What is Rastafari?
Rastafari is an Afrocentric religious, political, and cultural movement that originated in Jamaica in the 1930s. It centers on the divinity of Haile Selassie I (1892–1975), Emperor of Ethiopia, whom adherents regard as the returned messiah, God incarnate, or Jah (the Amharic name for God). Rastafari theology emphasizes the liberation and repatriation of African diaspora peoples to Africa, critiques Western colonial power structures (termed “Babylon”), and promotes a way of living called “livity”—a holistic spiritual practice encompassing diet, speech, appearance, and communal worship. While often associated with reggae music and cannabis sacrament, Rastafari is a complex theological system with diverse interpretations, decentralized leadership, and no single orthodoxy.
Origins & Lineage
Rastafari emerged in 1930s Jamaica against a backdrop of colonial oppression, economic hardship, and the influence of Marcus Garvey’s Pan-Africanist teachings. Garvey (1887–1940), a Jamaican political leader and founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, prophesied in the 1920s: “Look to Africa, where a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is near.” When Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia on November 2, 1930, taking the titles “King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah,” some Jamaicans interpreted this as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy and Garvey’s prediction.
Key early preachers included Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, and Robert Hinds, who began teaching Selassie’s divinity in Kingston and rural Jamaica between 1933 and 1934. Howell established the Pinnacle commune in 1940, one of the first organized Rastafari communities. The movement drew on the King James Bible, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, Garveyism, and Afrocentric reinterpretations of scripture that identified Africans as the true Israelites and Ethiopia as Zion. The movement remained marginal and heavily persecuted by colonial and post-independence Jamaican authorities until the 1970s, when Bob Marley and reggae music brought Rastafari theology into global consciousness.
How It’s Practiced
Rastafari practice varies widely across the movement’s three main “mansions” (branches): Nyabinghi, Bobo Ashanti, and Twelve Tribes of Israel, plus numerous independent congregations and solitary adherents. Common practices include:
Reasoning sessions: Communal gatherings for theological discussion, chanting, drumming, and the ritual use of cannabis (“ganja” or “herb”), considered a sacrament that aids meditation and spiritual insight. These sessions often invoke Psalms, African liberation, and the eventual fall of Babylon.
Ital diet: A vegetarian or vegan diet emphasizing natural, unprocessed foods, avoiding salt, preservatives, and alcohol. “Ital” (derived from “vital”) reflects a commitment to living in harmony with creation.
Dreadlocks: Many Rastafari grow their hair in locks as a visible sign of the Nazarite vow (Numbers 6:5) and rejection of Western grooming norms, though not all adherents lock their hair.
Nyabinghi drumming and chanting: Ceremonial gatherings featuring hand drums (bass, funde, repeater), chanting of psalms and Rastafari hymns, and celebration of holy days such as Haile Selassie’s coronation (November 2) and birthday (July 23), and Marcus Garvey’s birthday (August 17).
I-ance language: A distinctive dialect replacing oppressive or “downpressing” words with positive alternatives, often substituting “I” for “me” to affirm divine presence in the self (“I and I” instead of “we”).
Rastafari Today
Rastafari has spread globally, with communities in Africa, Europe, North America, and the Pacific. Seekers encounter Rastafari through reggae music festivals, Nyabinghi drumming ceremonies, African diaspora cultural centers, and academic study of Afrocentric religions. The Twelve Tribes of Israel mansion, founded by Vernon Carrington (Prophet Gad) in 1968, has attracted a more diverse membership and emphasizes Bible reading and eventual repatriation.
Contemporary Rastafari grapples with debates over orthodoxy, the role of women (historically marginalized in patriarchal structures), the theological status of Haile Selassie after his 1975 death, and tensions between spiritual practice and commercial commodification via reggae tourism. The movement continues to inspire anti-colonial activism, environmental stewardship, and African diaspora identity formation.
Common Misconceptions
Rastafari is not simply a lifestyle or fashion associated with dreadlocks and cannabis. It is a religion with theological commitments, ritual practices, and ethical codes. Not all Rastafari smoke cannabis, and cannabis use is sacramental, not recreational. Rastafari is not monolithic; adherents hold diverse views on Selassie’s divinity, repatriation, gender roles, and dietary law. The movement is not exclusively Jamaican; it has evolved into a transnational religious diaspora. Rastafari does not worship Marcus Garvey; Garvey is revered as a prophet and liberator, but divinity is attributed to Haile Selassie I. Finally, Rastafari is distinct from Jamaican culture broadly; many Jamaicans are Christian, and Rastafari adherents have historically faced discrimination within Jamaica.
How to Begin
Those seeking to understand Rastafari should start with primary scholarship: The Rastafarians by Leonard E. Barrett Sr. (1977, updated 1997) offers foundational historical analysis, while Rastafari: Roots and Ideology by Barry Chevannes (1994) provides ethnographic depth. Listen to Bob Marley’s albums Exodus (1977) and Survival (1979), Burning Spear’s Marcus Garvey (1975), and Culture’s Two Sevens Clash (1977) to hear theology articulated through music. Attend a Nyabinghi ceremony or reasoning session if invited; respect protocols (covering heads for women, removing shoes, observing dietary restrictions). Read the King James Bible, particularly Psalms, Revelation, and Genesis, through an Afrocentric lens. Approach with humility, recognizing Rastafari as a living tradition shaped by historical trauma, spiritual resilience, and ongoing struggle for dignity and liberation.