| HOMEPAGE | RECOMMENDED BOOKS | AFRICA SPEAKS |
 |  |    |  |
|  |
Rastafari - The Same OrderPresented during the 'World Archeological Congress onthe African Diaspora" Earlier this year in Curacao By Robert Thomas The general consent worldwide is still that Rastas are lazy, dirty drug addicts that do not have any contribution to make to society, praising the name of a person that is absolutely rejected by westerners. In many countries Rastas are still discriminated because of this view, Rastas are thrown in jail, trimmed and abused by the Babylonian forces of evil, or the respective governments if you rather that term. Lack of information and prejudice are the main causes for this. A reason for the lack of information might be that on most of the islands of the Caribbean we find that the Rastafarian community has secluded itself from mainstream living. This for reasons of obtaining spiritual pureness, which is a difficult task living in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Babylon where negative influences are the order of the day. In some Rasta communities, outsiders are not quite appreciated and are usually ignored or simply requested to leave. The reason for this is usually that outsiders are looked upon as 'peeping Toms' or are even considered unclean. Also the premises might be considered holy ground and not for uninitiated to be trodden upon. Rastafarians are like the Levites in the Old Testament, a tribe of priests and temple keepers. Most Rasta's have a high level of spiritual consciousness, which makes it difficult for an outsider to reason with, or to understand the reasoning of a Rastafarian. Which then, will often lead to misunderstandings and prejudice. Although numerous books and articles have been written on the subject of the Rastafarian movement, I guess when someone takes the time to read up on a variety of these articles he or she might end up very confused as each book, each article gives a slightly or even a complete different version on what the Rastafarian movement incorporates and mostly the thesis will be presented as THE truth. One speaks of black superiority, while the other repeats H.I.M. Haile Selassie I's words saying that the color of a man's skin is of no more significance then the color of his eyes. One claims that the smoking of ganja is a must while others deny this. One claims that the growing of dreadlocks is a must while the other claims it's a choice. These are just a few of the numerous apparent contradictions between the different movements of which the followers worldwide call themselves Rastas. Well let me complete your confusion by starting to state that 90 % of them, however contradictory, are absolutely right. How? Well, there is THE one basic principle that proves a Rasta a Rasta or Rastafarian if you wish. A person's claim to be a Rastafarian can only be valid if the person indeed knows H.I.M. Haile Selassie, Rastafari, to be a divine presence, divinity, Christ, savior, or at the very least his or her spiritual inspiration, thus identifying themselves with His Name. All this related with the biblical prophesy of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Root of David being the Christ in his second coming. Haile Selassie I without a doubt fulfills these prophesies. The imperial family is also considered divine according to the Kebra Negast, the Ethiopian book of the Glory of Kings, as being kinsmen to Christ. Therefore they are morally supported by the Rastafarians and are considered our Royalty to which we pledge alliance. Earlier I deliberately mentioned 90% of the thesis about the Rastafarian movement to be true, for there are individuals and groups that will solely use his name as an excuse for their own shortcomings and/or to do as they wish, flirting with anarchy and completely ignoring Haile Selassie's ideas and views on issues such as education, work, Bible, unity, leadership and morality, just to name a few. By right and by heart I cannot bring myself to include this group lest it will function as a down grader for the majority of truly devoted Rastas. Worldwide thus also in the Caribbean, Rastafarian knowledge varies from country to country. Many times this is the case because the earliest Rastas on a particular island will develop a doctrine. Those that follow will often follow that doctrine, as this is the first information they have access to. Now of course it all depends on what issues this first person was concentrating while developing his doctrine. The early Rastas all looked toward Jamaica for guidance, listened to Reggae music, read books on the subject and thus formed their opinion which then is presented as THE Rasta philosophy to be followed by the rest that come after. Sometimes it will occur that a certain person has limited knowledge and compensates this with personal inventions or mixes up Rasta philosophy with various different cultural and religious influences up to a point where other Rastas are absolutely unable to identify with this person or group that are called Rastas by the local people but that will have considerable problems being recognized or accepted internationally. Lacking a central organ, the Rastafarian movement is bound to scattered and disorganized. The basic view however should be and usually is that as soon as one praises the Emperor's name one is to be accepted unless proven false. An important biblical rule that most of us uphold is that "judge not lest you shall be judged". Therefore one is extremely careful in declaring a person or a group as being false. Leave all judgment up to Jah. Slowly but surely however, we are able to find Rastafarians in the different layers of society; in that mainstream, which used to be avoided. When I say recently we should really take that as a relative fact since we are talking here about probably the last twenty to twenty-five years. A group that consists mainly of let us call it intellectuals and middle to upper-class brethren and sistren would be the Twelve Tribes of Israel, an organization that started in Jamaica but that is now spread world wide with followers from Europe to africa, from the Americas to the Pacific, it's members consisting of all races and classes of society. Also, there are voices within the Rastafarian movement to organize and centralize in order to become economically, politically and spiritually stronger. As Rastas are found in the many countries around the world a worldwide organization with central headquarters would be an excellent starting point for worldwide political and economical influence. Rastafarians in general are a deeply religious people not withstanding the fact that we usually shun the word religion and rather call spiritual consciousness or something similar. This because of the fact that religion has been a foundation for many wrongs of the past, both islam and western Christianity have been a scourge to the African continent and almost brought Africans to the verge of extinction. Rastafarians know the Old Testament to be Holy and although distorted by King James it contains the basic rules, laws and prophesies in which Rasta's spiritual consciousness has it's foundation. Rastafarian philosophy is certainly closer to Judaism then to western Christianity thus not much varying from the ethics and traditions of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which, in Trinidad and in Jamaica has a huge following of Rastafarians. A strong affiliation with Africa and Africans is detected throughout the Rastafarian community worldwide. To us Rastafarians, the black holocaust, as Dr. Martin Luther King called it, is not something to be forgotten. Africans and African descendants worldwide have an absolute right to be angry. Point is however to channel this anger in structural ways in order to prevent history from repeating and in order to find solutions for damages already done. One of the most pressing points at this time is our claim for reparations, just like any individual, any group who has suffered damage through intent or neglect, black people are the foremost appointed group to receive these reparations, there is no question about if and but, the only questions are how much, when and who. Another very strong issue amongst the Rastafarian community is repatriation to Africa. Physical repatriation however, is a tickly issue. The state of affairs in Africa is not as such that millions and millions of Africans worldwide can just swarm to the continent and build a living. Mutual alienisation between Africans at home and Africans abroad is an important problem that needs to be tackled by educating both parties. Repatriation is a must yes but the repatriating Africans need to have something to offer as well. Educated people who will know what to do, who can help out Africa with their knowledge and skills, teach the history that has been distorted in order to keep Africans ignorant, like Marcus Garvey said; "A peoples without the knowledge of their past history is like a tree without roots". Also we need to make available advanced studies on economics, medical studies, and probably one of the most important tasks, the creation of a huge cadre of qualified teachers and professors should be a prime goal for Africans at home and abroad and many Rastas do work very hard on this issue. One of the most controversial issues related to the Rastafarian movement would of course be the smoking of Marihuana. Because of the western laws, which label marihuana as an illegal drug, Rastas are persecuted for the use of this herb in many countries. Even though many states in the USA have legalized marihuana for medical purposes, the USA still sends helicopters and personnel to countries like Jamaica in order to destroy ganja plantations. As we are able to point out clearly from the biblical texts, marihuana, just like any other natural herb is for the use of man. This fact together with scientific reports, on which, by the way, millions were spent to prove marihuana damaging, make it clear that we are talking about a herb that was created by Jah for the good, for the healing of man. All the millions spent in proving marihuana damaging have so far only produced more prove concerning ailments for which marihuana is a cure or a relief. Rastas use marihuana as sacramental herb, a religious sacrament and as medicine to be used as a natural healer provided by Jah. When we read the universal declarations of human rights we may conclude that Rastas are illegally persecuted for our use of marihuana, for it being part of our religion we, according to this declaration, are hindered in practicing our religion, our spiritual consciousness. Again, lack of a central organ hinders us in tackling this injustice on international scale. Finally, if we take all the different Rastafarian movements together, we have: The group of, let us call them Levites, this is currently the largest group which maintains the spiritual awareness to a level necessary for spiritual progress; chanting, praising, meditating and reasoning. The messengers, the singers and players of instruments, these send the message around the world for everyone to know, many times we'll find the Levites amongst this group as well. The professionals; doctors, lawyers, businesspeople, teachers and even politicians. Arts and crafts man and woman who preserve our cultural identity on canvas, carved in wood, molded in clay and so on. The masses that follow and need education on spiritual and/or professional level. Rastas worldwide have the enormous task of bringing this spiritual awareness to the people, to educate the people on matters they are unaware of or are misinformed upon. Rastas are thus represented in each layer of society. United and organized we are a universal force that, through education and international pressure, has the ability to make a difference, to finally fulfill a reality of equal rights for all, the final universal recognition of Africans being equal to any other peoples, not only on paper but from the heart, and the forming of an intercontinental African economic power that cannot be denied. _____________________________________________________ letter to Robert Thomas May 6, 2001 Mr. Robert Thomas Curaçao Dear Mr. Thomas, I have read your paper, "Rastafari - The Same Order", with great interest and commend your efforts to advance understanding of the Rastafarian community. Of equal importance, however, is the message which you bring to Rastafarians concerning the importance of understanding diverse interpretations and approaches to Rasta beliefs and practices. As in all aspects of life, without knowledge there can be no unity or advancement. The search for knowledge is not easy - indeed, it requires serious work and self discipline. Knowledge brings empowerment to any community. Your efforts will surely assist persons of good will and good intentions. Sincerely. Ermias S. Haile-Selassie  | | |
Raceandhistory.com | Howcomyoucom.com | Trinicenter.com | AfricaSpeaks.com Another 100% non-profit Website serving poorly represented communities. Contact us at: Copyright © 2001-2007 RastafariTimes.com |
Back to top |
