Historical and Ethnographical Study of the Rastafari Religion

communities. In the United Sates, they were seen as black, members of a definite minority. The amount of education, the amount of income, and culture, didn’t erase ones blackness, as it would back home. Nor are whites sensitive to shade differences, as people are in Jamaica. Whatever their shade or achievements, Jamaicans were victims of racial discrimination in employment, education, and housing. For many Jamaicans, this was the first time that they became painfully aware that black skin was a significant status marker. New York Jamaicans are submerged in the wider black community of America. However, at the same time, Jamaicans distinguish themselves as different than the “indigenous” blacks. Therefore, the results are that their interactions with American whites are less painful. Jamaicans who came to New York City were not shocked by the racial situation, but were disillusioned when they found the city to be less glamorous and offering less economic opportunities than imagined.

This was my first time hearing about the Anasazi culture and it turned out to be very captivating. There was various things that stuck out to me in the article particularly where it shows how innovative they where in those times with adopting different weapons like the bow and arrow.Also how they adapted to living in small communities and started farming and storing food but really for being ahead of their time as fars seeing the changes ahead of time showing an eminent of ability and skill level. Furthermore the expert architectural skills they showed by building cliff dwellings and Adobe homes and how powerful and meaningful they were to society in the southwest until this date. Also they were very structured with the pueblos with large

There is no formal leadership role in Rastafarianism it simply exists with a following. The Rastafarians believe deeply in the use of marijuana in every sense. They try to stay as far away from alcohol though as they believe it leads to addiction and abuse, essentially the opposite of what Catholics believe in. Rastas believe in the use of cannabis and often promote its use through versus and scriptures like, “The herb is the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2) and “Eat every herb of the land” (Exodus 10:12). However contrary to popular belief, Rastas do not condemn the use of cannabis simply to get high, they use it for rituals, and ceremonial practices that they believe bring them closer to zion, as it makes them more peaceful. In fact Rastafarians truly believe that marijuana is a gift from god that is to be used to bring themselves closer to a god like person. Rastas tend to smoke when they believe they need insight from jah (God). Rastafaris also do not believe in the use of any other recreational drug to get high unless it is a

The Rastafari movement is a positive movement that promotes peace amongst all, self-respect, self -awareness, and respect for others.

These African religions are extremely important to many who wish to recognize their “roots.” In earlier centuries these “foreign” practices were banned by slaves attempting to hold on to their culture, and over the years they have come to represent a sense of liberation and freedom to be African (Brereton, A History of Modern Trinidad). Overall nowadays the country's differing religious groups coexist and generally respect each other's beliefs and practices. People of one faith openly participate in celebrations of another faith [www.state.gov.htm].

During the late 1960s black power began to arise and take a sudden increase. The Black Panthers and the Students for a Democratic Society began to organize ghetto dwellers into a revolutionary army to overthrow capitalism and to put an end to "Jim Crow" and the harsh situations that came with it. (source 5)

Christianity and Rastafarianism are both rooted in Judaism and draw from the Hebrew sacred scriptures. Rastafarianism evolved as a reaction to the Christianity that was imposed upon African-American slaves and their descendents. There are several other aspects in which these two religions are similar, the purpose of this paper is to explore some of those similarities.

While, as a Jamaican descent my family has a more dependent deposition and most Jamaican families have patriarchal ties. Both culture side has a strong belief in Christianity; however, my Jamaican family is more liberated and not held down by the deep-rooted conditioning of Christianity instilled in by slave owners. With Jamaicans have an understanding from Rastafari education, many have a deeper connection to the

The Rastafari, Jediism and The Raelian Movements are all smaller new religions that believe in some type of force. One is they have ethical beliefs as well as code of conducts even though they do not share the same beliefs they all have their own set that they believe in and live by. They all have a set of community because all it takes a group of likeminded people to become a community and eventually a religion in most aspects, there are always a few people that believe and have a passion the same thing and live by their chosen ethics. These movements they all share is they all believe in some type of God, sprit or force. Rastafari is a movement that believe in the Black race almost everything has to do with the color of their skin from their

Rastafarians split from organized religion, but hold onto their Christian faith by interpreting the Bible for themselves in new unique ways. "This is what Rastafarian "theology" is about: taking the discourse into intellectual landscapes beyond narrow theological hermeneutics and exegesis, whose methods of argumentation are considered Christian-specific and predetermination in that tradition." (Nettleford 313)

Rastafari is an African religion that is still relatively new. The religion was developed in the 1930s in Jamaica after Haile Selassie was named the King of Ethiopia. The followers of this religion believe that Selassie is God and that he will return all of the black people displaced from slavery and colonization to Africa. Bob Marley’s music and success helped spread the religion. The Rastafarians believe that black people are the chosen people of God. Some of the religious practices in the religion include smoking and inhaling marijuana. The purpose of the marijuana is to increase a person’s spiritual state of mind and awareness. Most Rastafarians have long

When she first lands in Jamaica in 2008, Raboteau voices her reasoning for visiting the island: “I knew this Zion was a holy place, a dwelling to roost, a country that was supposed to offer some kind of cure for the long disease of slavery. Maybe I would find the Zion they sang about in Jamaica” (p. 66). The reggae music of Bob Marley, a genre that speaks of peace and freedom, was surely one of the factors that attracted Raboteau to experience Jamaica for herself.

Although the music of Bob Marley is commonly viewed as party music, his songs were often alive with spiritual meaning. His songs have a deep connection with Rasta Spirituality. Rastafarians believe you should go with the flow of life. They believe spreading positive love is important. Additionally, the Rasta Spirituality also works in tandem with Christianity and shares the same God. Bob Marley’s music is teeming with deep and powerful spiritual meaning.

When Ras Tafari Makonnen took the imperial throne in Ethiopia in 1930 as Haile Selassie I, a new movement was born in Jamaica. The crowning of a Black King? Was this not what Marcus Garvey told his Jamaican followers fifteen years earlier when he said"Look to Africa for the crowning of a Black King; he shall be the Redeemer"(BARRETT 8 1)?

Rastafari is, before it is anything else, a way of life. It offers approaches and answers to real problems black people face in daily living; it promotes spiritual resilience in the face of oppressive poverty and underdevelopment. It produces art, music and cultural forms, which can be universally recognized and appreciated. More important, Rastafari provides a positive self-image, an alternative to people who need and cannot find or accept one elsewhere. Even with its black foundation and orientation, Rastafarianism is open to anyone, of any race, who chooses to discover and is able to accept it.