Rastafarianism



Rastafarianism (from Amharic ራስ (ras, "chief, head") and ተፈሪ (täfäri, "to be feared, fearsome" from ፈራ färä, "to fear"), ) is a black consciousness religious movement. Rastafarian sects have ideological roots in Rosicrucianism, Judaism, Freemasonry, Hinduism, Obeah, and Myal and can be summarized as "God is man and man is God," salvation is earthly, humans are called to celebrate and protect life, words can bring creation and destruction, sin is both personal and corporate, and Rastas are the chosen people to manifest God's power and promote world peace.

It originated in Jamaica in the 1930s from Marcus Garvey's interpretation of the King James Bible when Ethiopian prince Ras Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975) was crowned emperor Haile Selassie and claimed the title "Lion of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings." Garvey believed Selassie to be the second coming of Christ, a messiah who would overthrow the existing order, the suppression of blacks carried out by whites called Babylon, and usher in the reign of blacks. As a social movement, it was originally composed almost entirely of lower class Jamaicans, though the influence of Reggae music gave it a wider, more international audience, and focused on encouraging resistance to oppressive political structures.

Rastafarianism is a largely decentralized group held together by core ideas. According to the belief, the Hebrew Bible is the history of the African race purposefully mistranslated by Europeans to deceive the slaves, and their Zion is Ethiopia. The stereotypical image of Rastas having dreadlocks originates from Nazarite laws which forbid cutting hair, a style also shared with Ethiopian tribal warriors and priests, as well as a symbol for the lion's mane. It's also believed that dreadlocks serve as a kind of psychic antenna connecting Rastas to God. Rastafarian colors are usually considered red, green, and gold, after the Ethiopian flag, and the ritual smoking of marijuana (ganja) plays an important part of life as a "holy herb" valued for its physical, psychological, and therapeutic uses.