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Liber XXII · Rastafari

Liber XXII

Rastafari

Garvey and Ethiopianism, Haile Selassie, Babylon and Zion, the mansions, livity and reggae.

Rastafari arose in Jamaica in the 1930s among the descendants of enslaved Africans, drawing on the Ethiopianism of the Black church, the pan-African vision of Marcus Garvey and a reading of the Bible in which the crowning of Haile Selassie I as Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930 fulfilled prophecy. Rastafari speak of Jah, of Babylon and Zion, of I-and-I and of livity, the way of life that includes the ital diet, dreadlocks and the sacramental use of ganja. This section covers its origins and early preachers such as Leonard Howell, the Emperor and his 1966 visit to Jamaica, the main mansions — Nyabinghi, the Bobo Ashanti and the Twelve Tribes of Israel — reasoning and the Nyabinghi drum, the language called Iyaric, reggae and Rasta culture, and Rastafari around the world today.

Chapters

On the shelf

Bass CultureLloyd Bradley Bass CultureLloyd Bradley Becoming RastaCharles Price Becoming RastaCharles Price Black MosesEdmund David Cronon Black MosesEdmund David Cronon Bob MarleyJason Toynbee Bob MarleyJason Toynbee Caribbean CurrentsPeter Manuel Caribbean CurrentsPeter Manuel, Kenneth Bilby and Michael Largey Catch a FireTimothy White Catch a FireTimothy White Chanting Down BabylonNathaniel Samuel Murrell Chanting Down BabylonNathaniel Samuel Murrell, William David Spencer and Adrian Anthony McFarlane Dictionary of Jamaican EnglishF. G. Cassidy and R. B. Le Page Dictionary of Jamaican EnglishF. G. Cassidy and R. B. Le Page Dread HistoryRobert A. Hill Dread HistoryRobert A. Hill Dread JesusWilliam David Spencer Dread JesusWilliam David Spencer Dread TalkVelma Pollard Dread TalkVelma Pollard DreadJoseph Owens DreadJoseph Owens DubMichael E. Veal DubMichael E. Veal The EmperorRyszard Kapuściński The EmperorRyszard Kapuściński Exodus! Heirs and Pioneers, Rastafari Return to EthiopiaGiulia Bonacci Exodus! Heirs and Pioneers, Rastafari Return to EthiopiaGiulia Bonacci The First RastaHélène Lee The First RastaHélène Lee Ganja in JamaicaVera Rubin and Lambros Comitas Ganja in JamaicaVera Rubin and Lambros Comitas Haile Sellassie IHarold G. Marcus Haile Sellassie IHarold G. Marcus A History of Modern Ethiopia, 1855–1974Bahru Zewde A History of Modern Ethiopia, 1855–1974Bahru Zewde The Holy PibyRobert Athlyi Rogers The Holy PibyRobert Athlyi Rogers Jah KingdomMonique A. Bedasse Jah KingdomMonique A. Bedasse Jamaica TalkFrederic G. Cassidy Jamaica TalkFrederic G. Cassidy King of KingsAsfa-Wossen Asserate King of KingsAsfa-Wossen Asserate My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, 1892–1937Haile Selassie I My Life and Ethiopia's Progress, 1892–1937Haile Selassie I