Rastafarianism, Term Paper Example

Introduction

Rastafari-movement is an afro-centric religious, as well as a social movement. The Rastafari’s derived from Jamaica in the 1930’s, later migrating into other Afro-Caribbean around the world. The worship of Haile Selassie – emperor of Ethiopia, commenced this new religion during the hardship in Jamaica (79% were lower-class). Although he was the one crowned, these prophecies initially arose from the Jamaican Nationalist leader as well as author – Marcus Garvey. Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) was thereafter recognized as the black messiah. The religion adapted representational symbolisms such as the Star of David, and the Lion of Judah.

Religion is what fuels Rastafarianism in Jamaica, as it does in any country in Africa. It is said that the Hebrew bible was a history of African race, but during the time of enslavement the text was deliberately incorrectly translated to deceive the slaves at the time. Many beliefs and traditions are incorporated to the Bible within communities, and they are said to have been one of twelve tribes in ancient Israel, therefore they are the true descendant of David and children of Jah. Their prolonged belief of Ethiopia being “the promised land” resulted in the migration of numerous Jamaicans to ‘their rightful place’. Repatriation to Africa has strongly become sought after by countless who feel they have the right to return, to repair what colonialism had destroyed and left in disarray. Furthermore, there is a constant battle with the western hierarchy. The moral codes carried within Rastafarian communities are comparable to the Old Testament laws, this is where vegetarianism, loving mankind, condemning hate, opposing pleasures modern day brings, brotherhood, charitable, adhering to Ethiopian ancient laws, and not accepting aid comes in.

They had been given 500 hectares in the Promised Land from the emperor, called Selassie. This is where many set this to be their life goal.

Background

The Rastafarian people of Jamaica believe that they are direct descendants of the early Israelites and were a people that were sent into exile owing to transgressions against God. Ultimately they believe that their salvation will only come through the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie whom they believe to be the reincarnation of Christ. They hold the belief that Ethiopia and Africa is the spiritual home of the black people. It is only in Ethiopia where they can be truly saved and as such repatriation is viewed as akin to salvation. Others believe that that it is not important to have a physical presence in Africa but a sense of belief in their roots and to find their African identity. They mainly believe that it is a search for ‘Africanism’ which is their root to salvation as opposed to a heaven. The growing of the hair into dreadlocks is related to religious beliefs and within the Rasta culture it is forbidden to cut these off. The concept of this is related to the Lions in the Bible and as such they must live in accordance with the rules of nature.

Symbolism

Symbolism in Rastafarian Culture has related to the use of Marijuana in smoking for recreational purposes and use as a medicine. The dreadlocks have been noted as a symbol depicting the Rastafarian people together with big, often flamboyant woolly hats and big hair styles. The have the Lion as a main symbol which was on the old Ethiopian flag. The Lion depicts a link between that of Emperor Haile Selassie, King Solomon and the Israelites. The Lions in the Bible were often depicted as animals of pride and great courage and as a conqueror. There is little to no symbolism between the Rastafarian and that of the United Arab Emirates or for that matter any Arabic culture other than the Iranians. The land of Persia and the Persian Empire has been linked with the Lion under the reign of King Xerxes and with that of Alexander the Great. The Lion is probably the closest symbolic link to the Middle Eastern Arabic world, that of Israel and the Rastafarian people from Ethiopia. The Lion is featured on the Flag of Jerusalem and called the Lion of Judah. The Lion is depicted on the Early Ethiopian Flag and the Links of the Rastafarians to that of King Solomon of the Israelites and the Emperor Haile Selassie. The Lion has long been depicted in the Flag of Iran and associated with Persia when there was an Asian Lion that roamed that land and is now extinct and virtually extinct in the last remaining habitat in India. The Lion in Persian times was offered related to the Sun and the Sun behind the Lion was depicting power, courage and authority. The Lion has been adopted in other Middle Eastern countries as a mean of important symbolism. The Lion is still used in Iran today and this creates some unsettlement between other Arab countries and how they perceive Iran as being a potential threat in the Middle East and the

There are no strong Social Movements in the United Arab Emirates from the time of independence. There are strong cultural links with the Bedouin people. The Bedouin people have historically been nomadic people capable of living in harsh desert conditions. Socially they have been described as the Lions of the desert, depicting the courage of the people and one that has never been conquered.

Life and Religion

Although Rastafarianism is a religion, it is also very culturally and socially bound. They believe strongly in the power that nature manifests, this explains the prominent vegetarianism found in Rasta’s. Cigarettes, coffee, as well as alcohol are forbidden and never consumed. On the contrary, they view smoking cannabis as an act of worship. Cannabis is a prominent part of the life of a Rasta, it is used in a manner to directly connect to Jah (God). Rastafarian religion consists of “reasoning sessions” which is a union with Jah under the influences of cannabis, which better helps worshipers to connect with a higher power. Use is described biblically to the Rasta’s. Cannabis use is prominent mainly during any prayers or meetings in which their communities have, as well as during the biblical interpretations (seminars-like). In regards to Rasta’s great length of their hair, the dreadlocks are interpreted as ‘antennas’ to the psychic mystical powers from above and cutting of hair is not done. Hair is represented as a ‘spiritual journey’, that brings patience and understanding to fellow Rasta’s.

Rastafarians comply by their religion in every aspect; they use everything natural from the earth as the bible state, which incorporates the cannabis use although it is a symbol representing the act of refusal to submit to the world of the west. Or as Rasta’s named it – Babylon.

Roots in an Ancient Religion

The concept of Rastafarianism is so much more than just an African hippie movement. It has roots that go back to ancient religious beliefs where Haile Selassie was considered to be a messiah of the people. It is estimated that there are some 180,000 Rastafarian people world-wide with a heavy concentration in Jamaica. They rejected the religion of Christianity calling it the religion of the white man. The Rastafarians argue that Ethiopia in Africa is the promised land of moss and that they themselves are the true descendants of David and the real children of God as defined in the Old Testament. The belief states that the kingdom of Ethiopia was created by Menelik the first son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. In 1991 many Ethiopians migrated to Israel where they were granted Citizenship and full rights a status only granted to those who can prove Jewish ancestry.

The concept of Rastafarianism has its roots in the 1930’s working class people of Jamaica. They viewed the white people as oppressors who uprooted their people from the ancestral lands of Ethiopia. As such they were robbed of their heritage and sold into bondage as slaves. Much of this though was put into music by Bob Marley and this helped to spread the message world-wide. The Rastafarian people viewed Marcus Garvey ac Jamaican socialist as a person that would help to restore the religion and establish a new world order. The Rastafarians have been credited as influencing the world hippie movement particularly in the use of smoking marijuana, beads and adornments and growing long hair. Marijuana however has long been deeply rooted in the religious beliefs as they consider smoking this helps to cleanse the soul, purify the mind and bring a person closer to God.

The Concept of Ethopianism

The concept of Ethiopianism refers to those African people that originated from Ethiopia and are either inside or outside of Africa. This particularly relates to the culture of the Rastafarian people who settled in the Caribbean from Ethiopia. They still regard Ethiopia as their spiritual home. The Rastafarian people of Jamaica believe that they are direct descendants of the early Israelites and were a people that were sent into exile owing to transgressions against God. Ultimately they believe that their salvation will only come through the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie whom they believe to be the reincarnation of Christ. They hold the belief that Ethiopia and Africa is the spiritual home of the black people. It is only in Ethiopia where they can be truly saved and as such repatriation is viewed as akin to salvation. Others believe that that it is not important to have a physical presence in Africa but a sense of belief in their roots and to find their African identity. They mainly believe that it is a search for ‘Africanism’ which is their root to salvation as opposed to a heaven. The growing of the hair into dreadlocks is related to religious beliefs and within the Rasta culture it is forbidden to cut these off. The concept of this is related to the Lions in the Bible and as such they must live in accordance with the rules of nature.

Symbolism in Rastafarian Culture has related to the use of Marijuana in smoking for recreational purposes and use as a medicine. The dreadlocks have been noted as a symbol depicting the Rastafarian people together with big, often flamboyant woolly hats and big hair styles. The have the Lion as a main symbol which was on the old Ethiopian flag. The Lion depicts a link between that of Emperor Haile Selassie, King Solomon and the Israelites. The Lions in the Bible were often depicted as animals of pride and great courage and as a conqueror. There is little to no symbolism between the Rastafarian and that of the United Arab Emirates or for that matter any Arabic culture other than the Iranians.

The land of Persia and the Persian Empire has been linked with the Lion under the reign of King Xerxes and with that of Alexander the Great. The Lion is probably the closest symbolic link to the Middle Eastern Arabic world, that of Israel and the Rastafarian people from Ethiopia. The Lion is featured on the Flag of Jerusalem and called the Lion of Judah. The Lion is depicted on the Early Ethiopian Flag and the Links of the Rastafarians to that of King Solomon of the Israelites and the Emperor Haile Selassie. The Lion has long been depicted in the Flag of Iran and associated with Persia when there was an Asian Lion that roamed that land and is now extinct and virtually extinct in the last remaining habitat in India. The Lion in Persian times was offered related to the Sun and the Sun behind the Lion was depicting power, courage and authority. The Lion has been adopted in other Middle Eastern countries as a mean of important symbolism. The Lion is still used in Iran today and this creates some unsettlement between other Arab countries and how they perceive Iran as being a potential threat in the Middle East.

Emergence of Ethiopianism

During that period of slavery prior to the American Revolutionary War the black people revered Ethiopia as an ancient empire that flourished in the upper Nile valley. There was a strong biblical connection to the time of King Solomon and they held the belief that the Ethiopians were the early Israelites and that the Black people were held in good standing with God and that the true route to salvation was returning to Africa and particularly Ethiopia the roots and homeland. African people believed they had a deep routed civilization that predated the Christians and as such had a proud cultural heritage to which they all belonged. (Smithsonian 2011)

Spread Beyond Africa

Ethiopia has a long history dating back over 3,000 years to the time of the Axumite Empire and apart from a short period of Italian occupation (1936-1941) the country has not been under the control of any European power. The population have not had a major tendency to move elsewhere but they were fairly nomadic because of food shortages, starvation and the need to move agriculture into different areas.

The spread outside of Africa

It was really the Emperor Haile Selassie that encouraged some 20,000 Ethiopians to complete elements of their education in different countries and placed a number of people in diplomatic posts abroad. The graph to the right illustratrates the flow of Ethiopian immigrants to the United States of America. With the highest point being between the 1970’s to late 1990’s. (Terrazas 2011)

Much of this being due to resettlement from the massive famine that occurred in the region between 184-1986. The concept of Ethiopianism has been used in a wider context to include all of Africans that live outside of the continent. Hence this embraced all of the Africans that were forcebly moved from Africa and into slavery in the New World, Caribbean and South America. (Gruesser 2000). Ethiopianism there therefore referred to all Africans as being of one blood. (Maria Diedrich 1999)

Works Cited

Gruesser, J.C. Black on Black: twentieth-century African American writing about Africa. . Lexington: University Press Kentucky, 2000.

Maria Diedrich, Henry Louis Gates, Carl Pedersen. Black imagination and the middle passage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Smithsonian. The African Diaspora, Ethiopianism and Rastafari. 12 5, 2011. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/migrations/rasta/rasessay.html (accessed 4 18, 2012).

Terrazas, A.M. Beyopnd regional circularity: The emergence of an Ethiopian Diaspora. 12 5, 2011. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=604 (accessed 4 18, 2012).