Rastafari (and Ethiopia)

In my experience, if you play a Bob Marley song around 11pm at any pub in Toronto, most of the patrons and staff will sing along to the song.   I know that if I'm a patron I always will!   Most people who know anything about Bob Marley know that he was a practicing Rastafarian for most of his life.   Not as many really know what that means though.   So I thought I'd write a brief blog post explaining the broader details of the  Rastafari movement  and outline some of its  connections with Ethiopia .

The Rastafari movement, or Rasta, is a spiritual movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica and its adherents  worship  Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (ruled 1930 - 1974) as  Jesus incarnate , The Second Advent or the reincarnation of Jesus.

Haile Selassie was born Tafari Makonnen.   He would later become  Ras Tafari  Makonnen; " Ras " is a title that translates literally to "the head" or  "king" and his birth name " Tafari " means "the one who is respected".   So it's from that  full name of 'Ras Tafari'; that the Rastafarian movement gets its title .   Upon his ascension to Emperor in 1930 he took the name Haile Selassie, meaning "Power of the Trinity". 

H.I.M Emperor Haile Selassie aka "Ras Tafari"

So in summary, Ras Tafari Makonnen & Haile Selassie are the same person. 

Many Ethiopian emperors and a couple of royal lines in the northern region of Ethiopia all  trace their lineage  back to a  son  who was  born of the union  of  King Solomon  and the  Queen of Sheba .   It is a bit of a dynastic tradition to do so.   By the way, the descendants of the  House of Agamé  have very close ties to the Queen of Sheba and Solomon line which is one of the reasons they were often challenged, silenced or somehow linked to by those in national power.   But that my friends, is another story for another day. 

So Solomon and Sheba's son  Menelik I became a figure that most national Ethiopian leaders tried to link themselves to in order to validate their claim of a God given hereditary right to rule.

This is  important to understand  because Haile Selassie's claim to be the descendant of Solomon is important to the Rasta movement.  Covenant Rasta's believe "the Holy Bible is the authority of God's word, and is completely true...".   The Bible talks about Jesus being born from the line of Solomon and so any reincarnation of Jesus would also be from Solomon's line. 

Haile Selassie never regarded himself as God nor did he adhere to Rastafari.   But  he also never rebuked the Rastafari for their belief  in him as the returned Jesus.   The Emperor is said to have recalled his 1966 reception in Jamaica with amazement and said that he felt he had to be respectful of all beliefs, theirs included. 
The  day  Haile Selassie's  plane  landed in Jamaica is commemorated annually  by Rastafarians as Groundation Day and is considered the second holiest holiday.   The most holy holiday is November 2nd, the Emperor's Coronation Day. 

His Excellency Haile Selassie arrives in Jamaica in 1966. Approximately 100,000 Rastafari from all over Jamaica descended on Kingston airport.

How did the Rastafari movement come about?

Rastafari developed among poor Jamaicans of African descent who were oppressed and felt that society was apathetic to their problems.   One of the reasons Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie I as God is because of Marcus Garvey's prophecy,  "Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer"  which was then swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia.   Marcus Garvey was a keen proponent of the "back to Africa" movement advocating that  all people of the black race should return to their ancestral homeland of Africa  and worship the Creator "through the spectacles of Ethiopia". 

Rastafari in Ethiopia...

In 1948 His Excellency Haile Selassie donated a piece of land in Shashamene, Ethiopia for the use of members of the Rastafari movement and other Caribbean settlers.   Numerous Rastafari families settled in the town of Shashamene (250 km south of Addis Ababa) and live together as a community to this day.   At one point the population swelled past 2,000.   It is currently reported to be fewer than 300. 

Rastafarians have branches of their faith called 'Mansions' that  essentially act like denominations .   Many individual Rastas are only loosely affiliated with these Mansions or are not at all affiliated, which is in keeping with the principle of  Freedom of Conscience  in the Rasta way of life.   There is also a general distrust of institutionalism which is shared by many.  Another reason some Rastas won't align themselves with a particular Mansion is that His Excellency Haile Selassie said 'faith is private' and that a direct relationship requires no intermediary.   Still, the Mansions are one easy way to communicate to others what principles of Rastafari a particular Rasta ascribes to.   Not surprisingly, many of the Mansions have headquarters in Shashamene, Ethiopia.  

Headquarters of the Twelve Tribes Mansion in Shashamene.  Bob Marley promoted their work.

Signs of Rasta life are everywhere in town.

Some Rasta Culture for you...

Afro centrism in a central facet of most Rastafari culture.   Many believe that it is in  Africa  and in particular  Ethiopia , where  Zion or paradise shall be created .   As such, Rastafari orients much of itself around African and in particular, Ethiopian culture.  

The Rasta colours of green, gold and red (sometimes also including black) are very commonly sported on Rastafarian flags, badges, posters etc.   The green, gold and red are  colors of the Ethiopian flag  and show the loyalty Rastafari feel towards the Ethiopian state in the reign of His Excellency Haile Selassie. 

• Red represents power and African blood spilled in defence of the land. 
• Yellow represents peace and harmony between Ethiopia's various ethnic and religious groups. 
• Green symbolizes the land (Zion) and its fertility.

These colors were used for the national flag of Ethiopia in 1897; a year after  Ethiopia definitively and successfully thwarted Italy's colonial ambitions at the Battle of Adwa .   A monumental battle which is really worth learning more about if you're interested in understanding the colonial era, and its demise. 

Modern Ethiopian Flag

Other African nations, upon their independence from their colonial rulers so often adopted these three colours that they are known as the Pan African colours.

Dreadlocks
The wearing of dreadlocks is very closely associated with the movement, though not universal among its adherents.   Rastas maintain that locks are supported by Leviticus 21:5.

Rastafari  associate dreadlocks with a spiritual journey that one takes in the process of locking their hair.   It is taught that  patience  is the key to growing locks and that it is a journey of the mind, soul and spirituality.   The way to form natural dreadlocks is to allow hair to grow in its natural pattern, without cutting combing or brushing, but simply to wash it with pure water.

Ganja/Cannabis
For Rastas, smoking cannabis is a spiritual act,  often accompanied by Bible Study; it is considered a  sacrament  that cleans the body and mind, heals the soul, exalts the consciousness, facilitates peacefulness, brings pleasure, and brings them closer to Jah.   It is sometimes also referred to as "the healing of the nation", a phrase adapted from Revelation 22:2.

The person honored by being allowed to light the herb says a short sentence beforehand and the ganja is passed  in a clockwise fashion  except in times of war when it is passed counterclockwise.   It is used to reason with Jah.
When lighting a wisdom chalice (a type of smoking pipe) the following short invocation is often used:  Glory be to the Father and the Maker of Iration, as it were in the Iginning, is now an shall be foriva, world without end, SELAH.

Many Rastas see the illegality of cannabis in many nations as evidence that persecution of the Rastafari is a reality.   Some are not surprised that it is illegal, seeing it as a powerful substance that  opens people's minds to the truth .

Worship
Rastafari doesn't have a specific religious building that is set aside for worship.   Rastafarians usually meet weekly, either in a believer's home or in a community centre.
The meetings are referred to as  Reasoning sessions .   They provide a time for chants, prayers and singing, and for communal issues to be discussed.   Marijuana may be smoked to produce heightened spiritual states.
The music used at these meetings is known as Nyabingi, and so when meetings are mostly musical they are often referred to as Nyabingi meetings.   Meetings may also include large feasts.
Some Rastas are vegetarian and some will eat  limited types of meat , as long as the meat is in accordance with the dietary Laws of the Old Testament.   Rastafarians will drink alcohol sometimes but it is not consumed at a level that would cloud thinking.

Rasta Holidays
Ethiopian Christmas, Groundation Day (the day Haile Selassie landed in Jamaica), Ethiopia's Constitution Day, the day of Haile Selassie's crowning, Ethiopian New Years, the birthday of Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey's birthday.

Reggae
Reggae began to enter international consciousness in the early 1970s, and Rastafari mushroomed in popularity internationally, largely due to the fame of Bob Marley.   Bob Marley  actively and devoutly preached Rastafari , incorporating Rastafarian chanting into his music lyrics and album covers.  

Rastafari has been instrumental to reggae's development throughout the years.

Just as an example of Rasta's inspiration for Bob Marley's lyrics I would recommend checking out his song War.   It is inspired by His Excellency Haile Selassie's "War" speech on October 4th 1963 calling for world peace at the 1963 UN Conference in NYC.   The song honors His Excellency Haile Selassie, while calling for action against racial inequality and international injustice.

"...these are only words; their value depends wholly on our will to observe and honor them and give them content and meaning" - His Excellency, in his speech to the UN.

Interestingly, just 8 months before Bob Marley's passing, he had an intense conversion experience and began to follow the teachings of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.   His Excellency Emperor Haile Selassie was a  self proclaimed Ethiopian Orthodox Christian  himself. 

Criticism of His Excellency Haile Selassie aka Ras Tafari
It should also be noted that not all Ethiopians appreciated the era of Haile Selassie's reign.   The Emperor lived with what seemed an excess of lavish wealth while the general public quite literally starved.   Let me just quote a Human Rights Watch article here because it has a remarkably strong statement.

"Prof. Mesfin Wolde Mariam of Addis Ababa University has documented how the famines of 1958 and 1966 in Tigray and Wollo were treated with official indifference, bordering on hostility towards the peasants who were considered sufficiently ungrateful for the divinely-sanctioned rule of Haile Selassie as to allow themselves to defame his reputation by dying of famine."

It is actually possible that it was even worse than that.   There are strong suggestions famine was purposefully allowed to happen in order to quell or prevent any sort of rebellion.   Those who didn't agree with His Excellency's policies were often imprisoned and executed.   Corruption in the very highest levels of government was rank.   Supporters of His Excellency will say it was those who were below him who were responsible for the scandals and atrocities.   It seems unlikely to me that it is possible he had no knowledge of what was going on or that he was powerless to stop it.   

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As a final side note, how is this for a FULL title (while in office) : "His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and Elect of God."   To Ethiopians, Haile Selassie has been known by even more names, including Janhoy, Talaqu Meri and Abba Tekel.   The Rastafari employ many of these appellations also referring to him as HIM, Jah and Jah Rastafari.   Marley also referred to him as "The Lion of Judah."