Category:Rastafari

From Jamaica Wiki

Rastafari religion is the second widely spread religion in Jamaica. It was founded by Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia. He is accepted to be God incarnate, part of the Holy Trinity.

The name Rastafar comes from Ras, meaning "head" or the Ethiopian equivalent to Duke.

The Rastafari religion started to spread during the early 1930s. The main followers were people from working-class and peasant black people. Later on it spread all over the world manly by the reggae music. By 2000, there were more than one million Rastafari faithful worldwide.

The basics of the Rastafari doctrine are love and respect for all living things, the great importance of the human dignity and self-respect. As a central point of the doctrine is the freedom from slavery - spiritual, psychological, physical. It is usually considered a way of life rather than a strict religion.

Even though Rastafari is not seen as a main stream religion it has its ceremonies and rituals. There are two types of ceremonies - Reasoning and Binghi. The Reasoning is a simple event. People gather, smoke ganja and discuss ethical, social and religious issues. The Binghi is a holy ceremony executed on a holy day. Binghis are marked by much dancing, singing, feasting and the smoking of ganja, and can last for several days.

The symbols of Rastafari movement are dreadlocks, ganja and colours. Dreadlocks are inspired by Leviticus 21:5 and the Nazirite vow in Numbers 6:5. They symbolize the freedom of slavery. Smoking of ganja is a spiritual act. They consider it a sacrament that cleans the body and mind, heals the soul, exalts the consciousness, facilitates peacefulness, brings pleasure, and brings them closer to God. The colours of Rastafari are red, yellow, green and black. It's a mix of symbols – the black symbolizes the African people while the rest are the colours of the Ethiopian flag. Each colour has a very strong meaning for most of the Rastafari people. Red is for the blood of all living things in the world, yellow is for the sun that shines in Africa and green is for the earth.

Music has a great part in the Rastafarian way of life. Nyabinghi music is the most integral form of Rastafarian music. It is played at the Binghi ceremonies. Another style of Rastafarian music is the burru drumming.

People who are of Rastafari religion live their life according the standards of the movement. Usually they are on a strict dietary regime that includes limited types of meat in accordance with the dietary Laws of the Old Testament. Alcohol consumption is also not part of the Rastafari way of life.

Another interesting fact about the Rastafarian people is that they are not involved into politics.