Until the philosophy which hold one race superior and another inferior is finally discredited and abandoned...WAR! So that is prophecy, and everyone know that is truth. And it came out of the mouth of Rastafari.
-Bob Marley
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Six out of ten Jamaicans are believed to be Rastafarians or Rastafarian sympathizers. Its total following is believed to be over 1,000,000 members. The years following 1975 mark a period of the largest growth for the Rastafarian Movement. This growth is largely attributed to Bob Marley, a reggae artist, as well as to the worldwide acceptance of reggae as an avenue of Rastafarian self-expression. |
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I've listed some of the key aspects of the Rastafri religion below
| Ethiopia (Heaven, Zion) | Ethiopia is considered the Rastas' heaven on earth, often referred to as Zion. There is no afterlife or hell in this religion. The Rastas feel that their ancestors did something to offend Jah (God), bringing them into an exile of slavery in the Western World. |
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| Babylon | Babylon is the Rastafarian term for the white political power structure that has held the black race down. In the past, the Rastas believe that blacks were held down by the shackles of slavery. |
| Return to Africa | The Rasta's believe that Jah will send the signal and help finance the black exodus back to Ethiopia, the homeland. |
| Colors | They are red, black, and green, taken from the Garvey movement. The color red stands for the Church Triumphant, the church of the Rastas. It also symbolises the blood that martyrs have shed in the history of the Rastas and the black struggle for liberation. Black represents the color of Africans. Green represents the beauty and vegetation of Ethiopia, the promised land. Yellow is also sometimes added to represent the wealth of the homeland. |
| Lion of Judah | The Lion of Judah represents Haile Selassie, the Conqueror, using a lion to symbolize him as the king of all beasts. |
| I and I | The expression "I and I" is frequently heard in Rasta talk. It means that no person is more priviledged than another in the basic truth of life. All people are completely equal. Many Rastas will use "I and I" instead of "you and I" because they believe that all people are bound together by the one god, Jah. |