What is the rastafarian religion?

Reader’s question Thaís Chaves Costa, Carapicuiba, SP

It is a belief born in Jamaica in the 30s, popularized by the songs of reggae singer Bob Marley and currently followed by about 1 million people in the world. With some elements borrowed from Judaism and Christianity, she preaches the worship of the god Jah, who would have reincarnated in the 20th century as the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I. Her followers, the rastas, follow a way of life far from western capitalism: they dress in their own way, they don’t cut their hair and avoid trimming their beards, follow an almost vegetarian diet, prefer treatments with medicinal herbs and refrain from any drug – with the exception of marijuana, used in meditation rituals.

“Jah man!” Religion preaches vegetarianism and the pride of the black race

people like us
The unique god of the Rastas, Jah (or Yah in Latin spelling), is an abbreviation of Jehovah, a name that already appeared in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin scriptures. Bible. Unlike the Christian God, “Jah is an ordinary man, who goes to the bathroom, has children with his wife…”, says Rastafarian priest Jermaine, from St. Andrews, Jamaica, in the documentary Rastamentary

the god emperor
The name of the religion comes from Ras Tafari Makonnen (1892-1975), who, between 1916 and 1930, was king of Ethiopia – at the time, the only independent nation in Africa. In 1930, he was proclaimed emperor by the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church and renamed Haile Selassie. To this day, Selassié is worshiped as an incarnation of Jah, destined to lead the world into a golden age.

strength in the wig
Rastas maintain strong objections to changes in the figure of human beings. That is, its adherents cannot get tattoos or cut and brush their hair. This is why Rastafarianism is so associated with dreadlocks. This look is seen as a sort of vow made by the new convert, but is not required.

the rasta messiah
Another important figure was Marcus Garvey, worshiped as a prophet of the religion. Born in Jamaica in 1887, he worked hard to become a political symbol of cultural resistance. He founded Rastafarianism when he proclaimed, in 1927: “Look to Africa, for the coronation of a Black King” – an event that came to fruition three years later, with Selassié

sacred ganja
Despite their disapproval of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, followers of this faith commonly use marijuana (called «ganja») as a form of enlightenment. Consumption follows a ritual: a group gathers, prays in thanks to Jah and only then smokes the plant, which is considered sacred. The use of marijuana solely for recreational purposes is considered disrespectful.

purification diet
One of the nine principles of the religion preaches vegetarianism, making a rare exception for the use of certain animal skins. The consumption of pork meat, shell fish, fish without scales and snails is prohibited. In this way, adepts eat only “I-tal” (a term meaning pure, natural and/or clean), as Jah would have commanded. To drink, preference to herbal teas

Tricolor
The green, red and yellow colors of the Ethiopian flag are a strong symbol of the Rastafarian movement. They represent loyalty to Selassé and Africa above any other nation. Green refers to African vegetation, red refers to the blood of martyrs and yellow to the wealth and prosperity of the continent (before colonialist exploitation)

SOURCES Folha de S.Paulo, Trip, Religion Facts, Alternative Religion AZ, Jamaica Observer and Rastafari Brasil; article “Marcus Garvey’s Words Come to Pass: A Black Revolutionary¿s Teachings Live on Through Rastafarianism and Reggae Music”, by Christopher Jeans (1998); and documentary Rastamentary: A Dialogue on Rastafarian Belief (2012)

CONSULTANCY Jahlani Niaah, PhD in Rastafarian Studies and organizer of the Conference and General Assembly on Rastafarian Studies