"Rastafari movement".
Rasta, or the Rastafari movement, is a religious movement that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former emperor of Ethiopia, as Jah (the Rasta name for God incarnate, from a shortened form of Jehovah found in Psalms 68:4 in the King James Version of the Bible), and part of the Holy Trinity as the messiah promised to return in the Bible. The name Rastafari comes from Ras (Duke or Chief) Tafari Makonnen, the pre-coronation name of Haile Selassie I. The movement emerged in Jamaica among working-class and peasant black people in the early 1930s, arising from an interpretation of Biblical prophecy partly based on Selassie's status as the only African monarch of a fully independent state, and his titles of King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Conquering Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Other factors leading to its rise include the sacred use of Cannabis, Afrocentric social and political aspirations, including teachings of Jamaican publicist and organiser Marcus Garvey (also often regarded as a prophet), whose political and cultural vision helped inspire a new world view. The movement is sometimes called "Rastafarianism," although some Rastas regard that term as improper and offensive.
The Rastafari movement has spread throughout much of the world, largely through immigration and interest generated through Nyahbinghi and reggae music—most notably, that of Jamaican-born singer/songwriter Bob Marley. By 2000, there were more than one million Rastafari faithful worldwide. About five to ten percent of Jamaicans identify themselves as Rastafari. Most Rastafarians are vegetarian, or only eat limited types of meat, living by the dietary Laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.
The doctrines of Rastafari depart radically from the norms of the modern western mind, a trait of the movement deliberately encouraged by Rastas themselves. Unlike many modern religious and Christian groups that tend to stress conformity toward the "powers-that-be," Rastafari instead stresses loyalty to their concept of "Zion," and rejection of modern society (called Babylon). "Babylon" in this case is considered to be rebelling against "Earth's Rightful Ruler" (JAH) ever since the days of king Nimrod.
This "way of life" is not merely to be given intellectual assent, or "belief" as the term is often used; it is used for the finding and knowledge of one's true identity. To follow and worship JAH Rastafari is to find, spread and "trod" the unique path to which each individual Rasta was rightfully born. (Coincidentally, the word Rasta in various Indo-Iranian languages means "Way" or "Path.")
The religion is difficult to categorize, because Rastafari is not a centralised organisation. Individual Rastafari work out the truth for themselves, resulting in a wide variety of beliefs nevertheless also covered under the general umbrella of Rastafari.
Living close to and as a part of nature is seen as African. This African approach to "naturality" is seen in the dreadlocks, ganja (marijuana), 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 or herself.
Another important Afrocentric identification is with the colours green, gold, and red, from the Ethiopian flag. They are a symbol of the Rastafari movement, and of the loyalty Rastas feel toward Haile Selassie, Ethiopia, and Africa rather than for any other modern state where they happen to live. These colors are frequently seen on clothing and other decorations. Red stands for the blood of martyrs, green stands for the vegetation of Africa, while gold stands for the wealth and prosperity Africa has to offer.
Many Rastafari learn Amharic, which they consider to be the original language, because this is the language Haile Selassie I spoke, and in order to identify themselves as Ethiopian—though in practice, most Rastas continue to speak either English or their native languages. There are reggae songs written in Amharic.
In the 10th century BC, The Solomonic Dynasty of Ethiopia was founded by Menelik I, the son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who had visited Solomon in Israel. 1 Kings 10:13 claims "And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants." On the basis of the Ethiopian national epic, the Kebra Negast, Rastas interpret this as meaning she conceived his child, and from this, they concluded that the black people are the true children of Israel, or Jews. Beta Israel black Jews have lived in Ethiopia for centuries, disconnected from the rest of Judaism; their existence gave some credence and impetus to early Rastafarians, validating their belief that Ethiopia was Zion.
Some Rastafari choose to classify their religion as Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity, or Judaism. Of those, the ties to the Ethiopian Church are the most widespread, although this is controversial to many Ethiopian clergy. Rastafari believe that standard translations of the Bible incorporate changes created by the racist white power structure. Some also revere the Kebra Negast, but many of these Rastas would classify themselves as Ethiopian Orthodox in religion and Rastafarian in ideology. Some Rastafarians pay little attention to the Kebra Negast, and most do not consider it as having anywhere near the sanctity of the Bible.
For Rastafari, Selassie I remains their god and their king. They see Selassie as being worthy of worship, and as having stood with great dignity in front of the world's press and in front of representatives of many of the world's powerful nations at a time when he was the only black head of state in the world. From the beginning the Rastas decided that their personal loyalty lay with Africa's only black ruler, Selassie, and that they themselves were in effect as free citizens of Ethiopia, loyal to its Emperor and devoted to its flag.
Most Rastafari believe that Selassie is in some way a reincarnation of Jesus and that the Rastafari are the true Israelites. Some Rastafari may also reason that Jesus was Moshiac ben Joseph, while Selassie I is Moshiac ben David and take an amillennial view of Christ's reign and a postmillennial view of Selassie I's. At the heart of Rastafari is the belief in being one's own king or prince (hence they call themselves Rastafari). As Ras Midas sang "When I saw my Daddy with the pick axe and my Mommy with the broom, then I know Rastaman is in exile" (Ras Midas, Rastaman in Exile, 1980). Rastas say they have been conditioned into slavery but convert this into a belief in their own divine potential, believing that as Selassie I dwells within them, they are also worthy kings and princes.
Rastas call Selassie Jah, or Jah Rastafari, and believe there is great power in these names. They call themselves Rastafari (pronounced Rasta-FAR-I) to express the personal relationship each Rasta has with Selassie I. Rastas like to use the ordinal with the name Haile Selassie I, with the dynastic Roman numeral one signifying "the First" deliberately pronounced as the letter I - again as a means of expressing a personal relationship with God. They also call him H.I.M. (pronounced him), for His Imperial Majesty.
When Haile Selassie I allegedly died in 1975, his death was not accepted by some Rastafarians who could not accept that God incarnate could die.Many believe that Selassie's death was a hoax, and that he will be back to liberate his followers.A few Rastas today consider this a partial fulfillment of prophecy found in the apocalyptic 2 Esdras 7:28.One anonymous historian of the Rastafari faith points to Debre Damo,one of the 3 ancient "Mountains of the Princes" (see Emperor of Ethiopia).He believes that after the Derg had ordered his execution,imperial loyalists working as double agents used induced hypothermia to make Selassie appear dead.He and the remaining loyalists of the Imperial Bodyguard were then smuggled to safety by means of an "Underground Railroad." They now lie in stasis in a secret room under the monastery until Judgement Day, at which time they will be automatically reanimated and fullfill Revelation 11:19-21.This may only occur after the Rasta elders free the people of Jamaica.Moreover,the bones unearthed from under the office of Mengistu Haile Mariam were those of the captured leader of the loyalists, whom he considers to be a martyr because he refused to reveal the location of Selassie and his men.See king in the mountain for similar stories.
Rastafari is a strongly syncretic Abrahamic religion that draws extensively from the Bible. Adherents look particularly to the New Testament Book of Revelation, as this (5:5) is where they find the prophecies about the divinity of Haile Selassie. Rastas believe that they, and the rest of the black race, are descendants of the ancient twelve tribes of Israel, cast into captivity outside Africa as a result of the slave trade.
Some believe that only half of the Bible has been written, and that the other half, stolen from them along with their culture, is written in a man's heart. This concept also embraced the idea that even the illiterate can be Rastas by reading God's Word in their hearts. Rastas also see the lost half of the Bible, and the whole of their lost culture to be found in the Ark of the Covenant, a repository of African wisdom.
Rastafari are criticised, particularly by Christian groups, for taking Biblical quotes out of context, for picking and choosing what they want from the Bible, and for bringing elements into Rastafari that do not appear in the Bible. They are also criticised for using an English language translation (particularly the King James Version) of the Bible, as many have no interest in Hebrew or Greek scholarship. A great interest in the Amharic Orthodox version, authorized by Haile Selassie I in the 1950s, has arisen among Rastas. Selassie himself wrote in the preface to this version that "unless accepts with clear conscience the Bible and its great Message, he cannot hope for salvation," thus confirming and coinciding with what the Rastafarians themselves had been preaching since the beginning of the movement ([http://www.jah-rastafari.com/selassie-words/show-jah-word.asp?word_id=bible Words of Ras Tafari).
The Rastas say that Haile Selassie will call the Day of Judgement, when the righteous shall return home to Mount Zion, identified with Africa, to live forever in peace, love, and harmony. In the meantime the Rastas call to be repatriated to Africa. Repatriation, the desire to return to Africa after 400 years of slavery, is central to Rastafari doctrine. The first Rastas, living on a Caribbean island, dreamed of the possibilities of Africa.
Many early Rastas for a time believed in black supremacy. Widespread advocacy of this doctrine was shortlived, however; at least partly because of Selassie's explicit condemnation of racism in a speech before the United Nations. Most Rastas now espouse a belief that racial animosities must be set aside, with world peace and harmony being common themes. One of the three major modern sects, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, has specifically condemned all types of racism, and declared that the teachings of the Bible are the route to spiritual liberation for people of any racial or ethnic background.
Some early elements of Rastafari were closely related to indigenous religions of the Caribbean and Africa, and to the Maroons, though these syncretic elements were largely purged by the Nyahbinghi warriors - dreadlocked Rastas who fought the corrupting power of some leaders who sought to add them to the Rastafari doctrines.
People of all races, including Native Americans and New Zealanders, are to be found within the movement.
Rastas believe that Haile Selassie is both God the Father and God the Son of the holy Trinity, while it is themselves, and potentially all human beings, who embody the Holy Spirit.Some may point to Acts 2:17,which reads: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." Thus, the human being is a church that contains the Holy Ghost. Rastas see Haile Selassie as the head, and themselves as the body, as another way of expressing this doctrine, as is written in I Corinthians 6:15: "Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid." Some see Melchizedek in addition to Jesus as having been former incarnations of Haile Selassie,and some are Sabellians.Rasta doctrine concerning the Holy Trinity relates to the name Haile Selassie meaning Power of the Trinity in Ge'ez.
A good expression of this doctrine is in Lincoln Thompson's song Thanksgiving. After asking "What's destroying life?" he says, "Tell I if you know." Paraphrasing the Bible, he continues, "There are too many dead bodies lying around me...in a true reality, down in the grave there is no life. In silence there you'll be, with no-one to hear nor see, and no matter what you saw, when you are dead you cannot praise Jah." Another may be seen in the lyrics to the 3rd World anthem, "96 Degrees in the Shade":
Perhaps the most well known example of this is Bob Marley's refusal to write a will despite suffering from the final stages of an advanced metastasized cancer (and the resulting controversy surrounding the distribution of his estate after his death) on the grounds that writing a will would mean he was giving in to death and forgoing his chance at everliving life.
Rastafari doctrine as developed in the '80s was further expressed musically by a number of other prominent artists, such as Burning Spear, Steel Pulse, Third World, The Gladiators, Black Uhuru, Aswad, and Israel Vibration. Punk band The Bad Brains have openly admitted that they support the Rastafari movement and have written songs (I against I, etc.) that promote the doctrine.
Rastafari continues to be sung about and praised into the 21st century. The main religious sentiment is spread through roots reggae, a subgroup of reggae music featuring artists such as Capleton, Sizzla, Turbulence, Jah Mason, Pressure, Midnite, Natural Black, Daweh Congo, Luciano, Cocoa Tea, Richie Spice, Gentleman and others. Several of these acts have gained mainstream success and frequently appear on the popular music charts. Most recently artists such as Damian Marley have blended hip-hop with reggae to energize classic Rastafari issues for the youth, such as social injustice, revolution and the honour and responsibility of parenthood.
As mentioned, many Rastas eat limited types of meat in accordance with the dietary Laws of the Old Testament. Others abstain from all meat and flesh whatsoever, asserting that to touch meat is to touch death, and is therefore a violation of the Nazarite oath. However, the prohibition against meat only applies to those who are currently fulfilling a Nazarite vow, for the duration of the vow. Many Rastafarians maintain a vegan diet all of the time.
Usage of alcohol is also generally deemed unhealthy to the Rastafarian way of life, partly because it is seen as a tool of Babylon to confound and suppress the masses, and partly because placing something that is pickled and fermented within oneself is felt to be much like turning the body (the Temple) into a "cemetery".
In consequence, a rich 'alternative' cuisine has developed in association with Rastafari tenets, eschewing most synthetic additives, and preferring healthier, natural vegetables and fruits such as coconut and mango and cannabis. This cuisine can be found throughout the Caribbean and in some restaurants throughout the western world. Some Rasta elders are known to be highly expert in exactly what vegetables are rich in potassium and all other elements required for maintenance of good health.
In the election campaign of 1972, People's National Party leader, Michael Manley used a prop, a walking stick given to him by Haile Selassie, which was called the "Rod of Correction", in a direct appeal to Rastafarian values.
In the famous free One Love Peace Concert on April 22, 1978; first Peter Tosh lambasted the audience, including attending dignitaries, with political demands that included legalising cannabis. He did this while smoking a spliff, a criminal act in Jamaica. However 5 months after this bold move Tosh was badly beaten by the Jamican authorities and they forcefuly shaved his dreadlocks. Bob Marley asked both then-Prime Minister Michael Manley, and opposition leader Edward Seaga onto the stage; and a famous picture was taken with all three of them holding their hands together above their heads in a symbolic gesture of peace during what had been a very violent election campaign.
Today, Rastafari has become a socially accepted group in mainstream society and in the United Kingdom some of them work with the police in trying to keep peace on the streets.
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:
Yet these early black supremacy beliefs were for the most part replaced by a doctrine of racial equality within the first decades of the movement. Further, there are three key concepts to Rastafarian beliefs:
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:
Important dates when grounations may take place are:
It is believed that the first Rasta dreadlocks were copied from Kenya in the 1940s, when photos of the independence struggle of the feared maumau freedom fighters who grew their "dreaded locks" while hiding in the mountains were published in a major media publication that reached Jamaica. However, there are ascetic groups within nearly every major religion that have at times worn their hair in this fashion. In addition to the Nazirites of Judaism and the Sadhus of Hinduism, there are the Dervishes of Islam and the Coptic Monks of Christianity, among others. The very earliest Christians may also have worn this hairstyle; particularly noteworthy are descriptions of James the Just, "brother of Jesus" and first Bishop of Jerusalem, who wore them to his ankles. The length of a Rasta's dreads is a measure of wisdom, maturity, and knowledge in that it signifies not only the Rasta's age, but also his time as a Rasta.
Also, according to the Bible, Samson was a Nazarite who had "seven locks". Rastas point out that these "seven locks" could only have been dreadlocks, as it is unlikely that seven strands of hair were meant.
Dreadlocks have also come to symbolize the Lion of Judah and rebellion against Babylon. In the United States, several public schools and workplaces have lost lawsuits as the result of banning dreadlocks. Safeway is an early example, and the victory of eight children in a suit against their Lafayette, Louisiana school was a landmark decision in favor of Rastafari rights.
Rastafari associate dreadlocks with a spiritual journey that one takes in the process of locking their hair (growing dreadlocks). It is taught that patience is the key to growing dreadlocks, a journey of the mind, soul and spirituality. Its spiritual pattern is aligned with the Rastafari religion. People who do not understand the process sometimes mock the dreadlock style and make comments about the cleanliness of the locked hair. 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.
Many non-Rastafari of black African descent have also adopted dreads as an expression of pride in their ethnic identity, or simply as a hairstyle, and take a less purist approach to developing and grooming them, adding various substances such as beeswax in an attempt to assist the locking process. The wearing of dreads also has spread among people of other ethnicities whose hair is not naturally suited to the style, and who sometimes go to great lengths to affect the look.
The word dread comes from Rasta terminology. For the Rastas the razor, the scissors and the comb are the three Babylonian or Roman inventions. So close is the association between dreadlocks and Rastafari, that the two are sometimes used synonymously. In reggae music, a follower of Rastafari may be referred to simply as a dreadlocks or Natty (natural) Dread, whilst those non-believers who cut their hair are referred to as baldheads.
Burning Spear sang :"You don't haffi dread to be Rasta..." (you dont have to have dreadlocks to be Rasta).
They are not surprised that it is illegal, seeing it as a powerful substance that opens people's minds to the truth — something the Babylon system, they reason, clearly does not want. They contrast their herb to liquor, which they feel makes people stupid, and is not a part of African culture. While there is a clear belief in the beneficial qualities of cannabis, it is not compulsory to use it, and there are Rastas who do not do so. Dreadlocked mystics, often ascetic, known as the sadhus, have smoked cannabis in India for centuries. The migration of many thousands of Indian Hindus to the Caribbean in the 20th century brought this culture to Jamaica.
They believe that the smoking of cannabis enjoys Biblical sanction and is an aid to meditation and religious observance.
Among Biblical verses Rastas believe justify the use of herb:
According to Rastafarian and other scholars, the etymology of the word "cannabis" and similar terms in all the languages of the Near East may be traced to the Hebrew qaneh bosm קנה-בשמ that is one of the herbs God commands Moses to include in his preparation of sacred anointing perfume in Exodus 30:23; the Hebrew term also appears in Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:19; and Song of Songs 4:14. Deuterocanonical and canonical references to the patriarchs Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses "burning incense before the Lord" are also applied, and many Rastas today refer to cannabis by the term ishence — a slightly changed form of the English word "incense". It is also said that cannabis was the first plant to grow on King Solomon's grave.
Then-Attorney General of the United States Janet Reno, however, though not a judge, ruled that Rastafari do not have the religious right to smoke ganja in violation of drug laws in the United States of America. The position is the same in the United Kingdom, where, in the Court of Appeal case of R. v. Taylor * 1 Cr. App. R. 37, it was held that the UK's prohibition on cannabis use did not contravene the right to freedom of religion conferred under the European Convention of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy, written during the 1920s by a preacher called Fitz Balintine Pettersburg, is a surrealistic stream-of-consciousness polemic against the white colonial power structure, a palimpsest of Afrocentric thought, brimming with rage and energy.
The first document to appear that can be labelled as truly Rastafari was Leonard P. Howell's The Promise Key, written using the pen name G.G. Gangun-Guru Maragh, in the early 1930s. In it, he claims to have witnessed the Coronation of the Emperor and Empress on Nov. 2, 1930 in Addis Ababa, and proclaims the doctrine that H.M. Ras Tafari is the true Head of Creation and that the King of England is an imposter. It was for writing this tract that Howell was jailed on charges of sedition. However, it seems that several other street preachers in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean had all independently come to this same conclusion, at roughly the same time (1930); therefore Howell cannot be credited with being the sole founder of the movement.
In 1934 Leonard Howell was the first Rasta to be charged with sedition for refusing loyalty to the King of England George V. The British government would not tolerate Jamaicans loyal to Haile Selassie in what was then their colony. Howell was among the most prominent of the early leaders of Rastafari. He was imprisoned for two years, and then founded the Pinnacle commune.
In 1954, the Pinnacle commune was destroyed by Jamaican authorities. By the 1950s, Rastafari's message of racial pride and unity had unnerved the ruling class of Jamaica, and confrontations between the poor black Rastas and middle-class police were common. Many Rastas were beaten, and some killed. Others were humiliated by having their sacred dreadlocks cut off.
On October 4, 1963, Haile Selassie addressed the United Nations with his famous peace speech, that Bob Marley later used as the basis for the lyrics to his song 'War'.
Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on April 21 1966. Somewhere between one and two hundred thousand Rastafari from all over Jamaica descended on Kingston airport having heard that the man whom they considered to be God was coming to visit them. They waited at the airport smoking lots of cannabis and playing drums. When Haile Selassie arrived at the airport he delayed disembarking from the aeroplane for an hour until Mortimer Planner, a well-known Rasta, personally welcomed him. From then on, the visit was a success. Rita Marley, Bob Marley's wife, converted to the Rastafari faith after seeing Haile Selassie; she has stated that she saw stigmata appear on his person, and was instantly convinced of his divinity. It must be said also that Jamaica had been suffering a serious drought at the time, that was suddenly punctuated by rain upon Selassie's arrival; this must also have done much to spread the Rastafarian message.
The great significance of this event in the development of the Rastafari religion should not be underestimated. Having been outcasts in society, they gained a temporary respectability for the first time. By making Rasta more acceptable, it opened the way for the commercialisation of reggae, leading in turn to the further global spread of Rastafari.
Because of Haile Selassie's visit, April 21 is celebrated as Grounation Day. It was during this visit that Selassie I famously told the Rastafari community leaders that they should not emigrate to Ethiopia until they had first liberated the people of Jamaica. This dictum came to be known as "liberation before repatriation." Some Rastafari argue that the people of Jamaica have indeed not been liberated, as Queen Elizabeth II, (whom some believe is the Whore of Babylon), is still Queen of Jamaica. They maintain that not until those among the elders of the Rastafari free the people of Jamaica and migrate to Ethiopia will the end come. Finally, they contend that Jah intended Shashamane, and all of Ethiopia, to be their home after said liberation, and so those living their now are doing so prematurely.
Music has long played an integral role in Rastafari, and the connection between the movement and various kinds of music has become well known, due to the international fame of musicians like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.
Nyabinghi music is the most integral form of Rastafarian music. It is played at worship ceremonies called grounations, that include drumming, chanting and dancing, along with prayer and smoking of ritual ganja. The name Nyabinghi comes from an East African movement from the 1850s to the 1950s that was led by people who militarily opposed European imperialism. This form of nyabinghi was centered around Muhumusa, a healing woman from Uganda who organized resistance against German colonialists. The British in Africa later led efforts against Nyabinghi, classifying it as witchcraft through the Witchcraft Ordinance of 1912. In Jamaica, the concepts of Nyabinghi were appropriated for similar anti-colonial efforts, and it is often danced to invoke the power of Jah against an oppressor.
The drum is a symbol of the Africanness of Rastafari, and some mansions assert that Jah's spirit of divine energy is present in the drum. African music survived slavery because many slaveowners encouraged it as a method of keeping morale high. Afro-Caribbean music arose with the influx of influences from the native peoples of Jamaica, as well as the European slaveowners.
Another style of Rastafarian music is called burru drumming, first played in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, and then in West Kingston. Burru was later introduced to the burgeoning Rasta community in Kingston.
Maroons, or communities of escaped slaves, kept purer African musical traditions alive in the interior of Jamaica, and were also contributing founders of Rastafari.
Reggae began to enter international consciousness in the early 1970s, and Rastafari mushroomed in popularity internationally, largely due to the fame of Bob Marley, who actively preached Rastafari, incorporating nyabinghi and Rastafarian chanting into his music, lyrics and album covers. Songs like "Rastaman Chant" led to the movement and reggae music being seen as closely intertwined in the consciousness of audiences across the world (especially among oppressed and poor groups of African Americans and Native Americans, First Nations Canadians, Australian Aborigines and New Zealand Māori, and throughout most of Africa). Other reggae musicians with strong Rastafarian elements in their music include Toots and The Maytals, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Midnite, Ras Michael, Prince Lincoln Thompson, Bunny Wailer, Prince Far I, Israel Vibration, The Congos and literally hundreds more.
Some orthodox Rastas disdain reggae as a form of commercial music and "sell-out to Babylon." To others, it is "JAH Throne Music".
Rastafari is not a highly organized religion. In fact, some Rastas say that it is not a "religion" at all, but a "way of Life". Most Rastas do not identify with any sect or denomination, though there are three prominent mansions of Rastafari: the Nyahbinghi, the Bobo Ashanti and the Twelve Tribes of Israel. By claiming Jah as the returned Jesus, Rastafari is a new religious movement that has arisen from Christianity, much as Christianity arose from Judaism.
In 1996, the Rastafari movement worldwide was given consultative status by the United Nations.
Rastafarianism | New religious movements | Religion in Jamaica | Jamaican society | Subcultures | Religious organizations using entheogens | Cannabis culture | Abrahamic religions
Растафари | Rastafari | Rastafari | Rastafari | Rastafarianism | Movimiento rastafari | Rastafaria movado | Mouvement rastafari | Rastafarijanstvo | Gerakan Rastafari | Rastafarianesimo | ראסטפארי | Rastafari | Rastafarizmas | Rasztafariánus mozgalom | Rastafari | ラスタファリズム | Rastafarianizm | Movimento do Rastafari | Растафарианство | Rastafarian | Rastafari | Rastafari | Rastafarianizm
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the "Rastafari movement".
Home Page • arts • business • computers • games • health • hospitals • home • kids & teens • news • physicians • recreation• reference • regional • science • shopping • society • sports • world