10 Strange Things You Need To Know About Rastafarian

It’s almost inevitable to every non Rastafarian that whenever Rastafari is mentioned anywhere, the first things that come to mind are smoking weed, reggae music, dreadlocks and their symbolic colours. However, very few know exactly what it means to be a Rastafarian and its origin. To some, it is just a mere religion or cult yet to them it is much more than a religion.

Things To Know About Rastafarian Beliefs

It is a way of life, a social movement as well as a mind set. Below is a list of 10 Rastafari beliefs that will give an insight of Rastafarian beliefs.

1. The Rastafari Colours

While most people recognize only three colours, that is red, gold (yellow), and green, very few are aware that black is also part of the colour combination. These colours are symbolic hence have a deeper meaning beyond reggae music and smoking weed. As the world in most places was and is still open to embracing the concept of freedom of religion within a culture or state, the Rastafari in Jamaica uphold Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as Jesus. In fact, his real name is Tafari Makonnen whilst Ras means King hence, “King Tafari’ is their ‘Jesus’.

These colours are of the Ethiopian flag where Haile Selassie hails from. They include red, green and yellow and thereafter a fourth colour was included. Each of these colours has symbolic significance in the Rastafari beliefs as follows:

• Red- refers to the blood and martyrdom of the past Rastafari. It also symbolizes the blood which flows in the bodies of Rastafarians.
• Gold- which in most cases is depicted as yellow refers the treasures to be found in their motherland, Africa.
• Green- depicts the fertile lands of Africa; while
• Black- which was the additional colour depicts the black people who were the veterans of the Rastafari movement.

2. Rastafari is their Second Christ

Different religions stem from different opinions. To Christians, Christ remains one always, but the Rastafarian believe that Haile Selassie I was the second Christ. How deep is this belief? Well, to them this forms a central part part of the Rastafari philosophy which was taken up at the foundation of the religion.

Marcus Garvey, among the key veterans of Rastafarianism, foretold of the coming to Africa of a new black king who would then be the messiah. Shortly thereafter, Ethiopia had a new king, Haile Selassie I. This formed the foundation of the belief that Haile Selassie I was the second coming of Christ as earlier prophesied. This is not the sole claim of Haile Selassie as the second coming of Christ. The believers uphold that Haile Selassie is related to King Solomon hence giving him a connection to Jesus. However, Haile Selassie always denied being a reincarnation of Jesus.

3. Weed Smoking was not all about Pleasure

While the media has played a very significant role in portraying that Rastafarianism is all about smoking weed not all Rastafarians do smoke the ‘herb’. At the onset of Rastafarianism, smoking weed was used as a special experience to enlighten their minds so that they can correctly reason the ways of the world. This weed was however smoked in a ritual way.

While other parts of the world smoke weed for pleasure and end up acting silly, acting silly would be considered disrespectful to a Rasta. Before Rasta smokes the ritual plant, they say a prayer to their god Haile Selassie. Today, owing to the non-legalization of smoking marijuana in many countries, smoking the herb has now become optional for Rastafarian but isn’t really all that central to their faith anymore. Some Rastafari simply choose not to smoke weed at all.

4. Special Ital Diet

It’s common to have different religions with their special diets or specifications when it comes to food. Generally, Rastas aim to be naturalists in some way. They have a special diet called ‘ital’ (from the word vital). While most people think that Rastas are vegetarians, they are not. The diet may change based on the denomination of Rastafari or the individual. Most of them prefer not to take any processed foods and avoid red meat as they believe that it rots inside your body. Instead, they opt for fish which they believe that the Bible supports its eating. The main idea generally is simply to eat natural foods  that are good for you.

5. Return to Africa

Rastafarians believe in the return to Africa which is their version of Zion. They believe that they are in a form of purgatory since their ancestors were removed from their native land forcefully. To them Africa is their paradise on earth hence most Rastas live with the aim to move back to Africa.

6. Don’t refer to them as Rastafarians

Most people who claim to be Rastafarian but have no idea of what it actually means have only dreadlocks, smoking weed and wearing the symbolic colours. Such go as far as appreciating and enjoying it when referred to as ‘Rastafarian’. But a true Rasta will not appreciate that title. This stems from their philosophy. They believe that the additional suffixes ‘ian’ and ‘ism’ represent the corrupt “Babylonian” system which is widely known to be oppressive. Viewing themselves as a religion or an ism of any sort is seen as accepting a system that is abhorrent to what they believe

7. They have a Lyaric Dialect

This Dialect was created by the early Rastafarians in Jamaica as a derivative of the Jamaican Creole. On the other hand, the Jamaican Creole originated from English by African slaves who had been brought to the island of Jamaica. The Rastafari movement obtained the language and personalized it both in dialect and philosophy to meet their needs, forming a dialect now commonly known as the Lyaric. Among the outstanding concepts is the use of pronouns. Most of the time, “I” is used in place of “me,” “you,” any other pronoun for that matter. They do so as an expression of their connection between all people and to acknowledge everyone’s humanity.

8. Grounation Day

Also referred to as ‘groundation day,’ is a holy day for Rastas. This is the day Haile Selassie first set foot in Jamaica. This was under the premise that it was a diplomatic visit, but some people alleged that Haile was curious to meet and learn about the people who worshiped him. Since this visit, April 21 has been known to Rastafari as Grounation or Groundation Day and is revered as a holy day for the Rastas.

9. Places of Worship

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With the advent of the concept of freedom of religion around the world, different religions have different ways and places of worship. Much as Rastafarians prefer not to be referred to a religion but rather as a philosophy or way of life, they too have places of worship. Importantly, they emphasize that their own bodies are the true church or God’s dwelling place. On a global scale the Rasta population is increasing, therefore tabernacles, churches, headquarters, and temples have been put up as spiritual meeting centers.

10. Treat your body like a Temple

 

To them, them the body is considered to be a temple. For this reason, hygiene and good health are of paramount importance. Part of this can be seen in the viewpoint of maintaining the Ital diet. Rastafari also believe that they should let their hair grow long and should avoid using any unnatural products on it. Cutting of hair is prohibited as well as tattooing your skin or consuming bad or processed food products. In fact some Rastafari have cited this as the reason they avoid smoking weed. In this case they argue that it’s not good for their health, so they quit smoking.