who is rasta Essays - Rastafari Movement, Rastafari, Haile Selassie

What is a Rastafarian? It has been established that Rastafari is the fasted growing social and religious movement in the world, since its inception in Jamaica in the 1930?s. The Rastasfarian movement began with the teachings of Marcus Mosiah Garvey (1887-1940), founder of the Back to Africa movement. He envisioned the return of black Jamaicans to their homeland Africa. Black Jamaicans, like the children of Israel, were captives in the white man?s land, and it was Gods will that they experience exodus ?movement of the people.? He taught that Africans were the true Israelites and have been exiled to Jamaica and other parts of the world as a divine punishment. He believed in political readjustment of the world meaning this- that every race must find a home; hence Blacks are raising a cry of Africa for the Africans,? those at home and those abroad?. The only wise thing for us as ambitious Blacks to do, is to organize the world over and build up for the race a mighty nation of our own in Africa.? Garvey encoura ged pride in being black and worked to reverse the mindset of inferiority that centuries of enslavement had been ingrained on the minds of blacks. It is clear that Rastafari was a direct response to poverty, unemployment, economical derivation, cultural alienation, racism, class discrimination and the colonial way of life in Jamaica. Rasta was developed in the slums of ghettos of Kingston, in the 1920?s and 1930?s. at the time, a handful of white people gave the orders and ran the country?s affairs with the help and power, enforced by the police. And when Howell Leonard, the first Rastafarian preacher, called on the Jamaican to aid Haile Selassie, he was arrested by the Jamaican government in 1933 for his loyalty to the Ethiopian emperor over King George V and tossed in prison for two years. Lij Tafari (Selassie I), was born on july 23rd, 1892 in Harror, Ethiopian. Before his birth chaplains and astrologers had been foretelling the infant?s birth. The planets Neptune and Pluto had started moving slowly towards each other in 1399 along the heliocentric line, taking four- hundred and ninety-three (493) years to intersect. At that precise time Lij Tafari was born. This was the first day of the zodiac sign, Leo, an event that would later help to prove his title at his coronation. On November 2nd, 1930 prince regent Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned emperor of Ethiopia. At his coronation he took the name Haile Selassie, which meant ?Mighty of the Trinity.? The coronation also indicated that the divine punishment was completed and the return to Africa would commence. Rastafarians named their movement for Ras Tafari and regarded the emperor as the physical presence of God (Jah) on earth. Selassie also took the titles, ?Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God and King of Kings of Ethiopia.? These titles were traditionally given to Ethiopian Kings and reflect the Old Testament emphasis of Ethiopian Christianity for Rastafarians. Selassie?s coronation was a clear fulfillment of Revelation 5:5, Ezekiel 28:25 and by Marcus Garvey?s prophecy. On April 21st, 1966 Haile Selassie visited Jamaica. Rita Marley, Bob Marley?s wife, converted to the Rastafarian faith after seeing the King of Kings. She said she saw stigmata appear on him and was instantly convinced of his divinity. Others became believers when a serious drought ened with rain upon his arrival. The Rastas are very conscious of their black history. They think that without their existence, black people in general would not be conscious of their history; believing that Haile Selassie is the reincarnation of Christ. They also believe that the blacks would never receive justice in the countries that are predominantly white. They believe that the black people suffered a lot of propaganda from certain white races. Rastafari based a great deal of their teachings about the Messiah and themselves on the Bible. They believed that the Bible was written by black people about black people. The Rastas also found more conclusive evidence in the Bible?s Song of Solomon (1:5-6) that their messiah is black: ?I am Black, and comely, o ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of kedar, as the curtains of Solomon. Look not upon