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chapter 4 / Beliefs, Rituals, and Symbols

Beliefs
Haile Selassie is the Living God
The Black Person is the Reincarnation of Ancient Israel
The White Person is Iferior to the Black Person
Jamaica Is Hell; Ethiopia Is Heaven
The Invincible Power of the Emperor
Blacks Shall Rule the World
Rituals
Meetings
Prayers
The Bible
Ganja (Marijuana)
Ritual Symbolism among the Rastafarians
Food Symbolism
The Symbolism of the Lion
Rastafarian Colors
Language as a Symbol

Beliefs
Systems of belief provide cult movements with a major source of power. This power, as we have seen, derives not form a body of systematic or logical truths, but rather from the psychological, emotional content of the ideology. This is especially true of Rastafarian beliefs. To the outsider much of Rastafarian rhetoric appears to be meaningless babbling yet, on the deper level of communication, it appears to project the message to the native hearers despite the sceming madness. As the university report sums up:"What people believe or assert emphatically represents a social force which cannot be disposed of merely by denial. "by their nery nature, myths remain outside the realm of truth or fasehood, being subject neitgher to the rules of logic nor to the thechniques of scientific investigation. A religious myth such as Rastafarianism, then, claims for itself an immunity from logic not granted to any other kind of knowledge system, demanding commitment and action. On this point, it was the thirteenth-century philosopher Bonaventure who once said that an eternal gulf exists between conviction based on religious grounds and conviction based upon mere scientific or rational argument. He observed that history has given preponderant evidence that humans will die more requently for religious beliefs than will the scientist for so-called "truth".
The Rastafarians have developed for themselvds a body of myth and rituals which, although not yet written down, can be summarized in a systematic form. In htis chapter, only the central ideas will be discussed, along with some of the important rituals of the movement. Beliefs and rituals may change from one group to the next. Those included in this chapter have been laboriously gleaned from public addresses, interviews, and short articles written by the leading brethern, and form personal observations of the cult over a period of many years.
At least six basic beliefs can be identified as uniquely Rastafarian:
- Haile Selassie is the living God
- The Black person is the reincarnation of ancient Israel, who, at the hand of the White person, has been in exile in Jamaica.
- The White person is inferior to the Black person
- The Jamaican situation is a hopeless hell; Ethiopia is heaven.
- The invincibleEmperor of Ethiopia is now arranging for expatriated persons of African origin to return to Ehiopia.
- In the near future Blacks shall rule the world

Haile Selassie is the Living God
Al true Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, is the true and living god, at least of the Black race. A member of the Rastafarian Rep[atriation Association expained it this way:
"We know before that when a King should be crowned in the land of David's throne, that indivutual would be Shiloh, the anointed one, the Messiah, the Christ returned in the personification of Rastafari (On his vesture and on his thigh is a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.") He (Ras Tafari) is the "ancient of Days" (the bearded God). The scripture declares that "the hair of whose head was like wool (matted hiar), whose feet were like unto burning brases" (i.e., black skin). the scripture declares that God hangs in motionless space surrounded with thick dardness (hence a Black man).
In his Theatise on the Rastafarian Movement, Samuel Brown incorporated the idea as follows:
"Gods are the creation of the inner consciousness of nations' deification of an individual. Elders and parents beget progenies who in turn carry on the perpetuation of such culture.
Unlike all orders of relition, the culture of Rastafari was not handed down from father to son as the people of Christandom. We who have perused the volumes of history know htat in this 20th century a king would arise out of Jese's root, who should be a God (Almighty) for his people, and a liberator to all the oppressed of earth. We the Rastafarians who are the true prophets of this age, the reincarneated Moseses, Joshuas, Isaiahs, Jeremiahs who are the battle-axes and weapons of war (a Jihad), we are those who are detined to free not only the scattered Ethiopians (Black man) but all people, animals, herbs and all life forms.
We are vanguard of 144,000 celestial selectees who shall in turn free 468,000 millions particularly, and the world at large. We are the disciples of Rastafari, who have walked with God from the time when the foundation of creation was laid through 71 bodies, to behold the 72nd house of power which shall reign forever. We now stand as the fulfillers of prophecy, we knew before that when a king should be crowned in the land of David's throne, that individual would be Shiloh, the anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ returned in the personification of Rastafari (on his vesture and on his thigh is a name written, "King of Kings, and Lord of Lords"). We also know the significance of Daniel, declaring from that time to this time, for I behold until all the thrones of Babylon where cast down and the ancient of whose head was likeunto wool, whose feet were like unto burning brass, and he treadeth the fierceness of the winepress of his wrath, to execute justice and judgment on the Gentiles. The scriptures declare God hangs in motionless space surrounded by thick darkness, hence a black man.
God came in many bodies to reign forever in Rastafari the holy one of Israel whose ray of light shall finally dim the eyes of the dragon, and through whose power all those of many nations who embrace the faith and uphold its laws shall live forevermore with God. We are those who shall fight all wrongs and bring ease to the suffering bodies and peace to all people".
We can see a syncretism of Old Testament prophecy, Gnostic mysticism adn Christian gheology fuse into a revolutionary rhetoric typical of the movement's unique from of expression. It is symbolic language spun from hallucinogenic experiences which befuddles the mind of the average jamaican. But the cultists have not developed this notion of their King's sivinity from ganja experience alone; they believe that numerous biblical texts support the doctrine. From Jeremiah 8:21 they are convinced that God is Black "For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold of me." A Black god to the Rastafarians is of the greatest importance, because "Blackness is synonymouswith holiness." The distrinctiveness of Haile Selassie for the movement lies therefore in the authority of the scriptures of his divinity and in the fact that he is Black. His Ethiopian birth further strengthens tha tbelief, for the Bible clearly states that their god would be born in that country. So, according to cultists, Psalm 87:3-4 is unquestionable proof:
"Glorious things are spoken of thee,
O city of God. Selah.
I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there."
The book of Revelation, containing the holy prophecy about the Emperor, has become the central text for the cultist. In this book the great titles of the King are jound, "King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah, Elect of God and Light of the world".
The Rastafarians also believe that the Jesus spoken of in the Bible is Haile Selassie. but the White slave msters and the missionaries present him as Europena in order to hide from their Black slaves their true dignity.
Consecuently, the White person's god is a diferent god from that of the Rastafarians. The Whites' god is actually the devil, the instigator of all evils that have come upon the world, the god of hate, blood, oppression, and war; the Black god is a god of "Peace and Love". It follows that the Christian preachers of the White god, especially Black clergy, are the greatest deceivers and represent the greatest evil to the Black Jamaican, because they continue to deny Blacks their true dignity by daily presenting to them a god who expects one to be humble and to beat suffering and shame in theis life for an imaginary heaven somewhere in the sky after death. To the Rastafarians who believe in life eternal in the bere and now, this doctrine is a total farce. Ethernal life in Ethiopia is imminently possible, and will be enjoyed under the leadership of Black god among Black people.
How did Haile Selassie see this development? And how did he respond to the idea of being called God? No comment from his majesty ever appeared on this subject. However, Dr. M.B. Douglas, a delegate to Ethiopia in the mission of 1961, offered the writer this interesting report. On the mission's arrival in Addis Ababa, the delegates were met by the Abuna, Archibishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and upon learning that the cult worshipped the Emperor as God, advised them not to make htis known to the King because such information would cause him great displeasure. He informed them that the Emperor was a devout Christian and a regular worshipper at the cathedral. Dr. Doublas recalled that this in no way discouraged the Rastafarians; to the contrary, it only strngthened their belief. Their reply to the Abuna was, "if he does not believe that he is god, we know that he is god;" they informed the Abuna that the King would never display his divinity for "he that humbleth himself shall be exalted, and he that exalteth himself shall be abased." "The Rastafarians left Ethiopia," observed Dr. Douglas, "more convinced than ever, that Haile Selassie is God."
The minority report on the mission to the Government written by the Rastafarian delegates reflected this belief and served to strengthen the brethren in Jamaica. Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica in 1966 did not diminish the belief in his divinity; many felt that the visit had served to strengthen their faith, and observation supported by statements from both Rastafarians and leading Jamaicans.
So the Rastafarians continue in this belief as they daily pray: "So we hail our God, Selassie I, Eternal God, Rastafari; hear us and help us, and cause thy face to shine upon us thy children."
Some questions have been raised as to whether the Rastafarian movemen t is a genuine messianic cult. Dr. Donald Hogg, professor of sociology at the University of Purerto Rico, Rio Piedras, who reviewed my first monograph sees this cult as a millenarian movement. He argues that millenarian movements emphasize the move to a golden age in the future here on earth, where all problems will be solved while, in the messianic movement, the messiah shares bodily in shaping and leading the movement. Dr. Hogg's idea is correct and agrees wit A.F. Wallace, who sees the messiah as "a divine savior in human flesh in mazeway transformateion." However, Wallace further states that: "The parallel terms do not denote mutually exclusive categories, for a given revitalization movement may be nativistic, millenarian, messianic, and revivalitstic all at once."
The Rastafarian movement, although fitting in the millenarian category, has such prominent messianic tendencies that designating it "messianic" allows for a greater range of interpretation of its ideology. It is also interesting to note that the move to a golden place - Ethiopia - was probably not one of the earlier tenets of the movement, but a later addition. The Rastafarians saw Haile Selassie as a real messiah, in the flesh until August 1975, but in the spiritual body since his death. His spiritual presence is with them in all they do. He is the supreme beting of the cult to whom prayers are made, hymns are sung, and around whom a sizeable body of myth is developed. They had their ambassadors visit him in Ehtiopia, and welcomed him in Jamaica, although his visit was not occasioned by them. His Kingship is the dominant inspiration of the movement and, at present, at least 50 percent of the movement's members reject repatriation. From this the author feels it safe to call the movement messianic-millenarian.
The Rastafarian movement, as with most messianic millenarian movements, is a reaction to the grinding poverty experienced by the peasant class. Some of the creative mids of this society percieved that the only way out of their stress and distress was by the strong hadn of a god or messiah. This mesiah they perceived that the only way out of their stress and distress they perceived to be Haile Selassie who, for them, is the Returned Messiah.
The movement was born in colonial oppression and structured itself in the slums. By the time o independence in 1962, it was the only voice of a powerless peasant class whose numbers are still multiplying in the island. The movement has institutionalized poverty and, as such, has become the symbol of the poor peopl's search for a place in their homeland. It is a symbol of the extablishment's neglect of the poor.
The movement is a symbol of the neglect of an educational system which failed to inculcate in the youth a pride in their homeland, their African heritage, and their identity as a unique people - who by an historical accident became a mixture of many races. The movement has become a symbol of correction to this system which saw no good in the variety of teaching materials at hand, but sought to bring in alien materials from England to substitute for the living Jamaican experience. The result has been a calamity. The church, therefore, failed significantly to reach out the poor and needy and catered to the rich and the progressive in its liturgy and its teaching institutions. Only recently has a church been forced to become Jamaicanized. Until recently, a White minister in Jamaican pulpits was the most acceptable and, unless the Black minister was White in all aspects but skin color (which could be overlooked if all other mannerisms were Europeanized), the Blacks would not be accepted by certain congregations. Unfortunately, this tension still prevails in established Jamaican churches. In this light the Rastafarian movement can be seen as a symbolic representation of a people whose self-identity has been suppressed by dominant alien symbols from the outside.

The Black Person is the Reincarnation of Ancient Israel
Deeply influenced by the Judaeo-Christian religion through the use of the Bible, the cultists have been unable to break away from the word "Israel". To them "Israelite" and "Ethiopian" are one and the same name - simply referring to a holy people. According to the Rastafarians, they, the true Israelites, have been punished for their sins by god their father through slavery under Whites. This sin led to their exile in Jamaica. They have long since been pardoned and should have returned to Ethiopia long ago, but because f the slavemasters' trickery have been unable to return. As true Israelites, though, they observe strict dietetic and hygienic laws based on the Old Testament. As Samuel Broen has expressed it:
" The Rastafarian is he who bows the knee to God above, we are those who obey strict moral and divine laws based on the Mosaic tenet. (1) We strongly object sharp implements used in the descration of the figure of Man, e.g., trimming and shaving, tattooing of skin, cuttings of the flesh. (2) We are basically vegetarians, making scant use of certain animal flesh, yet outlawing the use of swine's flesh in any form, shell fishes, scaleless fishes, snails, etc."
Since the cult claims personal divinity through their unique relationship with Haile Selassie !, the believer who claims membersip enters into a divine state of "sonship."
To assume it, one doesn not merely join the cult. Membership occurs through a spiritual birth, through self-awakening, not adoption but by right to "sonship". The believer becomes therefore a son of "Jah Rastafari who is God" and, as such, shares in divinity, gor it is recorded:
"I sais ye are gods and all of you sons of the most high.
Beloved now are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is".
The above suggest that the Rastaman shall be like God - that is both Black and divine at the same time.
On the subject of reincarnation the Rastafarian have a unique teaching akin to Hinduism. They belive that god revealed himself many ages ago in various forms. To the Hebrews, God revealed himself in the person of Moses, who was the first avatar or savior, speaking God's word because he was actually God revealed in the shape and form of man. His mission fulfilled, Moses disappeared from the earthly scene and "no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." The second avatar was Elijah, who declared the will of God, but the rulers of earth paid him little attention. Elijah did not die as other human geings, but "went up in a chariot of fire." The third avatar was Jesus Christ, who said quite emphatically, "Before Abraham was, I am"; and again "I and my father are one."
Now the advent of Ras Tafari is the climax of God's revelation. Tas Tafari will therefore never die. He is eternal and all Rastafarians who belive in him are eternal and shall never see death. "We who are Rastafarians are eternal and shall never see death. "We sho are Rastafarians are the disciples who have walked with god form the time when the foundation of creation was laid, through 71 bodies, to behold the 72nd house of power which shall reign forever."
Though they might have lapsed in their relationship with God throughout this long existence, Rastafarians claim this is no longer possible because they now live in the age of theocracy. They therefore do not believe in death but in eternal life. Only the evil of the earth dies. "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." The brethren attribute the death of a member of the cult to a lack of proper self-preservation, to unfaithfulness to "Jah." Because the dead is no longer one of them, they move away from the scene, justifying their behavior by quoting the Bible:
"Leave the dead to bury their dead, but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God.... There shall none be defiled for the dead among his people... But he shall not defile himself, being a chief man among his people, to profane himself."
Pressing one Rastafarian leader for an explanation on the subjec of eternal life, the writer was offered this theory:
"Even if a Rastafarian pass away because of old age he really is not dead. The atoms of his body pass back into the totality of things. These same atoms are again utilized into the formation of other newborn babies and life continues as before."
Another leading Rastafarian explained it this way:
"Life is like a game of cricket. As long as the player makes the appropriate stroke that merits each ball, he can play on and on for centuries. The only way a good player can be bowled is when he makes an inappropriate stroke. The Rastafarian is the man who has acquired the appropriate spiritual way of dealing with life; he therefore is immortal."
Such an emphasis on eternal life is reflected by the youthfulness of Rastafarians members, many of whom have never seen any of their members die of any natural causes - only by the police. During my early research, the effect of the eventual death of Haile Selassie on the movement was often discussed. To the Rastafarians the question was absurd - God cannot die because he holds the power of death of the Emperor.

The White Person is inferior to the Black Person ?
The idea of black supremacy comes largely as an echo from the days of Garvey and remains a strong point inboth the Black Muslim (United States) and the Jamaican Rastafarian movements. From Garvey's African Fundamentalism we read:
"If others laugh at you, retrun the laughter to them; if they mimic you, return the compliment with equal force. They have no more right to dishonor, disrespect and disregard your feeling and manhood than you have in dealing with them. Honor them when they honor you; desrespect and disregard them when they vilely treat you. Their arrogance is but skin deep and an assumption that has no foundation in morals or in law. They have sprung from the same family tree of obscurity as we have; their history is as rude in its caves and in branches of trees, like mondeys, as ours, they made human sacrifices, ate the flesh of their own dead and the raw meat of the wild beast for centuries even as they accuse us of doing; their cannibalism was more prolonged than ours; when we were embracing the arts and sciences on the banks of the Nile their ancestors were still drinking human blood and eating out of the skulls of their conquered dead; when our civilization had reached the noonday of progress they were still running naked and sleeping in holes and caves with rats, bats and other insects and animals. After we had already fathomed the mystery of the stars and reduced the heavenly constellations to minute and regular calculus they were still back woodsmen, living in, ignorance and blatant darkness.

In the Supreme Wisdom of Elijah Muhammad there is a similar emphasis on the superiority of the Black person:

The original man is...none other than the Black man, Black man is the first and last: creator of the Universe and primogenitor of all other races---including the white race, for which Black man used a special method of birth control. White mans's history is only six thousand years long, but Black man's is coexistensive with the creation of the earth....Everywhere the white race has gone on our planet they have found the original man or sign that he has been there previously.

Eaton Simpson reported (1950) that during his research earch night, in typical Rastafarian meetings on the streets of Kingston's west end, this idea was intoned as follows. A speaker will rise and ask, "How did we get here?" Chorus: "Slavery." "Who brought us here?" Chorus: "The White man. The White man tells us we are inferior, but we know that we are not inferior. We are superior, and he is inferior. The time has come t go back home."

Despite the rhetoric, the Rastafarians, contrary to many reports, are not anti-White. Thge White race is seen as oppressors, but not all White people are considered evil. Each White jperson is accepted on merit, until proved guilty of racism. Inmany cases, Whites often find more acceptance with Rastafarians than do some Blacks. The American hippie cults have had easy entree to the cults, although they are White. At the moment many Whites have become Rastafarians and are so accepted.

Jamaica Is Hell; Ethiopia Is Heaven
The Rastafarians in general represent the lowest segment of Jamaican social classes. Although a sprinkling of new recruits has now emerged from the middle class, this has not significantly changed the character of the group. This level of Jamaican society represents the largest body of the unemployed and underemployed and the greatest number of unemployables; consequently, deprivation within this group has remained unchanged over the years. The flight syndrome discussed earlier is the basis for this millenarian emphasis of the earlier period of the movement. Though this escape ideology still exists among some groups, the younger element has gradually moved away from it.
The Jamaican life condition in th epast has generated three observable social responses. The first is aggresion, exemplified by numerous instances of violence as discussed in Chapter 2. On a middle level it persists in incidents of theft, usually petty, on the streets of Kingston in open daylight, or breaking into well-to-do St. Andrew homes at night. Stealing has been the famous pastime of this segment of society. However, with earsier access to firearms, aggression has now taken on a new twist with bloodshed and killing widespread on the island. The economic condition in the city slums has created a seething volcano which erupts each night. Madeline Kerr calls this "intragression," the internalized frustration of a society. The Rastafarians have used this frustration as a means to continue theri struggle and gain results.
The second response is acceptance---the society may accept its hopeless conditions. In Jamaican society this acceptance is symbolized in the Jamaicanism. "Wha fe do" ; in other words "one does not like it, but nothing can be done about it. " The majority of Jamaican peasants seem to settle into this attitude. They can scarcely make ends meet but see no way out of their deliemma. This attitude is rejected by the Rastafarians. Their answer is flight or fight. While in their earlier history, the flight motif was dominant, today they have settled into the latter.
The third reaction is avoidance. This attitude, held by the separatist, sees no good in society and no hope of contributing any good even if the iffort were made. The Rastas once fitted into this group. Seeing Jamaica as utterly hopeless, in terms of Blacks, they saw no need to hope for a share in Jamaica's future and therefore expected nothing from it. They have often said that the Blacks have given their labor to Jamaica's White rulers for three hundred years, but received nothing in return. Blacks do the work; Whites get the profit. Hence the Rastafarian movement was once united in withdrawing from Jamaica and would have nothing to do with it. As one of thier leaders, Samuel Brown expressed it in 1965:

Because of the stand we have taken against white oppression, and the enforcement of their way of life on black people, we have become the target of abuse and murder, perpetuated by the black mercenary policemen, white officered. Contrary to the opinion formed abroad that Jamaica is a black man's land, it is not true where poer of rule is concerned, even though we outnumber all races combined. A mulatto courgeois class holds the balance of poer under remote control, while the blacks are held as virtual slaves, The investiture of a black governor-general who is continually reminded to obey orders is the present fake...... .

Ambivalence still exists in the movement but, as we shall see, there is a gradual rethinking of their position.

Because the Rastafarinas claim Africa or Ethiopia as their messianic hope, their homeland, that is where they plan to "sit under their own vine and figtree." According to Brown,

We are the people in Jamaica who are definitely opposed to any form of intergration or assimilation with the white oppressor, or any non-African races and ourselves, We are those who do not accept the name Jamaican, knowing we are the Africans in exile. Our view is therefore to return to Africa at any cost. We are also proud to be called Africans or Ethiopians, knowing creation owes to the black man its paternity.

To prepare the brethren for life in Africa, classes in Africanization were developed as early as 1961, especially for the study of Ethiopian history and Amharic, the language of Ethiopia. In eastern Kingston, the Rastafarian Repatriation Association sponsors films on the cluture of Ethiopia and conducts a school at night to upgrade the education of the group for leadership in Africa. But as the possibility of repatriation has gradually receded in the mind of the youth, a new evaluation of the movement's ideology has arisen. To the younger element the liberation of Jamaica is the current interest. Acautious attempt is being made to become involved in transformeing Jamaica into a land of Rastafarians.

The Invincible Power of the Emperor

Before leaving Jamaica in 1965, the writer promised the Rastafarians to return in two years to see them, they all expressed uncertainty as to the possibility of this because of their belief in the imminence of their repatriation. Their mode of behavior then was anxiously waiting for the call to go. so convinced were the brethren of this even, that a visit of an African officail can set off feverish speculation of immediate repatriation. On July 27, 1966, a news item appeared in the morning newspaper announcing the arrival in Jamaica of the Ethiopian ambassador to Haiti for officail talks with the Jamaican prime minister, giving rise to wild speculation that he had come to prepare the way for repatriation. To this end, Ras Roy McDonald of the Ethiopian African National Congress took to the streets of Kingston informing the brethren he happened to neet that they must prepare now for the time for departure had come. Questioned by the writer abut the source of his information on this urgetn announcement, he replied that the spirit had revealed to him the mission of the ambassador.
This mood of urgency has brought the Rastafarians to the airport time and again fully dressed and ready for immediate departure---all because of a dream. No advice to the contrary can persuade the brethren that Ethiopia is unable to accept mass migration of unskilled or semiskilled peoples.
There is a reality, however, that gives added support to Ethiopia as the Promised Land. That is the Emperor's land grant to all Africans abroad who aided Ethiopia during the Italian-Ethiopian war. Vistied by the Jamaican Mission to Ethiopia in 1961, the land was said to be good for settlement. A further support of their hope wa the Emperor's message as reported by the Rastafarian brethren of the same mission, he was purported to have said:

Tell the Brethren be not dismayed, I personally will give my assistance in the matter of their repatriation. I want not only men but women and children. I do not want you to suffer any difficulties. It will take some time for study and planning.

No other delegates of the mission supported this message. It was said to have been a private communication only to members of the Rastafarian faith.
Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaca in 1966 was interpreted as the last step before repatriation. Even today the cultists anxiouly await the call recorded in the prophecy of Isaiah. " I will say to the north, give up : and to the south, keep not back; bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the ends of the earth." some few brethren have acutally migrated to Ethiopia on their own, but recent develpments in Ethiopia have dampended the cultists' enthusiasm and the effect of the death of the Emperor has brought new problems to their dreams.

Blacks Shall Rule the World

The Rastafarians believe, based on their interpretation of the prophecy of Daniel 2:31-42, that Blacks are destined to be the ultimate rulers of the world. In this prophecy, the Black person is "the stone hewed out of the mountain without hands. " This stone is the rising African nations which have already smitten the great image, interpreted as European nations that once colonized the African continent. The hand of the image, the "fine gold," is Great Britain; the "breast of siver," France; the "belly and things of brass," Belgium; and " the legs, part iron and part clay, " Germany. All thesenations have fallen because of the political blow dealt them by the rise of Blacks in Africa. Here is a typical exegeses of scripture which to the scholar lacks all semblance of historical reality, but to the cultists is full of meaning and truth. Similarly, the Rastafarians believe that Whites are destined to destroy themselves with nuclear weapons after which only Blacks will survive on this planet.
The Rastafarians constantly point to the glorious age of the Black race in Africa before the coming of the European. Habitually they refer to the historical figures ofEgypt, Ethiopia, and Greece as Blacks of the past who once occupied intellectual and political positions far superior to any achievements of the Caucasian race. They glory in the riches of Africa, richest of all continents in natural resources, soon to dominate worl markets. The tendency to recall the past in support of the future has been observed by C. Eric Lincoln in The Black Muslims in America. He writes.

The black nationalist revives history (or corrects it, as he would say) to establish that today's black men are descended from glorious ancestors, from powerful and enlightened rulers and conquerours. This reconstruction of history may reach ridiculous extremes;.... But a history is essential to the Balck nationalist's self respect. Exxential, too, is the certainty of a brilliant future, in which the inherent superiority of his race will triumph and he will again rule the world.

Rituals

Certain unique activities have become indispensable parts of Rastafarian cultic behavior---I will call these rituals. These would include called meetings or congregations for inspiration, exhortations, and meditations. They sometimes involve processions and collective ceremonials which are necessary for holding a group together. Ritals often include prayers, recitation of codes, music, sacrifice, fasting, and the ovservations of certain toaboos Seen separately or as they have merged to encompass Rastafarianism today, these activities merit attention as they now exist.

Meetings

Rastafarians hold various types of gatherings; there are weekly and monthly meetings called for various occasions, the most important of which is known as the "Nyabingi" meeting. Weekly meetings are generally referred to as business meetings where ongoing programs are discussed and problems solved. Typical topics might be community projects or problems involving government activities which affect the group. A chairperson or leading brother always serves as the spokesperson of the group. There is often a chaplain, a local treasurer, sergeants at arms, and a recording secretary. The meeting generally begins with prayers and chants, but at weekly meetings this may not be necessary. Despite the hierarchical structure of called meetings, the atmosphere is highly democratic. Every member is given time for full and free debate on all subjects until consensus is reached. Monthly meetings are more of an inspirational type involving music, prayers, and exhortations. While meetings of the first type are genrallly held at the home of a leading brethren, the second type are usually held at the home of a member.
A typical montly meeting often begins in the early evening and will last for the intire night with dancing, smoking, and eating. First the group recites Psalms 133:"behold how good and how pleasant is for brethren to dwell together in unity! etc., followed by the rastafarian prayer (see below)and various scriptures and comments, and ends with the Rastafarian national anthem. Follwing this, the drummers and singers will participate for hours of jollification.
The mos important meeting of the Rastafarians is the "Nyabingi,? which involves members from all over the island, and is held in various parts of the island periodically. This si comparable to a movement's convetion and may last from one to three days or even a week.
The term "Myabingi" comes to us from East Africa and refers to a religio-political cult that resisted colonial domination from the last decade of the nineteenth century to about 1928. There is no agreement as to where the movement began. Robert I. Rotberg in his book Rebellion in Black Africa (London : Oxford University Press, 1971), suggeste Ruanda-Urundi or Uganda. The term might have been the name or title of a Ruandaise royal princess who was killed by colonialists because of her resistance. After her death cults arose which were influenced by her spirit. The members of the cult experienced spirit possession and the medium of these cults was always a woman. Rotberg beslieves the sord means "She who possesses many things." In Jamaica the term means "death to the Black and White Oppressors".
On july 6, 1975, I was informed that a Nyabingi meeting was in progress at a district by the name of Nine-Miles (in the Parish of St. Thomas, nine miles east of Kingston). The two Rastafarians who gave me the information suggested that it would be good if I could visit this meeting for a learning experience. My visit turned out to be not only a liearning experience, but also a nightmare I shall never forget. Arriving by car in the community about 5:30 that evening, my friend, the owner of the car, cautiously left me in the village and returned to Kingston with much apprehension. Leaving the main road, my backpack filled with cameras and other equipment, I ascended into the hills toward the camp located two miles from where I started, on what is known as "captured lands"---a bit of land generally not frequented by outsiders unless accompanied by members of the cult. Arriving at the entrance of the camp, I went through what seemed like a japanese torii. Above the entrance was a sign with a picture of a great lion, with the insignia "I.N.R.I.," which means "I Negus King of Israel." A large crowd was gathered outside the camp looking at what appeared to be an unorganized mass of Rastafarians milling about. This was the period of feasting.
Having dealt with the Rastafarian brethren for years, I was not prepared for the reception I received. It was soon brought home to me that entering a Rastafarian ritual compund was quite different from meeting them in Kingston on neutral grounds. On entering, I immediately felt a mixture of suspicion and hostility. A sudden shout of "Babylon! Babylon!" greeted me, announcing to the group that an intruder had come into the camp. Unknowingly, I had broken several rules. First, I entered the camp with a head covering that was not Rastafarian. Second, I was too well dressed for their occasion; and third, I had equipment of Babylon on holy ground. Sensing my situation, I immmediately looked around to locate Ras "H" the gentleman who invited me. Spotting him among the drummers, I moved quickly toward him, calling him by name; he gave a very distant bow and smile, and suggested I take a seat and observe the customs, giving me the chance to look the camp over.
In this camp was a newly built house and a shed under which five drums were being played. Two large bonfires burned in the yard at either side of the camp and inside the shed a Coleman gas lamp burned for added light. About seventy-five people were sitting, standing, or moving about the camp. The majority were "dreadlocks" men and children, but there was also a fairly large gathering of women. The men's dreadlocks were about twenty inches long. Intending to take pictures of the activity and, seeing such beautiful locks, I inquired of one of the "dreads" with whom I was acquainted, whether this would be acceptable. After his inquiry to a convener of the Nyabingi, he reported that such practices were prohibited at these meetings. I settled down to observe with great disappointment.
All around the camp the air was thick with smoke from the holy herb. Men and women were smoking and making marijuana "spliffs" up to seven inches long. Some smoked chillum pipes and, while gazing into the sunset called out "Fire!" while others simply gazed with a smile. The drums kept a haunting beat while the cultists sang songs such as:
There is no night in Zion, there is no night there
Ras Tafari is the light, we need no candle light
Hallelujah there is no night there.
and
Dry up your tears and come to meet Ras Tafari.

One tune continued as long as an hour and without a break; another was started and continued on and on throughout the evening until the drummer was exhausted. His place was then taken by another and the singing and drumming continued. Many songs were new creations of the movement, but a great many had been adopted from the native religion and Christian hymns, using Rastafarian tempo and words when necessary.
As the evening progressed, more Rastafarians began to pour into the camp, some on foot, some on Honda motorcycles, and in minibuses. Some came from Kingston and the nearby villages, but there were members from as far as Montego Bay. By 9:00 P.M. the camp held nearly two hundred brethren and the tempo had accelerated. There were dreadlocks of all shapes and sizes, women with multicolored dressed, and men carrying tall poles which had the colors red, black, and green. As the tempo increased so did the smoking of the holy weed. Having decided to spend the entire night at this unusual fete; I sat enjoying these late night activities.
At about 10:00 P.M. that night, the other Rastafarian who invited me entered the camp. Apparently delighted with my presence, and being deep under the influence of the herb, he suggested I take a picture of him. I informed him that I was forbidden by the host to take pictures; but he insisted with all the authority of a "dread." Being the son of the convener of the Nyabingi, I assumed that his request was sanctioned by the authorities; so without any further questions, I aimed, focused, and clicked. The flash from the camera set off a loud roar of "Babylon! Fire! Burn him!" and with that roar, as many as twenty dreadlocks surrounded me with their tall poles crying, "Death to the spy! Death to the oppressor! Burn the traitor!" My friend tried to intervene, but to no avail. My camera and tape recorder were confiscated and the film burned. Had it not been for my friend whose picture I had taken, the tape recorder too would have been thrown into the fire. All this time the questions were being fired at me, "Are you a CIA? Are you an FBI?" Each time I would try to explain myself and in many cases, some dreads would seem satisfied, but then a new group would gather around me and the explaining would begin anew. The older brethren soon accpeted my explanation and with the help of Ras "T," it seemed that I had successfully gained their confidence. But a set of young Rastafarians would not be satisfied with any explanation. These young men threatened and I felt my life in danger. At this point an older "dread," a man who had once visited the United States, seeing my difficulty, came to my rescue. He led me outside the camp, cranked up his Honda, and told me to get on the rear seat. I was on my way to Kingston. Halfway between Nine-Miles and Kingston, the police picked up our trail and followed close by. The sight of a man with my appearance riding a Honda with a dreadlock was not usual! Thanks to the astuteness of Ras "T," we eluded the police and I headed to my place of residence in safety.
The following day, I returned to the Rastafarian headquarters to investigate what might have created the hostility. It was revealed that the group who threatened me were not true Rastafarians but were young people taking on the appearance of the cultists and most of them were probably wanted by the police, photographs of them could have been incriminating. I was also told that I could have ultimately lost my shoes and my eye glasses to the fire as a penalty for breaking Nyabingi rules.
Incidentally, despite the meaning of the term "Nyabingi" in Jamaica---"death to the Black and White oppressor"---it is more accurately a gathering of the brethren for inspiration, exhortation, feasting, smoking, and social contact.

Prayers

Prayers as a ritual act are done in many ways. Meetings are opened and closed with the prayer which has been associated with them from a very early period:

Princes shall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hand unto God. Oh thou God of Ethiopia, thou God of divine majesty, thy spirit come within our hearts to dwell in the parts of righteousness. That the hungry be fed, the sick nourished, the aged protected, and the infant cared for. Teach us love and loyalty as it is in Zion.
Deliver us from the hands of our enemy that we may prove faithful for the last day, when our enemy has passed, and decayed in the depth of the sea or in the belly of a beast. O give us a place in thy kingdom forever and ever. So we hail our God Selassie I, Hehovah God, Ras Tafari, Almighty God, Ras Tafari, Great and terrible God Ras Tafari. Who sitteth in Zion and reigneth in the hearts of men, and women, hear and blessus and sanctify us, and cause thy loving face to shine upon us thy children that we may be saved. Selah.

Recited with all the emotional tone of a deep worshiip experience, the prayer has become so popular that even non-Rastafarians have been heard to recite it at meetings. A glance at the prayer will show that it contains all the structure of a classical ritual prayer. There is adoration to the supremem being Ras Tafari; then there is supplication for the hungry, the sick, the infant, and for the destruction of the enemy, and finally it closes with adoration. The last paragraph of the prayer is repeated over and over again in meetings where the Bible is read. The Rastafaians are also in the habit of expressing evocatively "Jah! Ras Tafari" throughout a ceremony with the rhyming phrase "Haile Selassie I, "the numeral "I" used as the vowel "I".
Except for the above, no other prayers are known. In the Prince Emanuel group, the Ethiopian National Congress, a new development was observed in my recent visit: prostration on the tabernacle floor in silent prayer. The most religious of the cultists, this group is moving somewhat away from the mainstream of the movement toward a chrch. For them, Prince Emanuel is now revered as God; but more of this interesting development later.
The nearest thing to a code in the Rastafarian movement other than the prayer is the ten-point moral code written by Sam Brown and strictly adhered to by the movement's members:

1. We strongly object to sharp implements used in the descration of the figure of Man; e.g., trimming and shaving, tattooing of the skin, and cutting of the flesh.
2. We are basically vegetarians, making scant use of certain animal flesh, outlawing the use of swine's flesh in any form, shell fishes, scaleless fishes, snails, etc.
3. We worship and observe no other God but Rastafari, outlawing all other forms of Pagan worship yet respecting all believers.
4. We love and respect the brotherhood of mankind, yet our first love is to the sons of Ham.
5. We disapprove and abhor utterly hate, jealousy, envy, deceit, guile, treachery, etc.
6. We do not agree to the pleasures of present-day society and its modern evils.
7. We are avowed to create a world of one brotherhood.
8. Our duty is to extend the hand of charity to any brother in distress, firstly for he is of the Rastafari order---secondly, to any human, animals, plants, etc.
9. We do adhere to the ancient laws of Ethiopia.
10. Thou shall give no thought to the aid, titles and possession that the enemy in his fear may seek to bestow on you, resolution to your purpose is the love of Rastafari.
Music and practicing taboos must be left for later chapters. Regarding sacrifice, only the Prince Emanuel group practices this ritual and he has been thoroughly criticized for it. Many feel that such a practice will generate hostility toward the movement from the outside.

The Bible

To the Rastafarian, the Bible is a holy book, but not all its contents are acceptable. To be understood, the Bible must be interpreted as they believe that, due to the various translations of the Bible from the original Amharic language of Ethiopia, many corruptions have occurred. These, they assert, enhance the philosophy of the slavemasters. However, being Rastafarians, they have found the key for detecting the falsehoods of such corruptions. The Bible becomes therefore acceptable to them as a book of symbols and is read in their meetings. In the Prince Emanuel group, the Bible is read in a nonstop fashion for up to three hours---the Laws, the Prophets, and ending with the Gospels, and the Epistle. As a rule, they seldom comment on these scriptures.
Some Rastafarians use the Bible as a source book for their religious practices, expecially in defense of the herb. To other, the Bible is a collection of Rastafarian wisdom which predated the scriptures, But the main reason for the use of the Bible among the cultists is the fact that the Emperor advocated it. To substantiate this, Ras Mack produced a quotation of a speech said to have been delivered by the Emperor in 1954, in which he was quoted as saying:

We in Ethiopia have ne of the oldest versions of the Bible but however old the version may be, in whatever language it may be written, the words remain the same. It transcends all boundaries of Empire and all conceptions of race, it is Eternal. Nodoubt you will all remember reading in the Acts of the Apostles of how Phillip baptized the Ethiopian official. He is the first Ethiopian to have followed Christ and from that day onwards, the word of God has continued to grow in the hearts of Ethiopians. And I might say for myself that from my early childhood I was taught to appreciate the Bible and my love for it increased with the passage of time.
In a later section of this long quotation, the Emperor is quoted as saying that he has always encouraged his people to read the Bible and "that they should find the truth for themselves." Disregarding the rest of what might be a contradiction for the cultists, they took this phrase as a directive that Rastafarians would accept no other interpretation of the Bible, but that which they themselves have evolved.

Ganja (Marijuana)

The use of ganja as a religious ritual among the Rastafarians has been the subject of scholarly, popular, and legal debate for some time. The furor has sttracted great interest and created much confusion about the nature of ganja and its implication for the social and the religious future of this Jamaican movement. Rastas probably began to use ganja as a religious ritual in the early days of the movement during the wilderness experience in Pinnacle. Since then it has become an inseparable part of the movement's worship and a ritual aid for meditation.
The herb known as marijuana has attracted millions of youth and older people for the past ten years and has cocome a national phenomenon not only in the United States, but all over the world. Technically, the herb is known as Cannabis sativa, a name given to it by Linnaeus in 1753, and was known by the Hindus for centuries as Indian hemp or Bhang. It seemed to have been used in india not only commercially for making rope, but also for religious meditation. The flowering cluster from the tops of female plants is carefully cut; the resin contains special properties capable of producing altered stated of consciousness when used for smoking mixtures. The term "marijuana" is a Mexican-Spanish name and has become popular in the United States. In Jamaica, the term "ganja" is the most popular and represents a finer quality of the weed. Ganja, then, is the specially cultivated type of Indian hemp derived from the female plants and is said to be as much as four times stronger than the Mexican variety.
Prior to the emergence of the Rastafarians, ganja was used by native herbalists as a folk medicine, particularly in teas and as smoking mixtures with tobacco. But as the Rastafarians emerged, ganja took on a new role as a religious sacrament. Its use became a reactionary device to the society and an index of an authentic from of freedom from the establishment. Although the use of ganja was prohibited very early in Jamaica, most of the peasants were unaware of it; the Rastafarians, who were mostly urban dwellers, knew of its illegality. It would therefore be right to assume that as a protest against society, ganja smoking was the first instrument of protest engaged in by the movement to show its rfreedom fromt he laws of "Babylons." But, like peyote among the Navaho Indians of North America, ganja has other sides to it; its use produces psycho-spiritual effects and has socio-religious functions especially for people under stress. It produces visions, heightens unity and communal feelings, dispels gloom and fear, and brings tranquility to the mind of the dispossessed. So, ganja gradually became a dominant symbol among the cultists and has remained so to this day.
Among the Rastas, ganja is called by many names, such as callie and Iley which suggests the essence of the herb. Other names are "the herb," "the grass," "the weed, " and so on. Sometimes called "the wisdom weed, " it is said that the wisest man on earth. When used inritual contexts, the name became known as the "holy herb" as various scriptures are given as proofs of its sanctity. The rastafarians will say that God who created all things made the herb for human use and will cite Genesis 1:12 as their proof text:
And the eart brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And
...thou shalt eat the herb of the field (Genesis 3:18).
...eat every herb of the land (Exodus 10:12).
Better is a dinner of herb where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith (Proverbs 15:17).
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man....(Psalm 104:14).
These biblical texts are only a few of the many used by the cultists in defense of their rituals.
They are also capable of quoting the history of the herb from antiquity to the present. In a recent interview with a leading Rastafarian, he had this to say of the weed:

Concerning ganja and the amount of publicity it has received of late, it becomes, imperative that I should impart some knowledge on it regarding its history and usage among the Rastafarians. We know that in the wars of the Crusades, the Moslesms were using a form of Hashish from which they get the name Assassin. This same Hashish was used religiously. In Jamaica, we do not make full use of Hashish in that form; what we use is ganja. The Rastafarian sees ganja as part of his religious observance. He sees ganja as the smoother of mental imbalances and as a meditatory influence. Ganja is really used to bring forth a peaceful and complacent as pect within man. We do not believe in the excessive use of ganja. It cannot be used to excess. Inthat case it would be bad for man. But in truth, ganja used moderately is not bad. We do not find ganja as a mental depressor, ganja sharpens your wit, and keeps you intellectually balanced. It is not a drug; it is not an aphrodistiac either. We smoke it, we drink it, we even eat it sometimes. We do not find it a poison. I have been smoking ganja since I was eighteen years of age. I am now fifty, and I have never been to a doctor for any ganja related ailments.
Even in Trinidad today, ganja is used by the East Indians in their Temples as a form of worship without any government interference of restrictions. If ganja was not available in Jamaica as a sedative to keep poor people calm, the island would have experienced anarchy already.

A Montego Bay "dread: described his experience of ganja like this: "It gives I a good meditation; it is a door inside, when it is open, you see everything that is good.: And yet another: WWhen I smoke the herb I man is able to see from Jamaca straight to Panama. "There is no end to the praise of ganja among the brethren.
Ritual smoking follows the same pattern wherever it is observed. A package of herb is produced, generally wrapped in old newspaper or a brown bag. After carefully mincing it with a knife, it is made into a cigarette known as a "spliff" or packed into a chillum pipe. Just before lighting it, the following prayer is said by all:

Glory be to the Father and to the maker of creation As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end: Jah Rastafari: Eternal God Selassie I.

Several strong pulls of smoke are taken and deeply inhaled. The smoker then seems to go into a deep trance-like state, exhales, repeating the process two or three times, then the pipe is passed to another persn. If it is individual spliffs, the same kindof smoking thechnique is used. Smoking is done on all safe occasions; but it is required at all called meetings and at Nyabingi services. I saw at least three kinds of pipes: first, a straight hollow piece of wood or iron tube called :cuthcie: which is used by placing a peice of cloth over the mouth end---this is called a "sappie." The second type is the regular chillum made out of cow's horn into which a cutchie is placed. The smoking end is a rubber tube attached to the small end of the horn. The horn is filled with water, while the herb is placed in the cutchie. The third type is made of bamboo and varies in shapes and sizes, but the parts described above are the same. At the Nyabingi service described earlier, various shapes and sizes of chillum were observed; in addition some pipes are so large that they are used only on rare occasions.
There are many taboos among the Rastafarians; some of the strongest are those against consuming rum and all liquors and the smoking of cigarettes, particularly at a Nyabingi service. The brethren insist that drinkers of Jamaican rum have created more serious social problems on the cultusts declare that while rum makes one violent, ganja smoking makdes one calm. The Rastafarian poet puts the whole philosophy this way:

What is ganja? We know it's a plant
Created by God to fulfill men's want
The powers that be, say man should not use
They use it in secret, yet show its abuse.
There is no comparison between ganja and rum
The former keeps you "cool" the latter makes you glum
Rum as we know is an agent of death
With the using of ganja you draw new breath.

The taking of rum has eaten out our head
They who continue to take it will wind up dead
Remember, one is created, the other manufactured
On the evils of men we have always lectured.

So cast not your verdict before making a test
True conscience in you will show you the best
For rum as we know will pronounce your doom
All hail to great ganja, the volvent of gloom.

The controversy surrounding the use of ganja or marijuana continues unabated, so it would serve no purpose for this author to indulge in evaluating the pleasures or evils of the herb. This would be beyond his expertise, and besides, even those believed to be experts cannot agree on the matter. Once personal observation may, however, be in order. The author has observed that, after ten years of studying the groups most familiar to him, there appear to be no physical, mental, or psychic effects on the Rastafarians from the use of ganja. Most older brethren have been smoking for twenty years and are still as witty, hard working, and creative as other citizens of Jamaica. This observation was recently collaborated by the Officail Report of the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse. On Jamaican's use of the herb they reported:

In the Jamacan study, no significant physical or ment al abnormalities could be attributed to marijuana use, according to an evaluation of mental history, complete physical examination, chest X-ray, electro-cardiogram, blood cell, and checmistry tests, lung, liver or kidney function test, selected hormone evaluation, brain waves, psychiatric evaluation and psychological testing.
There was no evidence to indicate that the drug as commonly used was responsible for producing birth defects in offspring of users.

The prolific growth of ganja in Jamaica, its ritual use among the Rastafarians, and the inllegal demands for the herb in the world, have created a burden on the Jamaican government in its attempt to control its use. The government has set aside a special squad of police to trace ganja to its places of origin and to destroy the cultivatioins. On one of my research trips I requested to join the search-and-destroy squad in order to become better accquainted with the care and growth of the plant and the areas in which the plants were cultivated. The following is a field report of this raid.

On the evening of July 19, 1996, police Inspector L. called to say that a raid was scheduled for the following day and that if I could take the rigor of the operation, I should appear at Harmon Barracks, Kingston, that evening at 9:30 P.M. He suggested that I take old clothing, a soft-bottom pair of shoes, a flask of water, and some food to eat. Arriving at the Barracks at 9:15, I met the Inspector, who introduced me to a Mr. B., a reporter from a New York magazine. At 9:45 P.M. we were assembled for briefings inwhich we were told the raid was to be carried out in are two of the Jamaica police division which included St. Mary, Portland, and St. Ann. The Herman Barracks police known as the Mobile Squad supervise all island-wide raids with the help of all ranks, each heavily landrovers with a total of ten policemen of all ranks, each heavily armed. Our first stop was to be Monague in the Parish of St. Ann, where we camped the night in the local police station for a short nap. We arrived there at 1:00 A.M. We were awakened proptly at 4 A.M., and in quick military style we left for the town of Claremont where 90 policemen were awaiting us. At 5:30 A.M. the convoy of two trucks, five landrovers, and a car headed for the district of Bensington and climbed the McDougal Mountain where the raid was to be carried out. The altimeter in the landrover began to show 2,500 feet above sea level and when we reached the camp, it was 3, 000 feet. The area is made up of sharp, protruding peaks, rising sharply, then dropping off into deep ravines.
On reaching the plateau, we searched for an area where the helicopter with two police spotters could land. At 7:30 A.M. the "chopper: arrived with an Inspector and a Superintendent. After a short briefing, the squad was divided into groups of twenty men and were given the numbers one through five. Mr. B. and I were told to join any one of the groups. I picked group one so that I could immediately get into action. The helicopter took to the air once more and using air-to-ground radio sets, the pilots began to direct each group to the fields as they were spotted from the air. At 7:50 A.M. the first field was spotted and group one was directed to mount the hill to the left. Climbing up the steep mountainside into what seemed to be an inpenetrable jungle, we came to the summit where a field of ganja sat in an area 60 x 30 feet. This was a nursery in which the plants were no more than twelve to fifteen inches high. The police, using thier hands, pulled up these small plants estimated at 2,500. These were taken back to the camp were a fire was already lit, and they were committed to the flames. This fire was to born from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.; each group would carry the bundles of herb on shoulders to the flames. As many as 25,000 plants were burned between the time we completed the first field and the time when group number one was called to do another task. At 1:00 P.M. my group was ordered to another field. This time the distance was over two miles away. It took us one and one-half hours to reach that distance. The field sat in an amphitheatre in what seemed to have been the crater of a dead volcano. The field was estimated to contain a half million plants. Fire was kindled on the spot. There were 20 men, including myself, but the task of clearing this field was so great that 20 more men were requested. It took more than three hours to perform the task.
An incident worth mentioning occurred on this operation. while cuttting the herb it was observed that some of the plants were recently but by people other than the police. Using binoculars to survey the edges of the crater, the police saw men hiding in the distance, overlooking the field. Gunners were called out and a party set out for a search. 30,000 newly cut plants were recovered and brought back to the fire.
Because of the caution taken by the hill folks few arrests were ever made in these raids. But on this occasionn, two men were captured and sent to jail. After a hard day's work, we were all tired, thirsty, and dazed by the smoke of the holy herb. The final raiding party returned to camp about 5:30 P.M. This last load of herb was placed on the truck for exhibition and , being cautious not to be caught in the region after sunset, we left the hills with dozens of fields of ganja untouched and returned to Claremont where we received refreshments and after a briefing I returned to Kingston with Superintendent S.
The cultivation of ganja requires a rich, well-cultivated soil. The seeds are sown in nurseries and transplanted when the seedlings are from seven to twelve inches tall. They are then manured with expensive fertilizers and carefully attended for a while. The plant is then cut, stripped of its leaves and its flowers, and dried. This is then placed in a box or bags for sale in large or small quantities.
The gardens are located in the inaccessible mountains, mostly "crown lands," and known only to those who cultivate the fields. The sizes of some of these gardens would suggest that the average jamaican cultivator is only a middleman, hired by someone who can afford the seeds and the fertilizers and remains in the background, away from the dangers of raids. This is not to say that many local Jamaicans do not engage in cultivating the herb; for many of the hill peasants this is their only way of making a living. The larger portions of cultivated gardens are financed by some big operators and to a lesser degree by the local hillites. The demands are so great that the risks involved are out weighed by the profits to be gained. One field of ganja successfully reaped is enough to make a poor man relatively wealthy. The cultivation of the herb is so widespread that it will be another two years before the police will have a chance to raid this area again. In that time, several poor peasants and some big operators can safely buy homes on the hills overlooking the blue waters of the Caribbean.
Laws suppressing the use of ganja in Jamaica have created a kind of survival system among the cultists. Since the herb is absolutely essential for ritual uses and the cultists cannot afford to buy the "stuff" from outsiders for fear of being exposed, they have become distributors as well as smokers. To guard themselves, they have developed a defensive commication system, and with words and gestures they are able to alert each other of dangers. During my researchon serval occasions I have detected diacritic signs and have heard phrases used to warn each other until the identity of the visitor can be established. The danger of the police also serves a unifying funchtion in fostering intense intrapersonal relationship among the brethren. Recently, the police seem to have resigned themselves to the cultists' use of the herb. Almost without exception, the police told the author that their least problems of ganja are with the Rastafarians. They now see its use as a ritual of the cult and, as such, are willing to turn their eyes away when it is so used.
Crimes in volving the drung are no longer a Rastafarian crime, but that of the average citizen and their foreign connections. One leading Rasta explains this development in the following words:

In the beginning ganja was a poor man's game. He did a little higglering with it, but with the world going desperate for drugs to settle man's firghtful situation ganja has become a thing that the rich man suddenly developed an interest in. You have rich men with their big plantations in Jamaica who parcel out these lands to men to whom they pay money to seed the land, plant, and fertilize them until they come to maturity. They are the people with inf luence, who when they have a large amount of ganja, they take up their telephones, call their clients in the United States or elsewhere, and make arrangements for their planes to land on thier properties on which they have built private airstrips. Some even land on remote country roads. A poor man will sell a little ganja, a pound or two of it; but when you see ganja going to the United States, filling ships and planes, you know it's a rich man's game. Its is the big people in Jamaica who are carrying the trade of ganja under the masks of decency and innocence and it is the poor man who suffers and takes the rap for it.

Of course not all the big people of Jamaica are in the ganja trade, but a careful observation of the trade suggests that the operation is in the hands of the very sophisticated.

Symbols

Ritual Symbolism among the Rastafarians

The study of religious symbolisem has become an important part of the history of religion and anthropology, especially for students of social movements such as the Rastafarians. The study is so involved, its language so technical, that only the simplest level of discussion will be undertaken to underscore the importance of Rastafarian symbols. It was J.J. Bachofen who said that the symbol awakens intimatioins, while speech only explains. The symbol plucks all the strings of the human spirit at once, while speech is compelled to take up a single thought at a time. The symbol strikes at the most secret depths of the soul, while language skims over the surface like a soft breeze. The symbol, which literally means "throwing together," can combine the most disparate elements into a unitary expression. And it was the great sociologist W. Robertson who said that the symbol is the permanent visible object at and through which the worshipper comes into secret contact with the god.
Among the Rastafarians both private and public symbols exist. The public symbols are the most dominant. These involve their hairstyling and their use of foods.
One of the chief marks of a true Rastafarian is the way he wars his hair. Though there are Rastafarians who do not wear long hair, the true symbol of a cultist is his hairy appearance. There has been much speculation concerning the origin of this symbol. Some believe this wild appearance resulted from the mountain experience of the cult---a time when it was impossible to cut their hair. Others believe it was an imitation of Ethiopian tribal warriors that the cultists saw in a newspaper or magazine. But the cultists themselves have defended the symbol as religious and defend their custom with the Bible:

They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.

They refer to themselves as Nazarites and invoke Samson as their example. According to Sam Brown, the unshaven man is the natural man, who typifies in his appearance the unencumbered life. But there are deeper social meanings to the hair styles of the Rastas even if they are unconcious of it. Hair has always been a problem in Jamaican society in that it is often used as an index of social differneces; for example, fine, silky hair is frowned upon. The person with fine, silky hair was considered better and more socially acceptable than the typical Negroid type. Thus the dominant hair styling of the Rastafarians are unconsciously ridiculing the ambibalence of the society. Long hair worn by men is also considered wild, dangerous, effeminate, and dreadful. Long beards worn by certain classes of the society are a sign of savagery and disorder---a symbol of degeneration. But, most of all, long hair worn by men is a symbol of defiance to the society. The average Jamacan reacts toward the Rastafarians with a mixture of revulsion and fear. The hair-symbol of the Rastas announces the they are outside Jamaican society and do not care to enter under any circumstance other than one of radical change in the society's attitude to the poor. Nearly all conservative Jamaicans dread the locks of the Rastafarians cause their locks to grow. Today, some Rastas sport locks as long as twenty inches. We have a group of cultists known as "dreadlocks," the sight of which can frighten the newcomer or the weak-hearted. This symbol has served to unify the cultists who refer to one another as "dreads."
The concept of "dread" has taken on new meanings in Jamaican society. To the elite it refers to an unkempt, dangerous, and dirty appearance; to the Rastafarians. it signifies power, freedom, and defiance. "Dread" means rebelloin or a certain behavior pattern outside of society. In recent years it has become an established word among the youth; for example, if a teacher is sever, that teacher is known as "dread." If a man is good at a sport he is "dread." So, the word has been routinized int he society in a value-free way. The top selling record of Rastafarian singer Bob Marley---"Natty Dread"---has made the word even more popular in Jamaica-talk. In this way, the Rastafarians have added new linguistic dimensions to the Jamaican vocabulary. But this is just one of the new words to enter into the speech patterns recently.
As we have seen earlier, one of the public's response to Rastafarians' locks was to cut off their hair. The police began the practice. and were followed by school teachers who were threatened by the children and youths. This reaction by the public brought quick retaliation from the cultists, first by threat of physical retaliation, and then by letters to the editor of the national paper. As physical retaliation increased, both the police and the teachers refrained from this practice. Sam Brown, who has been one of the most eloquent defenders of the movement, stated for the press as a response to one Mr. Scotter:

I will also attempt to se the record straight concerning the hair dressing Mr. Scotter spoke of (and society believes too(. The quaint curls of the Rastafarians, known as the locksmen, is not clay-hardened ringlets as generally believed, but the wooly hair of the African, only washed with pure water and left undisturbed by comb, etc., it will curl to the consistency of the locks of its own volition.

Two ideas of Sam Brown's are worthy of further comment. The first is the care of the locks. As discdiples of naturalism long before the term " Afro" came into being, the cultists developed special techniques in hair care. The hair and the body of the brethren are washed in water using only locally grown herbs which are quite plentiful. Their rejection of chemically processed goods is almost absolute, so they will not use soap or shampoo. Far from unsanitary, the cultists probably use more water than the average Jamacans of their class. The second idea is the use of the comb. The dreadlocks, unlike to wearers of "Afros" who carry combs, do not use comb. the hair simply is left to do as it wills. In this connection contradiction has arisen in the movement. There are hundreds of Rastas who use combs to groom themselves. This is true of some members of the Mystic Revelation of Rastafari, and also of the great singing group known as Toots and the Maytals. The Rastafarians call these men "combsome." Many well-groomed "crypto_Rastafarians" wear neigher locks nor beards; these they call "cleanface" Rastafarians. Then, finally, there are young Rastafarians who have just begun to grow their locks which will take years to fall in the pattern of dreadlocks; these men are referred to as "nubbies."

Food Symbolism

Many anthropologists, including Claude Levi-Strauss and Mary Douglas, have found food symbolism to be an important index inassessing social groups. These writers contend that foods certain groups prepare and enjoy eating symbolize certain social and religious ideas, This is important, especially among the Rastafarians. The second point of Sam Brown's Rastafarian code states:

We are vegetarians, making scant use of certain animal flesh yet outlawing the use of swine's flesh in any form, shell fishes, scaleless fishes, snails, etc.

The diet of the Rastafarians is very rigid; for example, meat as a whole is considered injurious to the body. When it come to meats they do eat, pork is not one of them. They refer to pork as "that thing." The author was told, however that when a Rastafarian is hungry and can find nothing but the gift of a piece of pork, he will change the name to "Arnold, and then partake of it." Here we can observe a typical Jamaican folk rationality, the typical "trickster" mentality. The significance of this is the old Rastafarian theology which states: "There is nothing neither good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Ras "H" explained that one of the reasons for rejecting meat is that it leaves worms in the human body, and that when these worms defecate in the stomach it gives one a sickly feeling.
One of the prime staples of the Rastas is fish, but only of the small variety, not more than twelve inches long. They are fond of small herring known as "sprat" and all fish with scales that meet this strict size rule. All larger fish are predators and represent the establishment---Babylon---where men eat men. But the food of the greatest worth to the cultists is vegetables of almost every kind. Like ganja, the earth brings forth all good things. Food is cooked with no salt, no processed shortening, and few condiments except in its I-talform. If they need oil, they will make use of the dried coconut in which the richest oil is found. The word "I-tal" is another Rastafarian word that is fast becoming part of Jamaican speech. It means the essence of things, things that are in their natural states. So, the Rastafarian food is now known as I-tal food. There may be great commercial possibility for this word in a short while. Many of the Jamaican foods are now renamed; for example, one of the vegetables known all over the island as Callalu is now called Illalu to sound like I-tal. As we have already indicated, the Rastafarians will not drink liquor of any kind, nor milk or coffe, but they will drink herbal tea and anything made from natural herbs and roots. They will not use patent medicines but will use any herbal concoctions used in the folk tradition.
The author was placed under a test in a recent research trip which might be of value to future researchers. Following a lead, I preceeded to the address of a well-known Rastafarian whom I intended to interview. On entering the house, I found his wife just about to spread the table for the midday lunch. As soon as this was done, the Rasta suggested I eat a little food while he attended to a friend who was in a hurry to leave. Two cups of Cirassee tea were prepared and a dish of I-tal food rested on the table. As a Jamaican, I was well acquainted with the tea. It is probably the bitterest herb on the island, but as a boy I could not escape it, because it was considered to be the panacea for all ills. I drank it down appearing to be having a good time, but in much distress. I then proceeded to eat some I-tal food, and to my surprise, found it so tasty that I had to curb myself, being at that time rather hungry. On the return of the cultist, he finding me relishing holy food, was well pleased. But it was my sincerity which was tested, not my hunger, for he later told me that all the information I needed was forthcoming in that, as a stranger, I did not reject his hospitality as others had done.
Another staple of the Rastafarian's diet is fruit and juices of every kind. Although fruits with large seeds like the mangoes are prohibited by some groups, fruits are generally relished. Cane juices and juices from other exotic Jamaican fruits are daily treat. The Rastafarians are also careful about the preparation of their food, and in some cases exhibit a kosher precaution. Hence they are not in the habit of eating food of unknown sources. They have strict rules even among their women folk. Their wives may not cook for them during their menstrual periods as this is forbidden in their scriptures. The Rastafarians also prefer to eat foods from their own plantations. For this reason, one of the most coveted items among the cultists is land on which they can live and cultivate their own foods. A Montego Bay "dread" put in this way: "We need lands on which we can pitch the tents of Jacob."

The Symbolism of the Lion

One of the most prominent symbols among the Rastafarians is the lion which represents Haile Selassie, the Conquering Lion of Judah. It is seen on the houses of the brethren, on their flags, in their tabernacles, in their homes, and just about any place Rastafarians have any connections. It appears in their artwork such as paintings and sculptures, in their songs, and in their poetry. The lion represents not only the King of Kings, but the dominant maleness of the movement. The Rastafarians simulate the spirit of the lion in the way they wear their locks and in the way they walk. To the public the image of the lion suggests strength, dominance, and aggressiveness. Hence, the presence of a "dread" in any social setting outside of their habitat is a matter of concern to the public.

Rastafarian Colors

The colors unique to the movement are red, black, and green---the original colors of the Garvey movement. Every Rastafarian commune is identifiable by these colors which appear everywhere, even painted on the trunks of trees in the yards. The sticks of staffs carried at Nyabingi services are red, black, and green. The dresses and berets which have become common to most Jamaicans are knitted in these colors with the gold of the Jamaican national flag added as another color. The red signifies the blood of martyrs of Jamaican history, including heroes from the time of the Maroons down to Marcus Garvey. The black represents the color of the Africans whose descendants form 98 percent of all Jamaicans. The green is the green of Jamaican vegetation and of the hope of victory over oppression.

Language as a Symbol

We have already seen how a new type of language symbolism has emerged as a result of the movement. Nothing has been written on the subject and the field is open for the student of linguistics to try out new theories. The Rastafarian speech has been called "sould language," "ghetto language," and "hallucinogenic language." It is all of these and more; it is religious language of a strange type. Few outsiders can make sense of what the average cultist says. In the first place, it is ungrammatical when spoken by the uneducated; secondly it is Jamaican dialect used on the philosophical level, a burden which it was not created to bear; and finally, the Rastafarian speech is almost devoid of subject-object opposition as well as without verbs. Students of Rastafarianism must be prepared to translate the material into English, or to do research only among the most educated brethren. this is quite possible though, for there are Rastafarians on all levels of Jamacan society. But research done only on a scholarly level would deny the joy of meeting grass roots Rastas.
An example of Rastafarian speech can be gleaned from any of their literature. The following example is from the now-well-known monthly, The Rasta Voice, published by the Rastafarian Movement Association at 52 Laws Street, Kingston:

The people of Jamaica are near to starvation. Everywhere there is a hue and cry for food. Government claims it is interested in I and I planting the land. Yet still when I and I plant food to feed I fellow African, I and I are harassed and driven off the land. When will this wickedness stop?

Although this quotation is not altogether exemplary of the average Rasta speech, it will serve for our illustration. Notice that the writer refers to this group as "I and I." The words "me" and "you" are almost never used by the cultists. The primary combinations "I and I" are always used, even to noncultists in conversation. The Rastafarians have moved beyond the "I, thee, thou" of the Quakers, and have even gone beyong the classical primary combinations of Martin Buber's I-Thou relationsip. Of Buber's combination, Will Herberg wrote:

Primary words do not signify things, but they intimate relations. Primary words do not describe something that might exist independently of them, but being spoken they bring about existence. Primary words are spoken from the being....There is no I taken by itself, but only the I of the primary word I-It....The existence of I and the speaking of I are one and the same thing. When the primary word is spoken the speaker enters the world and takes his stand in it.

The language of the Rastafarians is a soul language in which binary oppositions are overcome in the process of identity with other sufferers in the society. The Rastafarian, when meeting a stranger, does away with the superficial greetings common to polite society and instead tests the "vibration" of the person. If that vibration is positive, it does not matter if one is a member of the movement or not; he or she will be immediately addressed in convrsation as "I and I." To the average visitor accustomed to looking at people from the outside, this is very disarming. But the Rastafarians have a way to search the very soul of their friends and visitors. Once they feel the spirit of sympathy and sincerity in the true meaning of these words, the I-Thou and I-It relationships move into the third level of being and become I and I.
It can be seen, then, that long before the philosophy of democratic socialism, which advocates the breaking down of divisions among fellow Jamaicans, was ever heard in the island, the Rastafarians were practicing the philosophy as long as a decade ago.