Rastafarianism
Haile Selassie I – Former emperor of Ethipia
Living close to and as a part of nature is seen as African. This African approach to "naturality" is seen in the dreadlocks, ganja, ital food, and in all aspects of Rasta life. They disdain the modern approach (or, as they see it, non-approach) to life for being unnatural and excessively objective and rejecting subjectivity. Rastas say that scientists try to discover how the world is by looking from the outside in, whereas the Rasta approach is to see life from the inside, looking out. The individual is given tremendous importance in Rastafari and every Rasta has to figure out the truth for himself.
They contrast their herb to liquor, which they feel makes people stupid, and is not a part of African culture.
Before Garvey there were two major events that led to Rastafari: The history of resistance and the forming of an afrocentric, Ethiopian worldview. In Jamaica they carried a tradition of, what musician Bob Marley referred to as, ’resisting against the system.’”
Rastas believe that their original African languages were stolen from them when they were taken into captivity as part of the slave trade, and that English is an imposed colonial language. Their remedy for this situation has been the creation of a modified vocabulary and dialect, reflecting their desire to take forward language and to confront the society they call Babylon.
Rastas have also changed some common words to reflect their beliefs. Some examples are:
• "I-tal" is derived from the word vital and is used to describe the diet of the movement which is taken mainly from Hebrew dietary laws.
• "Overstanding" replaces "understanding" to denote an enlightenment which places one in a better position.
• "Irie" (pronounced eye-ree) is a term used to denote acceptance, positive feelings, or to describe something that is good.
• "Livication" is substituted for the word "dedication" because Rastas associate ded-ication with death.
• "Downpression" is used in place of "oppression," the logic being that the pressure is being applied from a position of power to put down the victim.
• "Zion" is used to describe the Paradise of Jah or Ethiopia.
• One of the most distinctive modifications in "Iyaric" is the substitution of the pronoun "I-and-I" for other pronouns, usually the first person.
The second edition of “African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness,” covers the religious experiences of African Americans—from the late eighteenth century until the early 1980s. My paper is written in a chronological order to reflect on the progress blacks have made during the years—by expounding on the earliest religion of Africans to black religion of today. Race Relation and Religion plays a major role in today’s society—history is present in all that we do and it is to history that African-Americans have its identity and aspiration.
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon. "Jewish Traditions." World religions: western traditions. 1996. Reprint. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2011. 127-157. Print.
Throughout Rastafari: Roots and Ideology, Barry Chevannes traces the beginnings of the Rastafari movements and the movements that gave birth to Rastafarian ideology, through both historical perspectives and through the narratives of those people closely associated with these movements. He begins laying out the groundwork of the Rastafarian movement at the slave trade, which gave rise to the institutionalization of racism and the subordination of black people in the “New World.” This racism, and its lasting effects on the social, political, and economic positions of black people in Jamaica led to a realization of the need to create a life, or a belief system, that would actually serve black people and their needs.
According to Tracy Nicholas (1978) in the book entitled Rastafari: a way of life, Rasta’s has six main beliefs. They are as follows:
“Jamaicans in the mid-1950’s were familiar with who they should stay away from. Specifically that strange tribe of outcasts known as Rastafarians: even the downtown ghetto-dwellers knew that these eccentric-appearing individuals – known at the time on the island as ‘beardmen’ – carried pieces of dead bodies in the bags they all bore.”
Since its founding in the 1930s, the Rastafarian movement has grown to the point where it has become a major cultural and political force in Jamaica. During its existence, the movement has challenged Jamaica's neo-colonialist society's attempts to keep whites at the top and blacks at the bottom of the socio-economic structure.
Zahan, Dominique. The Religion, Spirituality, and Thought of Traditional Africa. Trans. Kate Ezra Martin and Lawrence M. Martin. Chicago: U of Chicago Press, 1979.
Rastafarianism is a religious movement that combines the cultural rituals of Jamaican folk Christianity with the Pan-Africanist movement lead by Marcus Garvey. The religion is influenced by the beliefs of the Nazarite Vow. This vow describes in great detail the significance of the Rastafari movement and the influence Samson has on Rasta’s. During the early twentieth century Marcus Garvey, “the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA),” prophesied the crowning of a black king (Olmos 183). Then a few years later his prophesy was considered fulfilled when Haile Selassie was named Emperor of Ethiopia. Rastafari was founded on November 2, 1930 with the crowning of Ras Tafari Makonnen, Haile Selassie, or Emperor of Ethiopia.
Popularizing the style known as dreadlocks are a group of people known as Rastas. These societies of people are the founders of an Afro-Caribbean politically orientated religion known as Rastafarianism. Rastafarianism is more of a way of life than a religion, although several religious beliefs of Christianity are strongly followed. Rastas outlawed the cutting or combing of their hair citing the aforementioned scriptures from the Bible. The style was copied from photographs of Masai warriors from East Africa and is a defiant assertion of their Africaness. The name dreadlocks was...
In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of languages, cultures, and geographical regions helped influence our African society. The ways in which we produce our artwork, spiritual ideals, and ritual performances are organic and raw. From the tropical regions of Congo and Ghana, to the arid regions of Mali; I pass through the global gateway into a domain where the Western world lost its roots and artistic imagination and grandeur. Africa appeals most to me for its ability to create a realm where the living, dead, and artistic ideals come into a single unit of tranquil philosophy.
"The Rastafarians emerge as a loosely organized inspirational group (or groups?) of men and women concerned at the plight of black people, especially the plight of those whose ancestors were forcibly removed from Africa to become the slaves of the white man on his plantations in the islands of the Caribbean"(Cashmore, 1). The English takeover of Jamaica in 1660 started the terrible beginning of the African Diaspora. Millions of Africans were stolen off of their continent and were shipped over to the Caribbean where they were fashioned to do slave labor so the Europeans could make money. Over 80 million Africans died in the process of departing to the islands. The slaves were denied any form of religion and were treated like animals. They were also denied food and were made to grow their own food so they could feed themselves. Many years went by till the slaves started to rebel. The 'Maroons' were a group of runaway slaves who started a powerful group of guerrilla warriors who lived in the most dangerous woods in Jamaica. But the Maroons gave in and signed a peace treaty in 1738 and were paid to catch the runaway slaves and became supporters of slavery.
Rastafarianism is an African-based spiritual outlook that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s. It is considered as a religion by few, but by many people it is considered as “a way of life” because it is not very organized. In 1927, Marcus Garvey who is an Afrocentric, black political activist, made a prophecy that his race will be emancipated after a black king is crowned. Three years later, in 1930 Haile Selassie was crowned as king in Africa. Selassie was later declared as the savior by four Jamaican ministers.
6) Johnson-Hill, Jack A. I-Sight, The World of Rastafari: An Interpretive Sociological Account of Rastafarian Ethics (Metuchen N.J., The American Theological Library Ass. And Scarecrow Press, Ink. 1995)
Rastafarianism is a way of life… for many it is the only way of life. Growing up under a certain religion instills varying values and understandings into one’s moral fiber. These values are what shape a human’s character. In some countries, the government is trying to tell these peaceful people to disregard their upbringing and to conform to alien ways.
King, Stephen; Jensen, Richard,(1995) Bob Marley's "Redemption Song": The rhetoric of reggae and Rastafari Journal of Popular Culture 29.3