The Culture of the Jamaican Rastafarians

The culture of the Jamaican Rastafarians

The Rastafarian culture was created in the 1920's by a man named Marcus Garvey who spoke a new philosophy to the people of Jamaica called "back to Africa". This philosophy was proclaimed to motivate and self-empower the black people of Jamaica to migrate back to Africa, explicitly Ethiopia the home of their ancestors. This was the beginning of the movement. In 1930 an African man named Ras Tafari Makonnen claimed to be the direct descendent of King David and became the emperor of Ethiopia, they named him Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. The Jamaicans followed him and proclaimed themselves "Rastafarians". Haile Selassie was believed to be the manifestation of God, or Jah and was labeled as the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Rastafarians believed they were one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Rastafarians do not believe in life after death so they live to experience their kingdom on earth (Brown, 1966).

The Rastafarian culture is known for their ska which is now called reggae music. This music was developed to express their joy and devotion to Jah and Rasta; and also object to the tyranny and injustice that was bestowed upon the Jamaican people. I-tal food is the name of the Rastafarians nutrition. It is a natural, chemical free, un-preserved way of eating which includes vegetables, fruits, seeds and fish. They believe a nutritional diet of veggies, fruits and seeds eliminate impurities and prevents sickness. Meat and pork are usually prohibited in the Rastafarian diet as well as alcohol and coffee and salt are discouraged. Ganga is an Indian strain of hemp which is smoked by Rastafarians for spiritual purposes. It is a lot stronger than marijuana in the United States causing hallucination and transcendent apparitions. Rastafarian dreadlocks (hair) signify the Lion of Judah or their rites of passage as a man (Brown, 1966). The Rastafarian culture believes our westernized nutritional menu is not pure because of pork which is a typical part of our diet. This religious practice of the Rastafarian comes from the bible, the book of Leviticus. Some of their beliefs seem to be similar to our western beliefs because they follow the scripture and the laws from the bible.

Brown, S. E. (1966). Treatise on the rastafarian movement.

Caribbean Studies, 6(1), 39-40.