Rastafari movement The Rastafari movement is an African-based spiritual ideology that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica. It is sometimes described as a religion but is considered by many adherents to be a Way of Life.[1][2] Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (ruled 1930–1974), some as Jesus in his Second Advent, or as God the Father. Members of the Rastafari way of life are known as Rastas, or The Rastafari. The way of life is sometimes referred to as Rastafarianism, but this term is considered derogatory and offensive by most Rastafari, who, being highly critical of isms (which they see as a typical part of Babylon culture), dislike being labelled as an ism themselves.[3] The name Rastafari is taken from Ras Tafari, the title (Ras) and first name (Tafari Makonnen) of Haile Selassie I before the coronation. In Amharic, ras (literally head, an Ethiopian title equivalent to duke), and tafari or teferi, which in Amharic means a man who is to be feared, or a hero. Jah is the poetical and Biblical name of God, from a shortened form of Jahweh or Jehovah found in Psalms 68:4 in the King James Version of the Bible. Most adherents see Haile Selassie I as Jah or Jah Rastafari, who is an incarnation of God the Father, therefore the second advent of Christ Anointed one or for some the second coming of Jesus Christ onto the earth, as well as Gods chosen king on earth. Many elements of Rastafari reflect its origins in Jamaica and Ethiopia, two countries with predominantly Christian culture as-well as Ethiopian Christianity tracing its roots to the 4th century and st Mark founded Coptic church of Alexandria [4][5] Rastafari holds to many Jewish and Christian beliefs and accepts the existence of a single tri-une Deity called Jah, who has sent his son to Earth in the form of Jesus (Yeshua) and made himself manifest as the person of Haile Selassie I. Rastafari accept much of the Bible, although they believe that its message and interpretation has been corrupted.[2] The Rastafari way of life encompasses themes such as the spiritual use of cannabis[6][7] and the rejection of the degenerate society of materialism, oppression, and sensual pleasures, called Babylon.[8][9] It proclaims Zion, in reference to Ethiopia, as the original birthplace of humankind, and from the beginning of the way of life calls for repatriation to Zion, the Promised Land and Heaven on Earth. Literally, moving to Ethiopia physically, but mentally and emotionally repatriating before the physical[10][11] Rastafari also embrace various Afrocentric and Pan-African social and political aspirations.[6][12] Rastafari is not a highly organized way of life. Many Rastafari do not claim any sect or denomination, and thus encourage one another to find faith and inspiration within themselves, although some do identify strongly with one of the Mansions of Rastafari—the three most prominent of these being the Nyahbinghi, the Bobo Ashanti and the Twelve Tribes of Israel.[13] By the late twentieth century, awareness of the Rastafari movement had spread throughout much of the world, largely through interest generated by reggae music, especially the major international success of Jamaican singer/songwriter Bob Marley. By 1997 there were, according to one estimate, around one million Rastafari faithful worldwide.[14] In the 2001 Jamaican census, 24,020 individuals (less than 1 percent of the population) identified themselves as Rastafari.[15] Other sources estimated that in the 2000s they formed about 5 percent of the population of Jamaica,[16] or conjectured that there are perhaps as many as 100,000 Rastafarians in Jamaica.[17]
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:55:52 +0000
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