The Rastafarian movement

The Rastafarian movement is a religion that accepts former Ethiopian emperor Hallie Sellassie I, or “Power of the Trinity I” (whose real name was Ras Tafari Makonnen) as God incarnate or Jah. Founded around 1930, the religion was popularized by lower-class Jamaicans and was formed from an interpretation of the Bible by the said Jamaicans. Additionally, political activist Marcus Garvey was very influential in the formation of the Rastafari movement.
Many view the religion negatively, with the most notable reason being its acceptance and encouragement of the use of cannabis (marijuana).
In the 1920s, Marcus Garvey started the United Negro Improvement Association, whose stated goal was to reunite black people all over the world with their “homeland” of Africa. He explained that this was necessary because “Babylon,” or Caucasians, had spread black people all over the world and that it was tough for them to have one solid state of mind since they were not unified. Babylon had set unto them a “slave mentality” that lasted to this present day. The unification of blacks, according to Garvey, would happen when there is the crowning of a king in Africa.
In the late 1920s, he would go back to his native homeland of Jamaica to spread his ideas.
In 1930, Makonnen was crowned king in Ethiopia and Garvey’s “prophecy” had come true, at least to some.
It should be noted that neither Garvey nor Makonnen ever were part of the Rastafarian movement. Nevertheless, the movement gained heavy footing in Jamaica and was the cause of civil unrest in Jamaica (though, as practitioners of non-violence, there was little violence. Jamaican authorities did not take too kindly to some of their actions and repressed Rastafarian
ideas such as push to end segregation and racism in
Jamaica. More importantly, the movement didn’t seem organized.
The movement finally headed in a more positive direction when in the late 1960s the Walter Rodney led Black Power movement, helped spur Rastafarians into action across the Caribbean and led to many express themselves not only politically, but via the arts. This includes arguably the most famous Rastafarian, Bob Marley, whose music and popularity made certain that the movement would be better understood and recognized.
According to the University of Virginia’s library Web site, despite the fact that few practitioners agree on one solid doctrine, they agree on the following ideas: “First, all four groups [or sects of the Rastafarian movement] condemned Jamaica’s colonial society. Second, all believed repatriation to Africa was the key to overcoming oppression. Next, all of these groups advocated non-violence. Finally, all four groups worshipped the divinity of Haile Selassie I.
The four early Rastafarian groups reflected the movement’s history of diversification and lack of centralized leadership.” Ideas such as these, mainly the belief of black supremacy, has led to misunderstandings by other groups of people and is why Rastafarians have generally met harsh treatment no matter where they have gone.
In addition, those who are true Rastafarians have to deal with the fact that many young non-Rastafarian Caribbean blacks have adopted their look (such as their wearing of dreadlocks), and many people, including many Americans, do not differentiate between them and the non-Rastafarian. However, more than anything the use of cannabis is what hurts the perception of Rastafarians.
Few Rastafarians smoke recreationally and some do not smoke it at all. Instead, those who do use cannabis say they use it to aid their meditations and also for medical purposes.