **



The one popular and most recognized Rastafarian ritual is the usage of marijuana. Marijuana is called ganja and the ‘holy herb’ by Rasta’s who believe the herb was given by God. The ganja is believed to open ones mind and bring a closer connection to Jah. In different religions there are many practices people take part of in order to feel closer to God which makes this no different from them. Rastafari isn’t the only religion that involves smoking of an herb as part of their worshipping routine. In addition to daily use, ganja is mainly used in Reasoning Sessions and when listening to Nyabingi. Another well known Rasta ritual is dreadlocks.

// ‘They shall not make any bald place on their heads, nor shall they shave the edges of their beards nor make any cuttings in their flesh’ // -Leviticus 21:5 This verse from the book of Leviticus is the basis of the ritual of dreadlocks. Dreads are created by continuously growing ones hair and twisting and locking them into long strands or ‘dreads’. To me this relates to many other religions that have a traditional dress or rule about appearance. This could be related to some Jewish men who aren’t allowed to cut their hair, Sikh men who wear turbans and cannot cut their beards and finally Islam women who wear hijabs. Although Jamaicans are most popular for dreadlocks, it originated in Africa. The dreads are meant to replicate a lion’s mane which represents the Lion of Judah. In addition to this Rasta's also grow their beards.

Another ritual is the following of Ital, which are the Rastafarian dietary laws. The Ital diet only consists of natural and clean foods. Rastafarians are only allowed to eat foods as raw as they can possibly be. Most Rastafarian’s are vegetarian and in some cases vegan. The diet includes no pork, shellfish, milk and coffee in addition to alcohol and even salt. Fish over a foot long are also not allowed. Some Rasta’s are even as conscious as only preparing food in clay in case of traces of other materials getting into their food in other types of cooking utensils. These dietary laws once again bring me back to the similarities of Rastafarian rituals and other well known religions. The laws of Ital are extremely strict which in comparison with certain Jewish and especially Jainism in which vegetarianism and veganism is a mandatory diet choice. ** LINK **: an explanation and list of Ital food and diet []

__ Holy Days __ There are six important Holy Days observed in the Rastafarian faith January 6th: Ceremonial birthday of Haile Selassie I April 21st : Haile Selassie’s visit to Jamaica July 23rd : Haile Selassie’s personal birthday August 1st : Emancipation of slavery August 17th : Marcus Garvey’s birthday November 2nd : Coronation of Haile Selassie I

** Resources ** “ Ital Food” [], May 18th 2003, December 29th 2010 “Reggae Rasta & Ganga” (Ganja & Dreadlocks subtitles) [], 2009, December 29th 2010 "Rastafari" [] (Practices subtitle) Dec. 29th 2010

**__ Ethics __****__ of __****__ Rastafarianism __**



The word Ethics is defined as a system of moral principles. In the Rasta faith there are two separate sets, one set of Morals and a set of Principles. The Rastafarian Moral Code is made up of 10 points that all Rastafarians are required and expected to follow.

 · As foretold in Leviticus 21:5: "They shall not make baldness upon their heads, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh."
 * 1) No sharp implements to be used to damage Man, for example no trimming or shaving, no tattooing of the skin or cutting of the flesh.
 * 1) Vegetarianism: Rastafarians use as little animal flesh as possible. They avoid eating pig flesh, shellfish, scaleless fish or snails, etc.
 * 2) Worship and recognise no God other than Haile Selassie, and reject pagan beliefs, without disrespecting believers.
 * 3) Love all mankind, but make one's first love the sons of Ham.
 * 4) Condemn hate, jealousy, envy, deceit, craftiness, treachery, etc.
 * 5) Oppose the pleasures of modern day society.
 * 6) Create a world of one brotherhood.
 * 7) Be charitable to any afflicted Rastafarian brother, and latterly to any other human, animal, plant, etc.
 * 8) Adhere to the ancient laws of Ethiopia.
 * 9) Do not accept aid, titles or possessions that the enemy might impart upon you, in fear. One's main purpose is to uphold Rastafari.

The Rasta Moral Code can be compared to the Ten Commandments that Moses delivered in Christianity. It is basically a list of rules that Rasta’s are made to follow, just like the Talmud in Judaism and the Five Pillars of Islam that Muslims follow. I believe that every believe should have a set of rules to follow and that it wouldn’t be a proper religion if there was no teachings and rules to go off of.

There are six Principles of Rastafarianism. They were authored by Leonard Howell who was an early leader of the Rastafari Movement. The six principles are:

<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.25in;">1) Hatred for the White race <span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.25in;">2) The complete superiority of the Black race <span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.25in;">3) Revenge on Whites for their wickedness <span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.25in;">4) The negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica <span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.25in;">5) Preparation to go back to Africa <span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 15.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.25in;">6) Acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of Black people

When the Rastafari Movement was first beginning to spread these principles were held in high regard and followed closely, but as time went on and the movement got bigger these were acknowledged less and less. Today these principles have all but been abandoned and the amount of white Rastafarians are rising. I believe that not only did these contradict with the Morals of Rastafari, but some of the principles weren’t in the nature of the usually peaceful Rasta’s.

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> ** Resources ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"Rastafari" [] Dec. 30th 2010 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">﻿[] (picture) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">﻿ //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Water, Mark. (2002). World Religions Made Simple. Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers // <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">"Beliefs about Race" [] //Dec. 30th 2010//

**__ Rastafari __** media type="file" key="Talking Culture - Rastafarianism [www.keepvid.com].mp4" align="center" Talking Culture: Rastafarianism To sum it all up, Rastafarianism is a peaceful way of life. All types of the faith are centered around the one Haile Selassie I. In the video above a Rasta talks about the belief in a whole along with their traditions and beliefs. He talks about what is considered disrespectful and tolerable from an actual Rastafarian’s point of view. I think that hearing about the religion from one of its own is one of the best ways to understand it and you will have a better and more clear idea of what it is like to be a Rasta in the world today. <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 0px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; overflow: hidden;">﻿   Resources (Talking Culture: Rastafarianism) [] (video)