Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta
Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky
Bakalářská diplomová práce
Michal Šilberský
2010 Michal Šilberský
20
10 Hřbet
Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
Department of English and American Studies
English Language and Literature
Michal Šilberský
The Rastafarian Movement in Jamaica Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis
Supervisor: Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph. D.
2010
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I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.
…………………………………………….. Author’s signature
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I would like to thank my supervisor Mgr. Martina Horáková, Ph.D. for her helpful advice and the time devoted to my thesis.
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction 6
2. History of Jamaica 8
3. The Rastafarian Movement 13
3.1. Origins 13
3.2. The Beginnings of the Rastafarian Movement 22
3.3. The Rastafarians 25
3.3.1. Dreadlocks 26
3.3.2. I-tal 27
3.3.3. Ganja 28
3.3.4. Dread Talk 29
3.3.5. Ethiopianism 30
3.3.6. Music 32
3.4. The Rastafarian Movement after Pinnacle 35
4. The Influence of the Rastafarian Movement on Jamaica 38
4.1. Tourism 38
4.2. Cinema 41
5. Conclusion 44
6. Bibliography 45
7. English Resumé 48
8. Czech Resumé 49
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1. Introduction
Jamaica has a rich history of resistance towards the European colonization. What started with black African slave uprisings at the end of the 17th century has persisted till 20th century in a form of the Rastafarian movement. This thesis deals with the Rastafarian movement from its beginnings, to its most violent period, to the inclusion of its members within the society and shows, how this movement was perceived during the different phases of its growth, from derelicts and castaways to cultural bearers.
The first chapter deals with the history of Jamaica. It summarizes the development of the island‟s most important events of black people‟s resistance towards the white oppressors.
Both slave and peasant insurrections are included. Political and economical situation in the time of the emergence of the Rastafarian movement is mentioned as well. Those facts and event serve as a background for the emergence of the movement.
The next chapter deals with the Rastafarian movement itself. The first part of the chapter concerns its origins, the religious situation at Jamaica, the role of the slaves on the island and two most important persons from the point of view of the Rastafari. The description of the first Rasta community, Pinnacle, and its influence on its neighbors follows.
The detailed characterizations of Rastas, e.g. their habits, appearance and beliefs, are mentioned as well. After the certain events in their first community, the members of the movement moved to the Jamaican capital city. The enlistment of the Rastafarian characteristics is deliberately included between the two parts of the Rastafarian development
– in and after Pinnacle. The reason for this is that at Pinnacle, the Rastafarians did not come to the wider subconsciousness of the Jamaican society, because they were known only among their neighbors. After they came to Kingston, they started interacting with the wider society
- 6 - and the society started being influenced by them. This chapter shows the different stages in the development of the movement.
The last chapter shows the inclusion of the movement within the society at the examples of some cultural elements. Two elements are chosen: tourism and cinema. Tourism shows what is now considered to be Jamaican culture and how the Rasta image was recreated by the Jamaican society to fulfill the tourists‟ needs. The part that deals with cinema describes the depiction of Jamaica and Jamaican culture from the point of view of American and
Jamaican movie makers. This chapter shows the present image of Jamaica and the influence of the movement on the society.
The goal of this thesis is to provide a resume of the development of the Rastafarian movement and its influence on Jamaican culture.
- 7 - 2. History of Jamaica
The first mention about Jamaica goes back to the time period around AD 700 when the island was settled by Arawaks. As Foehr observes, Arawaks originated in the Guianas of
South America. From the continent, they moved north through the Caribbean island chain.
After arriving to the island, Arawaks started calling it Xaymaca, which mean “the land of wood and water” (130).
The Europeans learnt about Jamaica during the voyages of exploration in the 15th century. According to Foehr, Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1494 (130). The first encounters of European and Jamaican cultures were brutal: “Columbus ordered his crossbowmen to fire on the group [of Arawaks], and killed several” (Foehr 131). This initial act reflects the whole history of Jamaica when the white people, though smaller in population, ideologically dominated over the rest inhabitants of the island. The Spanish ruled over the island very ruthlessly, “[t]he impact of the contact with the Spanish was traumatic, and these
[Arawak] communities disappeared in 70-80 years” (Essix). The shortage of work force was substituted by an import of the African slaves, who were transported to Jamaica via Middle
Passage.1 One of the first forms of resistance of the black people towards the slavery was in form of runaway slaves. These slaves were called cimarrones2, or shortly Maroons. After they escaped from the plantations, they trooped and lived in the groups on the places with difficult access, “[s]ome slaves inevitably run away from the estates to live in small bands in the mountains as Maroons” (Essix). The slaves in those groups were the first rebels who fought against the European colonists in Jamaica.
Jamaican society was, from the very beginning, stratified by color: “whites [were dominating] over blacks and in between them [one could find] a range of subtle gradations of color and status” (Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 3). The Jamaican colonists grew
1 Middle Passage was one stage of the triangular trade which operated form the late 16th to 19th century. At this stage, people from Africa were transported across the Atlantic to America and Caribbean (“Middle Passage”). 2 Cimarrón is a Spanish word which stands for runaway slave.
- 8 - very rich because of their plantations. Slave trade was growing. Slavery was maintained by two methods: physical force and ideology. The Europeans have come with a stratification of society according to the color of the skin, with the colonizers at the top and the Africans at the bottom. The white leading class created many stereotypes about the African slaves. According to the ideology of the inferiority of the black people, a usual slave was “not only black and ugly. He was, besides, morally debased, lazy, lascivious and a liar” (Chevannes, Rastafari:
Roots and Ideology 9). These ideological attacks from the white dominating population were focused on the black people themselves. The goal of those attacks was to degrade the slaves of their dignity. Another line of attack was focused on the African culture. As Chevannes observes, the Europeans tried to make the Africans forget about Africa or at least make them think that Africa is very undeveloped and barbaric place. The colonists regarded the use of
African drums and the African dances as primitive habits. (Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 10).
All these efforts had one goal, to instill the ideas of the African inferiority, both physical and cultural, into the minds of the slaves.
At the end of 17th century, the first major slave rebellion took its place in Clarendon parish3. As Roth mentions, this notable slave revolt took its place in 1690, when many slaves escaped from Sutton‟s plantation and joined the descendants of Spanish slaves, who were called Maroons (1). The English started the First Maroon War in 1729 and their goal was to exterminate the Maroons. The war lasted approximately 10 years. Both sides signed a peace treaty in the end. As Foehr observes, the peace treaty granted Maroons 1500 acres of land. In return the Maroons agreed to chase down runaway slaves and to assist the English in repressing the slave rebellions (80). This can be seen as an ideological victory of the
European population, because they bought the rebels who agreed to help them. The rebels were no longer rebels but an aide to the authorities, as they betrayed the black people.
3 A parish is a local administrative division.
- 9 - The black and white population grew. According to Tortello, there were 7000 English and 40 000 slaves in Jamaica in 1700. In the next century, the number of the English increased to more than 20 000, but the number of the black people jumped to 300 000 (“The
Arrival of the Africans”). The slave population hugely exceeded the British and many insurrections and rebellions took place, but up to 1760, rebellions that occurred in Jamaica were only the local insurrections (Evans). On Easter Sunday 1760, a slave called Tacky and a group of his followers killed their masters, armed themselves and fought against the British militia and Maroons. The rebellion was fought back but it encouraged many other rebellions all over the island, “[t]he rebellion didn‟t end here, as other rebellions broke out all over
Jamaica … It was months later until peace was restored” (Evans).
The most famous and best organized rebellion was called the Christmas Rebellion in
1831. It was inspired by Samuel Sharpe, a Baptist deacon. As Chevannes observes, Sharpe was able to plan this rebellion via network created by Native Baptist movement. (Rastafari:
Roots and Ideology 12) At first, Sharpe did not want a violent riot, he prayed for the passive rebellion when he encouraged the slaves from his “church” to refuse working during the
Christmas holidays. But soon, his non-violent idea turned into a bloody insurrection. The
Maroons helped the British to suppress this rebellion. The whole incident was over after two weeks. As Chevannes suggests, this rebellion hastened the official end of the slavery, which took place in 1834 (Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 12). Later, Sam Sharpe was declared a national hero (Essix).
The former slaves found themselves in the difficult economical position. They refused to work for little money that was offered them by their former masters and sometimes they had no place to go, because their former masters destroyed slave„s huts where they had previously lived. The Morant Bay Rebellion was a climax of the difficulties that the peasants faced on daily basis. As Meditz and Hanratty recount, the rebellion begins when the
- 10 - protesting [4] crowd did not obey the militia, which in turn started shooting at the demonstrators. The rioters burned few houses and killed some people, but the insurrection was soon suppressed (“Political Tradition”). In this rebellion, “439 black Jamaicans were killed directly by soldiers” (“Morant Bay Rebellion”). In contrast to the result of the First
Maroon War, the outcome of this rebellion could not be seen as an ideological victory of the island elite: “[T]he Morant Bay Rebellion was a sign of a more general political failure by the ruling class to effect an assimilation of the ex-slaves within the framework of European
Jamaica” (Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 13). Similarly to Sam Sharpe, Paul
Bogle, the leader of the rebellion was later pronounced the national hero.
Descendants of the African slaves in Jamaica did not have many opportunities in moving up in the social rank because of the circumstances that privileged the white minority.
A small change came after emancipation. As Chevannes recounts, during the post emancipation period in the nineteen century, some of the free peasants were able to move up to the lowest ranks of the middle class. They usually took jobs as clerks, teachers or religious ministers (Rastafari: Roots and Ideology).
The Great Depression in 1929 had a huge impact on Jamaican economy and society, especially on the poor people. The unemployment was enormous. The slums were created in
Kingston as poor people from countryside were coming to the capital city in search of a job.
In that time, Alexander Bustamante5 wrote some letters to the press “on behalf of the poor”
(Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 14). People for whom he spoke took him as their leader. As the poorest people in Jamaica were black, they chose Bustamante, who himself was mulatto, as their leader. As Chevannes observes, these black people thought that Bustamante would be more successful in representing their interests to the ruling class (Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 15). The poor black people chose a mulatto person because they thought it
4 They protested against an unjust arrest of a peasant (Meditz and Hanratty). 5 Bustamante was a charismatic person who used media to criticize the prevailing political system (Essix).
- 11 - would be easier for him to communicate with the white authorities, because the stratification of the society according to the skin color was still a prevailing feature of the Jamaican society.
As Chevannes mentions, Bustamante founded an organization called Bustamante Industrial
Trades Union (BITU). He used this organization as a base for his political party Jamaica
Labour Party (JLP). The People„s National Party (PNP) was established by Norman Manley as a opposition for JLP. (Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 15). These two are the main political parties in Jamaica nowadays.
- 12 - 3. The Rastafarian Movement
3.1. Origins
The very first cornerstone of the Rastafari movement was laid in the beginning of the sixteenth century by the Europeans. More precisely, by the English and the Spaniards who started importing slaves from Africa to Jamaica. In that time, the Africans started to lose touch with their own culture, religion and home. The hatred towards the white people began to emerge in the minds of the African slaves. The Africans and their descendants have created some particular kinds of resistance towards the European oppression throughout the whole history. At first, the slaves resisted by running away and by rebelling against their masters.
Not many rebellions, though, were important from the point of view of the whole island. As
Patterson writes: “The Taki [or Tacky] and Sam Sharpe rebellions were the only two that seriously threatened to bring the system of slavery crashing down, but every few years there was either some conspiracy or premature outbreak” (qtd. in Chevannes Rastafari The Roots and Ideology 11). Those insurrections were the signs of the frustration of the slaves with the system.
As Besson observes, there was only one official religion in Jamaica in that time and that was Christianity and only the white people were allowed to attend Christian masses (47).
The slaves had their own religions, Obeah6 and Myal7 which they practiced in secret.
The slave rebels used their religion to cooperate on a deeper level, not only on a tribe basis. At first, they used Myal. As Schuler notes: “The Myal religion first came to the attention of the Europeans in the Taki Rebellion of 1760 … the political and cultural significance of the Myal religion is that it enabled a rebellion to be organized on pan-African
6 Obeah was a religion that dealt with enchantment. Chevannes compares an obeahman, who was a spiritual leader, to a sorcerer (Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 6). The core of obeah practice is “the use of fetishes, oils and powders to achieve personal ends such as success in ventures” (Chevannes, Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 5). 7 As Chevannes observes, Myal was Pan-African religion with emphasis on healing. It was anti-obeah. (Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 7).
- 13 - … ethnic lines for the first time in the history of the Africans in Jamaica” (qtd. in Chevannes,
Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 6). There is not much information about Myal rituals in their beginnings, but as Chevannes observes, there are some similarities with central African religious movements (Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 18). Because of its role in the fight against slavery, the Myal religion could be seen as revolutionary movement (Chevannes,
Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 7). The Myal got its revolutionary character because it brought together the slaves from all Jamaica to fight against the white oppression.
The slaves were generally not welcomed and even forbidden to attend Christian masses. The only official religion, the Anglican Church, was used at that time exclusively by the slave masters: “In eighteen-century Jamaica, the Anglican or „established‟ Church was the only church allowed by law to function in the island, and as the official religion of the slaves masters, the Established church supported the status quo of slavery and was inefficient and corrupt as the plantation society that it served” (Besson 47). The slave masters were afraid that the slaves would learn what is in the Bible, that men are created equal in front of God:
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings” (New
King James Version, act 17:26). This did not match a justification of slavery that indicated that the blacks were inferior to the whites. The slave masters did not pay any attention to the slaves‟ needs for the official religion: “At this time [18th century] the planters‟ church also completely neglected the spiritual welfare of the slaves” (Besson 47). The slaves had their own religion Myal, as was mentioned above, with their own set of gods and spirits:
On the Jamaican slave plantations, where the slaves were untouched by Christianity
until the arrival of Nonconformist missionaries in the late eighteenth century, the
slaves forged a new African-Caribbean cosmology following the shattering of their
- 14 - African religions … African baseline beliefs in witchcraft, medicine, ancestral cults
and a pantheon of gods and spirits, remoulding them within the slave plantations … At
the heart of this recreated worldview were the magico-religious cults of Obeah and
Myalism. (Besson 56)
The slaves, who were deprived of the official religion, created a new religious background that helped them in their fight against the white oppression.
As was mentioned above, the slaves had no access to Christianity until the arrival of
Nonconformist. This happened in the beginning of the second half of the 18th century when the first missionaries arrived: “The Moravians were the first English Nonconformist missionaries to arrive in Jamaica in 1754, followed by the Methodist in 1789 and the Baptist in 1813” (Besson 47). The Baptist church was the most successful from those three denominations mainly thanks to George Lisle (or Liele), who came to Jamaica in 1784 from
Virginia as an ex-slave. In the year of his arrival, he established the first Baptist church in
Jamaica, also called the Ethiopian Baptist Church (Waters 45). He was a very important figure for the slaves and for future Rastafarians: “The significance of George Liele and the
Native Baptist movement is that they blended Afrocentricity, biblical messianism, and apocalypticism with Ethiopianism to create a liberative vision among Jamaicans of African descent” (Edmonds, Rastafari 35). Ethiopianism, which will be dealt with in detail later, is
“an attention to and fascination with biblical references to Ethiopia” (Waters 45). These biblical references had the promise of the liberation of the black people. This liberative vision is a centre for the Rastafari movement. Ethiopianism itself was a very important factor in that religion from the Rastafarian point of view: “The ideology of Ethiopianism would flower in the twentieth century into the Rastafari movement, nurtured by the teaching of Marcus
Garvey, the crowning of Ras Tafari as Haile Selassie, the preaching of the Howellites and the
- 15 - innovations of the Youth Black Faith[8]” (Besson 64). Later, it became the cornerstone of their belief.
The slaves used their Afro-Caribbean religions, Myal or Obeah, as one form of their religious beliefs and the Christianity in a form of the Orthodox Baptist movement as another form, “the slaves embraced the Baptist faith at a formal level and attended the Baptist Church
…However the slaves also remained committed to their Myalist traditions” (Besson 58). Myal transformed itself into the Native Baptist movement and with Orthodox (the official Christian version of Baptism) Baptist faith, there were now two different versions of Baptism in
Jamaica. The slaves were members of both Churches, this religious status was called dual membership. The Native Baptist Church played an important role during the so called Baptist
War, also called Christmas rebellion. The slaves became free peasants after the abolition of the slavery. As Chevannes believes, not only the slaves but also the Jamaican peasantry used the religion as a way of resistance towards the oppression from the white population:
The most central institution to the tradition of resistance in Jamaica has been religion.
Whether resistance through the use of force, or resistance through symbolic forms
such as language, folk-tales and proverbs, or resistance through the creation of
alternative institutions, religion was the main driving force among the Jamaican
peasants. (Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 1)
It did not matter whether the black Jamaicans were slaves or peasants. They were still disadvantaged because of their skin color, so they used their own religion which helped them fight the white oppression.
The above mentioned dual membership outlasted the abolition of slavery and was present in the newly created peasant plantation system. But Myal, also called the Native
Baptist movement, underwent another change, “in 1860 Myal as a religion was transformed
8 The Youth Black Faith is a radical group that emerged in West Kingston. They had different and more militant ideas than early Rastafarians who were apolitical and non-violent. (King, Bays, and Foster xix)
- 16 - by the intensity of the Great Revival into two variants, Zion and Pukumina, both under the general name of Revival” (Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 20). This form of a new religion was important for Jamaicans in general and for the Rastafari movement as well because of the changes it inflicted: “The character of Rastafari has been shaped by Revivalism to a far greater degree than is thought” (Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 22). The similarities could be found in Rastafarian rituals and the Revival worldview: “The emergence of Myal, its development into Revival, and the reconstruction of a worldview in response to
European subjugation and dominance provided solid foundations of the later achievements realized by the Rastafari” (Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 33). The original slave and peasant religion, the religion of oppressed people, became the central part of the
Rastafarian believe in the 20th century.
Revival was growing after its establishing in 1860 until 1920s and later became a religious background for the Rastafarian movement. The description of Haile Selassie and
Marcus Garvey, the two main figures thanks to which the movement could emerge in
Jamaica, follows. Interestingly enough, according to Foehr, Garvey did not have much sympathy for Rastafari (129).
Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I was born Tafari Makonnen on July 1892 in Harrar province, Ethiopia.
According to the documentary movie Roaring Lion: The Rise of Rastafari, he was a descendent of the King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. He became the last monarch of the
Ethiopian empire. His father was Ras Makonnen and he was a governor of Harrar province
(Foehr 147). He was the first cousin to Emperor Menelik II. This family relation was crucial
- 17 - for Tafari Makonnen to become a king of Ethiopia, because he could claim he was a king‟s relative.
According to Foehr, Tafari Makonnen became a provincial governor at 14. He gained a military title Ras, which means the head of army. It is similar to British Prince or Duke. His name together with the title was Ras Tafari Makonnen (147). This gave the name to the
Rastafari movement. He carried this title for 12 years and after that period of time he became
Negus which means King. That event took place in Ethiopia in 1928.
As Edmonds recounts, the coronation took place on 2 November 1930 (Rastafari 70).
Tafari‟s title now was Negusa Nagast which means King of Kings. During the coronation he took his baptismal name Haile Selassie, which means Power of the trinity.
His complete title was Emperor Haile Selassie I, [which means Power of The Holy
Trinity], 225th Emperor Of The Solomonic Dynasty, Elect Of God, Lord Of Lords,
King Of Kings, Conquering Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah … The title King Of Kings
… indicated simply the most powerful ruler in Ethiopia …Conquering Lion Of Judah
… indicate the Christian nature of the [Ethiopian] Empire. (Foehr 147 - 148).
His titles embodied some biblical references and that was important for religious Rastafarians.
It will be dealt with those references later.
According to the documentary movie Roaring Lion: The Rise of Rastafari, people in
Jamaica always worshiped white Christ and white kings and queens. No one told them about any black king. This black king was Haile Selassie. His coronation was important9 because he was the first true king and governor for many black Jamaicans. But the coronation itself would not be enough for people in Jamaica. The poor black inhabitants of the island, who would become the first Rastafarians, lived under difficult conditions: “The early Rastas were
9 The reasons for Selassie‟s importance for Jamaicans are mentioned in details in the chapter concerning Ethiopianism.
- 18 - drawn predominantly from Jamaica„s African underclasses, and the African rites and beliefs of the Jamaican peasants influenced Rastafari practices” (Foehr 129). These people were poor and had problems in procuring their culture: “The latent conditions out of which the Rastafari movement emerged were the economic deprivation, political disfranchisement and cultural alienation that prevailed among Afro-Jamaicans in the 1920s and 1930s” (Edmonds, Rastafari
29). They needed someone who would show them their lost pride and dignity. That man was
Marcus Garvey who was promoting black dignity and who pointed out that there is a black man who will become a king. The coronation of Haile Sallasie was visited by delegates from the whole Western world and it was a very important event in the life of black Jamaicans, because of its social and religious background.
That some Jamaicans could regard this man [Haile Selassie] as the promised messiah,
as Jesus Christ in fact, is insufficiently explained by the biblical references. It required
other pre-determining factors. Among the most important of these was the impact of
the work and ideas of Marcus Garvey in the form of a heightened Black, pan-African
consciousness … The titles he [Haile Selassie] bore, the homage paid by the White
world … the antiquity of Ethiopia and its mention in both Old and New Testaments of
the Bible … all swept them [Jamaican People] away with the powerful conviction that
Ras Tafari was none other than Jesus Christ (Chevannes, Rastafari and Other African-
Caribbean Worldviews 10 - 11).
This citation shows that many black people saw the coronation as a sign of black pride. They saw that white leaders wanted to be at the event where a black prince, who claimed to be a descent of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba, becomes the king of Ethiopia. This was the very important moment in the lives of black people.
- 19 - Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Jamaica on 17 August, 1887. His middle name played an important role: “Mosiah being suggestive of a cross between Moses and Messiah … a fact to which the people have attached great significance given the strong tradition of wordplay in Jamaican culture” (Chevannes, Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 39). After he grew up, he left Jamaica to work in Costa Rica where he learned about “terrible condition under which his fellow blacks worked” (UNIA History). There he decided to change the lives of black people. After Costa Rica, he went to London, where he lived from 1912 to 1914. “There
[in London] he learnt a lot about African culture and also became interested in conditions of blacks in the United States” (UNIA History). He returned to Jamaica in 1914 and established
UNIA: “Convinced that Unity was the only way to improvement for blacks, Garvey launched, on August 1, 1914, the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association” (UNIA
History). The main objective of UNIA was “to institute a separate, but equal, collegiate educational system for Jamaican blacks, modeled on Booker T Washington„s Tuskegee
Institute” (Foehr 126). Other objectives were “to promote the spirit of race, pride and love, to reclaim the fallen of the race and to conduct a worldwide commercial and industrial intercourse” (UNIA History).
After establishing of UNIA, Garvey traveled to America in order to expand the organization. “Garvey settled in Harlem and promoted his UNIA as a fraternal organization for local politicians, business leaders and civic-minded blacks” (Foehr 128). Garvey tried to start a business that would help UNIA financially. As Foehr recounts, he established a shipping company called Black Star Line in the United States in 1919, but it went bankrupt in
1922 (128). This shows that he was not a successful businessman. In addition, UNIA History mentions that, he was tried for mail fraud in connection to Black Star Line, found guilty, sent to a prison in 1925 and deported to Jamaica in 1927.
- 20 - In 1935, Garvey went to England where he died in 1940. The most important of
Garvey„s deeds, from the point of view of not-yet-formed Rastafari movement, took place before he left to England. As Waters observes, Garvey told people in Kingston to look to
Africa for the crowning of a black king who will become the redeemer (45). The coronation took place in Ethiopia on 2 November 1930.
Marcus Garvey is linked to the Rastafari movement by his revolutionary ideas about emancipation of the black people:
Garvey„s slogan was “Africa for the Africans at home and abroad; settlement
movement”. He believed that the dignity and equality of blacks in which they could be
their own masters. Unity. Equality. Self-respect. Pride in a liberated Africa. Those
were the foundations of Garveyism. It„s therefore no surprise that the Jamaican Rastas
were attracted to the man and his message. Next to Haile Sellasie, Garvey is the most
important figure in the Rastafarian Cosmology. (Foehr 128).
At the first sight Garveyism and Rastafari had many things in common: “both movements are committed to an ideology of nationalism that supports … independence of blacks; they both strongly advocate the respect, beauty and dignity of Africa and people of
African ancestry” (Foehr129). Other common views were that both of ideologies “see
Ethiopia as the rightful home of African people, both suggest a separatist ideology with Rasta shunning the western world as Babylon” (Race and History). In spite of these common features Garvey did not like Rastafarians. The main reason for Garvey„s disregard of the
Rastafari movement was the social position of Rastafarians: “The early Rastas were drawn predominantly from Jamaica„s African underclass [while] Garvey„s movement had the stamp of the emergent black … intellectuals with middle-class aspirations” (Foehr 129).
- 21 - The Rastafari, who themselves were poor, have met lack of understanding because of their social position from the very beginning of their movement. But it was not a misunderstanding only by the white people. This reluctant acceptance was done by a black person who himself was a member of a middle-class (and in fact the co-creator of the movement). This means that the black people who themselves had a higher position in the social rank despise the poorer black who were not able to climb the social ladder and became more prominent members of society.
3.2. The Beginnings of the Rastafari Movement
Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey on their own would not be enough impulses for
Jamaicans to create a new religion. They needed people who would spread the newly created teaching. As Chevannes observes, three men could be considered the first preachers of the
Rastafarianism: Leonard Howell, Archibald Dunkley and Joseph Hibbert (Rastafari and
Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 11). These men came up with the idea of Selassie‟s divinity independently. It is generally believed that Leonard Howell was the first to introduce this idea publicly. He established the first Rastafarian community in a place called Pinnacle
Hill in 1940, where the basis of reggae music was laid. During their rituals at Pinnacle, people used African music. That music became a part of the Rastafari culture: “[The African music] burrowed into the consciousness of the people [and] 30 years later became a taproot of liberation reggae” (Foehr 25 - 26). This suggests that music has been an important part of the
Rastafarian movement from its beginnings. Howell gathered a lot of low class and poor people there. This kind of people became the first Rastafarians. Howell was able to “get an estimated 1,700 – 4,000 people to homestead the hills … his followers were the homeless and discarded war veterans, sugar-cane cutters and small farmers, who sold their land and moved
- 22 - to Pinnacle” (Foehr 28 - 29 ). From this could be seen that Howell was a very charismatic leader who was able to attract the attention of many people.
But Howell was an important figure even before he established the Pinnacle community. Shortly after the coronation of Haile Selassie, he started speaking publicly about his ideas of a black king in St Thomas parish. This place was “a long-time hotbed of sedition and revolt” (Foehr 81). Morant Bay, where the famous rebellion took place in 1865, is the administrative centre of St Thomas parish. Howell chose this place for his preaching because of its historical background. And he chose well, because people listened to him. After establishing the base of his movement there, “he decided to spread the word throughout the island” (Foehr 81). And he was successful in this as well: “Thus the Rastafari movement emerged among the poor (both urban and rural) in Jamaica in early 1930s” (Edmonds,
Rastafari 29). This period could be seen now as the beginning of the Rastafarian movement.
But it was no sooner than in Pinnacle that this movement started bringing some kind of attention to itself.
Howell was interested in the work and teaching of Reverend Charles F Goodridge and
Grace Jenkins Garrison who preached in St Thomas. Their Hamatic Church was used to
“proselytise the teaching of the Holy Piby” (Foehr 81). The Holy Piby is very important for
Rastafarians, it is known “as the Black Man„s Bible, [and it] is considered a foundation book of Rastafari” (Foehr 82). They preached that the original (Amharic) text of the Bible was translated wrongly on purpose “to make God and His prophets Caucasian instead of black”
(Foehr 82). Anita Waters has the same opinion and writes that, “when the Europeans enslaved the Africans, they appropriated the Amharic history of the African peoples … to deceive the slaves about their true origins and history” (1 - 2). This idea about misinterpreted Bible was in accordance with Howell„s teaching of Haile Selassie being a black messiah.
- 23 - Howell‟s preaching about equality of blacks and whites was not as dangerous for the
Jamaican government as his revolutionary preaching about Haile Selassie. The Rastafari preacher proposed the idea of the one and only black king for black people: “Jamaicans cannot have an English white kind and an African black king. Haile Selassie is the only true king of the black people” (Foehr 83). From the very beginning of its movement, the Rastafari acquired the revolutionary character. They wanted to bring down Jamaican/English government in Jamaica. This of course was not appealing to middle and upper class of
Jamaicans, who were more or less satisfied with their roles. The distance between the
Rastafarians and the upper classes of population deepened. The stratification according to color was still present at Jamaica. Howell got attention of the poor blacks by advocating
“hatred of and violence to the white race ... He declared the African race superior to the white race” (Edmonds, Rastafari 37). Howell was twice arrested for his ideas and preaching. During his second arrest, he “was committed to Kingston„s Bellevue mental asylum in a blatant (and successful) means to get him out of the way” (Foehr 84). After this experience, he established
Pinnacle “his own community of equality” (Foehr 84).
The Pinnacle community was self-sufficient. Its inhabitants were infamous for growing and selling ganja10. Some of their neighbors complained about the production of ganja or that the Rastafarians were threatening them: “[there were] repeated reports that
Rastas were harassing the peasant farmers who lived in the environs of Pinnacle” (Edmonds,
Rastafari 38). Rastas had an adversary stance towards the government, because as Foehr recounts, they did not pay taxes (33). The community was separated from the rest of Jamaica,
“Pinnacle seems to have been rather more like an old Maroon settlement than part of Jamaica”
(Smith 12). This and growing of a forbidden drug led to the police raid that took place in July
1941, during which many of the Rastafarians and Howell himself were arrested. Howell
10 Ganja is an illegal light drug in Jamaica.
- 24 - returned to Pinnacle after he was released in 1943, “and from then to 1954, he administered the commune with even stricter security” (Edmonds, Rastafari 38). This stricter security stands for “menacing-looking dread guards, called the Ethiopian Warriors” (Foehr 27). These warriors started to growing Dreadlocks. The rest of the Rastafarians started to wear the uncombed hair as a sign of opposition to the Jamaican culture and thus the people started connecting dread-locks and the Rastafari movement. Smith observes that, “the men of
Dreadlocks first began to appear in Kingston round about 1947” (13).
Howell continued with the illegal practice of growing ganja at Pinnacle for some time.
As Foehr recounts, this was the reason for another raid that took place in May 1954 (35).
Jamaica on its way to independence had to meet some conditions: “Curtailing the ganja trade was one of those conditions. Howell was by far the largest and best-organised cultivator of marijuana on the island” (Foehr 37). This raid was “a drug bust on a cult known locally as Ras
Tafari” (Foehr 35). After the raid, the Pinnacle was destroyed and those who were not arrested left the place and went to the slums of Jamaican capital, Kingston. As Edmonds observes, the most of the Rastafarians settled in West Kingston (Rastafari 101). They started interacting with Jamaican people there.
3.3 The Rastafarians
Who are the Rastafarians? How could a person recognize that he or she is dealing with one of them? It is clear from the provided description that the Rastafarians differed from the common Jamaican people in their appearance because of their dreadlocks. But it was not only the appearance of the Rastafarians that differentiate them from the rest of the Jamaican population. It was the whole set of attributes. The Rastafarians thus created a subculture. A subculture is, according to Yinger: “cultural variants displayed by certain segments of the populations. Subcultures are distinguished not by only one or two isolated traits – they
- 25 - constituted relatively cohesive cultural systems” (625). Among the cultural variants of the
Rastafarians are their beliefs, language, appearance and music. The relatively small number of the members and the religious background is not a problem in terms of associating the
Rastafari movement with the subculture context: “The groups involved may range from a large regional subdivision to a religious sect with only small congregation” (Yinger 627). The attributes that are characteristic for the Rastafari movement are: dreadlocks, I-tal, ganja,
Ethiopianism, dread talk, colors and music.
3.3.1. Dreadlocks
At first, the Rastafarians started to grow their beards. In the documentary movie
Roaring Lion: The Rise of Rastafari was mentioned that, “the early [Howell‟s] followers grew beard to emulate Haile Selassie.” This happened at Pinnacle after 1940. Chevannes writes that, “both head and facial hair were sacred to many Rastafari” (Rastafari and Other African-
Caribbean Worldviews 88). As was mentioned above, Rastas started growing their hair and not combing them to inflict fear. It is believed that members of a group called the Youth
Black Faith implemented wearing dreadlocks into the Rastafari movement (Edmonds,
Rastafari 59). The Rastas were successful in becoming fearful people. According to one anecdote mentioned by Chevannes, “a lady turned a sharp street corner in downtown
Kingston only to find a Dreadlocks doing the same but going in the opposite direction. In her fright she exclaimed: „Jesus!‟ Calmly penetrating her with his red, dilated eyes, he said: „Shh!
Tell no one thou hast seen I!‟” (Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 101).
The Dreadlocks11, as were the Rastafarians sometimes called, did not wear their hair uncombed only to inflict fear. They wanted to show their scorn with the society as well:
“They elected to wear their hair matted, like the outcasts from society, because not only were
11 Waters explains that they were called dreadlocks because of their frightening appearance (46).
- 26 - they treated thus, but they did not consider themselves part of it” (Chevannes, Rastafari and
Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 88). This was the most visible sign of the resistance towards the society. To choose something so apparent was a good choice, because the Rastas draw the attention of the public (and thus protested against the Jamaican society) only by appearing somewhere.
The last but not least reason for growing dreadlocks could be found in the Bible: “All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow” (New King James Version, Numbers 6:5). By separation, it is meant the separation of the black people from their home land, from Africa.
The dreadlocks are usual among the Rastafarians all around the world till these days, but it is important to mention that not everyone who grows dreads is a Rasta and not all the
Rastas grow dreads. This is mainly because of the fact that dreadlocks have acquired a status of a fashionable feature and are no longer the sign of resistance towards anything. However, original dreadlocks, e.g. uncombed hair, could be very easily differentiated from that trendy- dreadlock-hairstyle that could be created by hairstylists.
3.3.2. I-tal12
I-tal or Ital is a general term for the Rastafarians‟ food and living habits. I-tal means vital or natural. It is forbidden to eat canned food, to drink alcohol or to use tobacco. As
Edmonds mentions, the food taboos are strict: “Ital living also means that Rastas are basically vegetarian, rarely eating meat and strictly prohibiting the use of pork, shellfish, and scaleless fishes” (Rastafari 60). But I-tal is not only about the food restrictions. It concerns clothing as well “And, since leather articles such as shoes required the slaughter of animals for their
12 Salt-free food in Rastafari diet is sometimes called I-tal as well.
- 27 - hides, these Rastas chose to „trod‟ barefoot as a logical of non-violent ethos” (Chevannes,
Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews 140). Not all the Rastas are living strictly according to I-tal, but most of them are living according to it at least partially. I-tal stresses natural healing, rather than using Western medicine. Edmonds states that, “central to the ideal of ital living is the belief in herbal healing” (Rastafari 60). Among all the herbs outstands the one and best known plant for which the Rastafari movement is known worldwide, marihuana.
3.3.3. Ganja
Ganja, also called marihuana, the weed or the herb is nowadays connected to the movement as much as the dreadlocks. But it was not so from the beginning: “Up until 1950s ganja smoking was not an identifying mark of the Rastas” (Chevannes, Rastafari and Other
African-Caribbean Worldviews 84). The reforms introduced by Youth Black Faith made the usage of ganja prolific among the Rastafarians. They integrated it as an important part of their movement, because they started smoking it during their rituals: “They [Youth Black Faith] did not try to hide ganja or to hide their use of it. But by giving it ritual sanction they were in effect expressing their contempt for the state and society” (Chevannes, Rastafari and Other
African-Caribbean Worldviews 86). Since the innovation of the Youth Black Faith ganja has been a significant part of the Rastafarian movement. As Edmonds observes, the Rastafarians found some justifications for smoking ganja in the Bible (Rastafari 61). One of these justifications is: “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth” (New King James Version, Psalm 104:14).
By vegetation is meant all the plants that grow on Earth and among them is ganja. Another example could be found in Genesis 1:12. I believe that the word herb which is mentioned there stands, again, for ganja.
- 28 - What were in the beginning two very important signs of disdain of the Jamaican society, smoking ganja and growing dreadlocks, are the most visible symbols of Rastas nowadays. In past, the Rastafarians wanted to show that they were not and they did not want to be a part of Jamaican society so they smoked ganja, which was an illegal drug and had dreadlocks, which was very unusual hair style at Jamaica, that connected them more to the criminals than to the common Jamaican citizens.
3.3.4. Dread Talk
Dread talk, sometimes called Rasta Talk, was another element of the Rastas‟ resistance towards the Jamaican society. It emerged because the Rastafarians refused to use languages that were normally used in Jamaica: “Rastas reject both STANDARD ENGLISH and
CREOLE; their alternative usage [of language] emerged in the 1940s as an argot [13]”
(McArthur). There are many linguistic innovations in Rasta Talk. The most important word in this variation of English is the word I, “it [I word] transforms many words” (Foehr 180). As was mentioned above, Ital stands for vital. Other examples14 of changed words are: Ifric which means Africa, Ireator which means creator or I-nity which stands for unity (Foehr
180). Another innovation within the argot is redefining of meaning of Standard English used in Jamaica. For example, the word dread in Rasta Talk means a genuine Rastafarian (Manget-
Johnson 75). Next change concerns morphological structure of the words. The word understand is replaced by ovastan or higherstan (Manget-Johnson 81). This change implies that all the speakers are equal, as Foehr says, “no speaker of Dread talk is under or down”
(181). The Rastafarians created the whole new set of words which they used in every day life to confront the society of the white oppressors.
13 Argot is a language used by a certain group. It has special vocabulary to prevent outsiders from understanding the conversation. 14 Other Rasta names for this language are I-lect which stands for Rasta dialect or Iyaric which is an analogy with Amharic, a language which is spoken in Ethiopia.
- 29 - 3.3.5. Ethiopianism
The idea of Ethiopianism is the central part of the Rastafarian belief. Ethiopianism came to Jamaica with the black Baptist priest George Lisle at the end of 18th century. During his sermons, he spoke about Africa, the homeland of black people. The problem is that there is no word Africa in the Bible: “In ancient literature, including The Bible, the name Ethiopia applies to the whole of the African continent, or to the territories south-southeast of Egypt”
(Foehr 146). When Lisle spoke about Africa, he used the word Ethiopia and when he spoke about the Africans, he used the term Ethiopians. The African people in the Bible are referred to as Ethiopians: “Can an Ethiopian change his skin or leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil” (New King James Version, Jeremiah 13:23). Both blacks and whites, used the term Ethiopian when referring to a black person, because they were influenced by the Bible: “During slavery, the term Ethiopian was used by Whites generally as a designation (often negative) for black people” (Murrell 41). So the blacks were considering themselves to be Ethiopians even if their forefathers could be from different parts of Africa.
In the 19th century, Marcus Garvey used the idea of Ethiopianism when he created his own teaching, Garveyism: “Garvey made conspicuous use of 18th century biblical
Ethiopianism in his speeches and writings” (Dread History). The blacks were looking back to
Africa, because they saw their dignity and culture there, the features that were lost during the
European colonization. And they found a prospect for better future in the Bible: “The summation of these sentiments [lost dignity and culture, yearning for freedom] was most frequently identified with Psalm 68:31” (Dread History). This Psalm says: “Envoys will come out of Egypt, Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God” (New King Version). Those are the prospects of better future for the Rastafarians. Marcus Garvey wanted to elevate the spirit of black people and told them: “Look to Africa for the crowning of a black king he shall
- 30 - be the Redeemer” (Waters 45). Some time after this prophecy, the coronation took place in
Ethiopia and the country got a new king, Haile Selassie I.
He gained many titles during the coronation. There are references in the Bible to some of them. His title King of Kings, Lord of Lords is mentioned in Revelation 19:16 and the
Conquering Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah in Revelation 5:5. Because of the many biblical references15, Haile Selassie became the messiah for Rastafarians. The coronation was important not only for the Africans but for all black people around the world: “the biblical enthronement of Ras Tafari … stirred the imagination of an entire generation of African
Americans and refocused attention upon ancient Ethiopia” (Dread History). Ethiopia and its king became the centre of the focus of black people in Jamaica.
Some other elements of Ethiopianism are hatred of Babylon, longing for Zion and believe in one god, Jah. Babylon and Zion are widely used terms in the Rastafari discourse.
For the Rastafarians, Jamaica and the whole Western world, the world of oppressors of black people represent Babylon. The Rastafarians fight against Babylon. As Edmonds says:
“Rastafari is first and foremost a response to the Babylonian conditions of the Jamaican society and, by extension, of the whole Western world” (Rastafari 42). The opposite of
Babylon is Zion. Zion is a place where all the Rastafarians want to go, the place of repatriation. The repatriation is their main goal, because, “salvation can come to black men only through repatriation to Africa” (Smith 22). Africa and Ethiopia represent Zion. The term
Babylon comes from the Bible. It stands for oppression, “Babylon embodies the cultural ethos of the forces that worked against “the people of God” (Edmonds, “Dread” 23). The
Rastafarians considered themselves to be the people of God. This God is Jah.
The name Jah has its background in the Bible, “[T]he Old Testament gives many different names for God: … Yahweh, or Jahweh … The name Jah is derived from the
15 These references were not only concerned about Selassie‟s titles, but about Ethiopia as well.
- 31 - Tetragrammaton YHWH, articulated as Yahweh” (Foehr 140). According to the Rastafarians,
Haile Selassie was this God: [The Rastas created a] new doctrine [which says] that the
Emperor of Ethiopia was returned messiah, Jah himself” (Chevannes, Rastafari and Other
African-Caribbean Worldviews 253).
The ideas of Ethiopianism and Ethiopia itself are very important in the Rastafari ideology. The main colors of the movement are the colors of the Ethiopian flag; red, gold16 and green. Each of these colors has a special meaning for Rastas: “red represents the blood of those who gave their lives for freedom … green is variously regarded as a symbol of Ethiopia,
Jamaica, or ganja; and gold symbolizes the Rastafarian faith, hope or Jamaica“ (Edmonds,
Rastafari 56). Black color is sometimes added, this color represents: “African skin, holiness, fire and creativity” (Edmonds, Rastafari 56). The Rastafari flag has a green stripe in the upper part, a gold stripe in the middle and a red stripe at the bottom. Lion of Judah is sometimes depicted on the flag as well.
3.3.6. Music
The most influential characteristic of the Rastafarian movement is definitely music, more precisely reggae and ska. Ska was connected to the movement during 1960s, but in late
1960s reggae emerged and since than, the Rastafari movement and reggae are deeply interconnected.
Ska
The musical style ska emerged in the late 1950s as a blend of different music genres that were played in Jamaica. King, Bays and Foster write that, “[s]ka was a mixture of mento, a Jamaican indigenous musical from, American jazz, and rhythm and blues” (4). Though
16 The Ethiopian flag does not include gold color, it includes yellow. The Rastas changed yellow to gold.
- 32 - mixture of many genres, ska has unique rhythm and style. It has happy and jaunty melody, but concerns some serious themes, e.g. political situation, lives of poor people. The main characteristic of ska is stressing the offbeat: “The … emphasis on the offbeat, rather than the downbeat, created the distinctive sound that has since characterized all of Jamaica‟s popular music” (King 20). But it was not only a guitar melody that was special about ska. A usual ska group had (and still has) many musicians that played on various musical instruments: “The ska ensemble included a rhythm guitar … a lead guitar, an upright bass, drums, lead and harmony vocals, and often an extensive horn section that included a trombone, trumpet, and a tenor or alto saxophone” (King 20). Ska from the beginning was partly Rastafarian music even though nowadays this connection is not so widely known17, “[m]any of the musicians who oversaw the creation of the local music were Rastas, and they brought their religious and ideological perspective to their music” (Edmonds, Rastafari 106). After some time, the pace of ska slowed down and “rock steady” music emerged: “[T]he beat of rock steady is roughly half the speed of the standard ska beat” (Moskowitz 257). This happened in 1966. Few years passed and a new form of music was about to come up from rock steady. This new music genre called reggae is widely connected to the Rastafari movement today.
Reggae
Reggae emerged in late 1960s18. Again, as in the case of ska, reggae was a mix of different musical genres, “[t]he style developed from a combination of island and international influences … it [reggae] adapted elements of ska and rock steady and mixed them with American rhythm and blues and African drumming” (Moskowitz 253). Reggae
17 Nowadays, ska is connected to Rude boys, the groups of people who were seen as hooligans. They copied themes of violence from Western and spy movies (Stambuli 26). Rude boys were listening to rock steady, the successor of ska, as well. 18 The origin of the name of this musical style is not clear. As Chang observes, the word could possibly originate from the word “streggae”. That means ragged in Jamaican patois. Another possibility could be that the name comes from the song called Do the reggay. Or it is possible that reggae means “regular” and it is a reference to regular people (42).
- 33 - slowed the pace of rock steady and became a voice of Rastafari. They used it for spreading their worldview: “Rastas regard themselves as the agents of Babylon‟s destruction, and reggae as their primary weapon” (Foehr 97). Many of their ideas are included in reggae lyrics.
For example, a reggae group The Melodians have made the song Rivers of Babylon, where they sing: “By the rivers of Babylon / Where we sat down / And there we wept / When we remember Zion” (The Melodians). The rest of the song is about hardships of people in a foreign country – Babylon. The references to the Rastafarian movement are clear, people are held in Babylon and they think about Zion. Bob Marley has the same references in his songs as well. For example, he sings: “The Zion train is coming our way / Oh, people, get on board”
(Marley, “Zion Train”). In another song he sings: “Come we go burn down Babylon”
(Marley, “Chant Down Babylon”). The first song refers to repatriation to the Zion. The second song shows the attitude towards Babylon. These are the examples of the Rastafarians ideas in reggae music.
Other topics that were present in reggae music concerned the social conditions of lower class people: “Strikes, riots, police brutality, and poverty became the topical material on which many songs were based” (Waters 99). So the themes in reggae and ska music were very similar.
The above mentioned attributes are characteristic for Rastafarians. Some of them are visible at the first sight, such as dreadlocks or Ethiopian colors. The others can strike an observer after some time spent in the presence of a Rastafari, such as dread talk or I-tal diet.
And the rest, more spiritual elements such as belief in Jah or crusade against Babylon, could be revealed in a religious discussion.
- 34 - 3.4. The Rastafarian Movement after Pinnacle
The Rastafarians entered the wider Jamaican subconsciousness after the destruction of
Pinnacle when they settled in Kingston. From the beginning, they disapproved of Jamaican system: “Rastas … confronted the dominant power of the society” (Edmonds, Rastafari 80).
They showed their discord in a non-violent form, but some exceptions occurred: “Though not widely used, violent confrontation periodically appeared in the Rastafarian arsenal of resistance” (Edmonds, Rastafari 80). One example of this was a guerilla camp led by Ronald
Henry. Police destroyed the camp before the fighters could do anything but the Jamaican society was in distress because of the whole event (Chevannes, Rastafari and Other African-
Caribbean Worldviews 13). But this event was an occasional incident because most of the
Rastas were non-violent: “The great majority of Ras Tafari brethren are peaceful citizens who do not believe in violence” (Smith 25). But some negative Rasta stereotypes were created by media and government, Smith mentions that in these stereotypes, [a rasta] wears a beard, avoids work, steals, smokes ganja, and is liable to sudden violence. This type exists, but it is a minority” (27). In this period of time, the image of the movement in Jamaica was bad and police prosecution of the Rastas was heavy.
In 1960 few Rastas went to College of the West Indies and asked the university staff to make a report19 about the Rastafarian movement. The Rastas hoped that the distress would calm down after public and government learn the truth about the movement. And they were right. The first step of incorporation of the movement into the Jamaican society was taken. In
1966, Haile Selassie visited Jamaica. During his visits, the members of the movement were invited to some official meetings and dinner with him and Jamaican government (H.I.M.
Haile Selassie I). The dinner with some government officials and the compilation of the report were some of the important events that improved the image of the Rastafarians during 1960s.
19 The report revealed what Rastafarians wanted: Repatriation, recognition by government, improvement in the prosecution by police [the Rastas were usually stopped and questioned by police only because of their dreadlocks], improvement of their social conditions and so on (Smith 34-36).
- 35 - In the beginning of 1970s, the Rastafari movement gained visibility through various activities, for example: “[T]hrough their participation in student groups, through the interest that radical intellectuals were taking in them … through reggae music and because of their growing numbers” (Waters 106). The “radical intellectuals” refer to the members of the Black
Power movement. In those times, not only the members of the lower class of population were the members of the Rastafari movement. Middle class youths and students started to join them as well. Because the movement grew in numbers, politicians started paying attention to it:
“People‟s National Party (PNP) through its use of Rastafarian symbols and language … conducted an election campaign that suggested an alliance with Rastas and the rest of the
Jamaicans lower classes” (Edmonds, Rastafari 90). PNP was in opposition. The actual election contest began with words: “There is only one man who sets the election date … [a]nd that man is I-man” (Walters qtd. in Waters 123). The usage of Dread talk, the Rasta language, is obvious. Another element of using of the Rasta symbols was in form of I-rod, also called
Rod of Correction. Manley, the leading member of PNP, received this rod from the Selassie himself on his visit of Ethiopia in 1970, and this rod became the symbol of 1972 elections
(Waters 110). Reggae was used as well, as Waters observes: “the party [PNP] hired all the major artists whose songs expressed dissatisfaction as well as many of the other popular artists of the day” (131). PNP with the usage of the Rasta symbols won those elections. They chose to use the Rasta symbols because they wanted to focus on the black poor masses, the biggest part of Jamaican population.
So big was the change of the Jamaican society towards the Rastafarian movement. The political parties used the symbols of the movement which was few years earlier persecuted by the police and disliked by the rest of the Jamaican population and government. Politicians draw the attention to the movement. The symbols of the movement were somehow exploited
- 36 - during the campaign and became common features in Jamaican milieu. This was the beginning of the popularization of the Rastas‟ symbols.
- 37 - 4. The Influence of the Rastafarian Movement on Jamaica
Nowadays, the Rastafari are an important part of Jamaican culture. Though outcast from their beginning, they were incorporated within the society of the white oppressors during the second half of the 20th century and became a significant segment of the island culture.
This part of the thesis is dealing with the influence of the Rastafari movement on tourism and cinema. It is important to understand that not all the people that will be mentioned below are the “genuine” Rastas, i.e. people who live according to the Rastas beliefs, have their appearance and habits. They may call themselves the Rastas and they could look like the
Rastas because they grow dreadlocks or have the Ethiopian colors on their clothes, but they, for example, do not believe in Jah, do not live according to I-tal diet or do not believe in repatriation to Africa. Still, it is important to include them in the thesis, because even if they are not the genuine Rastafarians, they look like the Rastas and a person without deeper knowledge of the Rastafari movement can easily mix them with the original Rastas. So even they do not need to be the Rastas, they still create and alter the image of the Rastafari in
Jamaica.
4.1. Tourism
The Jamaican economy is very dependant on tourism. According to the web page CIA-
The World Factbook, 20% of GDP is comprised by an income from tourism. Some of the
Rastafari work in tourism and in services. They take part in making carvings, paintings and so on. Many products at tourist stalls across the whole island have Rasta colors, e.g. necklaces, handbags, hats. It is because of tourists. When they come to Jamaica, they want something
Rastafarian, because nowadays, the Rastafarian movement is an inseparable part of Jamaican culture. (Edmonds, Rastafari 95).
- 38 - The Rastas take part in agriculture as well. As was mentioned above, the Rastas living according to I-tal are vegetarians. Some of them grow their food by themselves. As
Nangwaya mentions, “farming … and a vegetarian lifestyle are fundamental parts of the
Rastafari worldview” (16). The Rastas have their own recipes. The main ingredients for those recipes are Ital products. There are even some Rasta‟s cookbooks20. So the Rastafarians have an impact on Jamaican eating culture, but the Rastas themselves do not need to participate in selling or producing of food. Sometimes, business people borrow the Rastafari‟s eating habits.
As Nangwaya writes, “there are many mainstream businesses in Jamaica now selling I-tal food” (16-17). And sometimes, it is only enough to borrow the word Rasta. According to a documentary movie Rent a Rasta some Jamaican restaurants offer food that is called Rasta
Pasta or Rasta pizza. So Jamaican cuisine is influenced by the Rastafari movement, because the Rastafarians‟ food is now a part of Jamaican eating habits. Tourist and Jamaicans meet
“the Rasta trademark” on daily basis in restaurants, markets and food stalls in the streets.
Another important influence on Jamaican culture is a phenomenon called Rent a
Dread21 or Rent a Rasta. This is a form of sex tourism when women from the USA or Europe come to Jamaica. They choose Jamaica because it is not so financially difficult for them to
“hire” young and handsome men as it would be in rich countries of Western world. (Rent a
Rasta). Differences between the economical wealth of Jamaicans and Europeans or
Americans are huge. “Rent a Dread” has become very interesting business for Jamaicans. It is estimated, that average wage at Jamaica is 80 USD a week and that the Rent a Dread gigolo earns as much as 100 USD a night (Rent a Rasta). But these people are not “the true
Rastafarians”, because in Rent a Rasta one of them speaks about having a few drinks with a woman. Another speaks about his job in a bar under no ganja smoking sign and waits for his
20 For example The Rasta Cookbook compiled by Laura Osborne. 21 As was mentioned above, the word Dread is used in Rasta talk when refereeing to a Rasta. Here can be seen the influence of the Dread talk on common English, because people who are not members of the Rastafari movement (and do not use Dread talk) started using this word when referring to a Rasta.
- 39 - drink to be poured, but I-tal diet forbids drinking alcohol. These people just shape the image of the Rastafari in Jamaica and transform the movement from the religious group to a business concern. But those people are the Rastafari for many tourists. Those tourists then connect the movement with sex and expect the sexual offers from anyone who has dreadlocks.
A cover of a tourist guide Jamaica: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit depicts a head of the Rastafari. It stresses the importance of Rastafari within Jamaican culture. The country offers the Rasta experience via internet as well. Some web pages22 offer some kind of “real
Jamaica experience” when you can travel to a Rastafari village, spend some time in their homes, work or cook with them and so on. It is, again, questionable whether these are the
“genuine” Rastas or not. But, as was mentioned above, these people shape the image of
Rastafari. Another web influence is via Google. If a person types Jamaican Culture in www.images.google.com many pictures with Rasta and reggae themes will emerge. So the tourists who visit Jamaica expect to see the Rastas even before they arrive to Jamaica.
The Rastafari movement and tourism are interconnected in Jamaica. Tourists expect to see the Rastas and some of the Rastas are ready to offer some experience to the tourists. But some of the Rastas that are connected to tourism are not the “genuine” Rastas. The image of the religious movement was somehow degenerated to a tourist attraction. The Rastafarian colors are on every possible article, from bags, to hats, to clothes. Reggae and its successors create an inseparable musical background in various pubs and clubs. People listen to that music without really paying attention to the lyrics that are important for the “genuine”
Rastafarians. Dreadlocks, originally the sign of the scorn of the society, are now created in every hair stylist salon. The Rasta image was transformed by the Jamaican society to fulfill the tourists‟ wants.
22 For example http://worldstogethertravel.com/jamaica/roots-host.html
- 40 - 4.2. Cinema
Four different movies were chosen to be compared in the depiction of the Rastafari in
(and outside) Jamaica. The first two movies are American but concern Jamaica. The next two movies are Jamaican. The inclusion of the Rastas in the movies concerning Jamaica is important factor that shows that Americans, as well as Jamaicans, consider the Rastafarians the significant part of Jamaican culture.
The first American movie is called Cocktail (1988). It is a mainstream love story that takes place in the USA and in Jamaica. There are only few direct references to the Rastafari movement in a form of Rastas in the street and in a reggae group. The reggae group plays a reggae song as a background for one scene in a bar. Dreadlocks are mentioned once. This
American movie shows Rastafari characteristics very marginally, but still, they are included.
This means that American authors of the movie considered the Rastafarian movement an important part of Jamaican culture to include some of the characteristics of the movement in the movie.
Another American movie that concerns Jamaica is called Cool Running (1993). It is a comedy film about Jamaican Olympic bobsled team in Canada. The director of the movie decided to include more features of the Rastafari movement into this film. One of the bobsledders is a Rasta, he has a pushcart named Rasta Rocket and wears clothes with Rasta colors. A coach of the bobsled team, who is a white man, prays before an important race and mentions the name of Haile Selassie during the prayer. In one scene, one of the main characters gives an item that should symbolize Jamaica to another character. This item is a hat with the Rastafari colors. The Rasta character itself is an important part of the movie. In one scene, he persuades the leader of the bobsled to stop emulating styles of other teams. He stresses that they are from Jamaica and they should have their own, Jamaican style. Members of the rest of the teams are white. He stresses the importance of staying Jamaican, staying
- 41 - black. He puts forward the black pride. This has been done by Rastafarians and their forerunners. The rest of the Jamaicans bobsledders do not stand out and are quite similar to each other in their appearance, but the Rasta character is different. His look is somehow unique, his dreadlocks and Rasta tricolor make him special. He differentiates in appearance from the rest of the bobsledders in the same way how the Rastas differentiate themselves from the rest of the Jamaican population. But on the other hand, he is an important part of the team, without him, the rest would not be able to compete. This can symbolize the importance of the
Rastafari movement on Jamaican culture. Jamaica without the Rastafarians would be very different. In comparison to the first movie, the Rasta characteristics are very important in this movie.
The first Jamaican movie is called Countryman (1982). It is a movie about a
Rastafarian fisherman who helps two white people from crashed airplane to escape from the police. The police search for them because the two people are accused to be CIA agents. This movie shows many Rasta characteristics: their hospitability, I-tal food, Rasta community, dreadlocks, Rastas worldview, connection to nature, ganja smoking, Dread talk and reggae music. The main character is barefooted for the whole movie. There is even a reference to
Rasta history in the form of an Obeah man. The struggle of the Rastafari movement against the Jamaican society is symbolized in the movie by the deeds of the Rasta fisherman who hides people and thus fights against the society, which controls the police. One important theme from Rastafarian point of view is included in this movie – repatriation. Two foreign people have to stay at Jamaica and wait for a boat that will come and rescue them from hostile country. With the help of the Rasta, they are able to hide from the police and survive in countryside. In the end of the movie, the Rasta helps two people to get on a boat which takes them safely home. This is a symbolical depiction of repatriation, the people leave the foreign country in which they do not want to stay and go home.
- 42 - The second movie is called The Harder They Come (1972) and is about young black man who comes to a big city from countryside. He records a song but it is not as successful as he expects so he decides to start dealing ganja. The whole movie is set to Jamaica. Symbolic struggle of black people against white elite could be seen in the scenes when the main hero tries to arrange meeting with a white owner of the recording studio and later on profitably sell the record. The hero needs to do whatever the white man wants him to do to succeed. The
Rastafarians themselves are mentioned only occasionally but mostly in connection to ganja or ganja trade. But one of the Rastafarians characteristics is very important for this movie, reggae. This movie is full of reggae songs and it brought the attention of many foreign people to reggae, as Chang writes, “this movie was probably the single most powerful purveyor of reggae internationally” (48). The influence of the Rastas on the movie is mostly done by reggae music.
The movie Cocktail shows the Rasta culture only marginally. It only connects the
Rastas to Jamaica. The Harder They Come shows Rastas as drug dealers, but on the other hand introduces reggae music to the world. The movie Cool Running stresses the importance of black dignity via the character of Rasta. The influence of the movement is quite significant in depiction of different Rasta symbols. Countryman is the movie that shows the most of the
Rastafari culture and their most important goal. It depicts many features of the movement, shows the peaceful worldview of the Rastas and the struggle against the society and longing for repatriation. All the chosen movies somehow connect the Rastafarian movement to
Jamaica.
- 43 - 5. Conclusion
The aim of my thesis is to show the development of the Rastafarian movement from its beginnings to recent days and the influence of the movement on Jamaican culture. I intended to show these influence on two examples: tourism and cinema.
The first part of the thesis deals briefly with the history of Jamaica. Slave and peasant rebellions are mentioned because they were the first useful methods of the resistance towards the oppressive society. Those insurrections were the forerunners to the 20th century resistance which acquired the form of the Rastafarian movement. The historical and socio-economical background in the time of the movement‟s emergence is mentioned as well. The second part of the thesis concerns the movement itself. First, important events that led to its birth, such as coronation of Ethiopian king, Garvey‟s preaching and Howells ideas about black god are described. The second part describes Rastas‟ characteristics such as Ethiopianism, Dread talk or I-tal. The last part of this chapter analyzes the different phases of the movement‟s growth, it deals with the development of the movement from the resisting subculture, to the political instrument. The last part of the thesis uses two cultural examples: tourism and cinema, to show the influence of the Rastafarian movement on Jamaican culture. It shows the change of the movement‟s image from religious group to a tourist attraction and commercial product of the island.
The Rastafarians have struggled against the Jamaican society from their beginning.
However, they were integrated into the Jamaican system and nowadays the Rastafarian movement could be considered the essence of Jamaican culture.
- 44 - 6. Bibliography
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Worldviews. Ed. Barry Chevannes. New York: Rutgers UP, 1998. Print.
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Chang, Kevin O‟Brien, Wayne Chen. Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music.
Philadelphia: Temple UP. 1998. Print
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---. Rastafari and Other African-Caribbean Worldviews. New York: Rutgers UP, 1998. Print.
Dread History. “Migration in History”. Web. 14 Nov. 2010
Edmonds, Ennis Barrington. Rastafari: From Outcast to Culture Bearers. New York: OUP,
2003. Print.
---. “Dread “I” In-a-Babylon: Ideological Resistance and Cultural Revitalization.” Chanting
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McFarlane. Philadelphia: Temple UP. 1998. Print.
Essix, Donna Lewis. “Jamaica Land We Love.” Jamaicans. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
Evans, Bill. “Tacky‟s Rebellion.” Jamaicans. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
Foehr, Stephen. Jamaican Warriors: Reggae, Roots & Culture. London: Sanctuary
publishing, 2000. Print
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Control. Mississippi: UP of Mississippi. 2007. Print.
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- 45 - "Marcus Garvey." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web. 11
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- 47 - 7. English Resumé
This thesis deals with the development of the Rastafarian movement. The movement emerged in 1930s as a result of the certain historical and socio-economical issues in Jamaica.
This work describes events that led to the birth of the movement, analyzes the different phases of the movement‟s development and shows the cultural impact of the movement on Jamaican culture.
The first chapter deals briefly with the history of Jamaica and stresses events that happened before the emergence of the movement and were important for the beginning itself.
The next chapter concerns the birth of the movement and various phases of its growth and describes a typical Rasta, his beliefs, appearance and habits. The last chapter deals with the influence of the movement on the Jamaican society and shows how these people, who in the beginning were perceived as outcasts, were able to integrate into the society and influence it.
The influence on Jamaican culture is described on two examples. The first example concerns tourism and shows how the movement‟s image was changed from the religious group to the attraction for tourist. Other example deals with cinema and describes the depiction of Jamaica and Jamaican culture by American and Jamaican film makers.
The Rastafarian movement that emerged as a protest towards Jamaican society has become an integral part of the island‟s culture.
- 48 - 8. Czech Resumé
Tato práce se zabývá vývojem rastafariánského hnutí, které se na Jamajce objevilo ve 30. letech 20. století jako výsledek určitých historických a socio-ekonomických podmínek.
Práce se zaměřuje na události, jež vedly ke vzniku tohoto hnutí, analyzuje různé období jeho vývoje a pokazuje na kulturní dopad tohoto hnutí na Jamajku.
První část se stručně zabývá jamajskou historií a událostmi, které se staly před samotným vznikem hnutí, a velkou měrou ovlivnily jeho zrod a vývoj. Další část se týká samotného vzniku a různých částí vývoje hnutí, dále popisuje typického rastafariána, jeho víru, vzhled a zvyky. Závěr práce pojednává o vlivu rastafariánství na jamajskou společnost.
Tato část ukazuje, jak se rastafariáni, kteří byli z počátku považování za psance, začlenili do společnosti a jak na ni působili.
Vliv rastafariánského hnutí na jamajskou kulturu je popsán na dvou příkladech. První z nich se týká cestovního ruchu a ukazuje, jak se rastafariánství z náboženského hnutí změnilo na turistickou atrakci. Další příklad se zaměřuje na kinematografii a znázorňuje, jak jamajskou kulturu zobrazují ve svých filmech Američané a Jamajčané.
Rastafariánské hnutí, které vzniklo jako protest proti jamajské společnosti se postupem
času stalo nedílnou součástí její kultury.
- 49 -