Rastafarianism began as a religion of the dispossessed. In 1930, a prophecy of deliverancewas fulfilled for Jamaicas slum-dwellers and rural poor. Ethiopia symbolized Africa and thehomeland for the slave-descended Jamaicans. Ras Tafari Makennen, in 1930, became EmperorHaile Selassie of Ethiopia. Emperor Selassie claimed to be a direct descendent of King Solomon. Many Jamaicans were waiting for a black messiah. Selassie, who at his coronation wasproclaimed Negusa Negast (King of Kings), and whose imperial name meant Power of the HolyTrinity, seemed to be the one. A core group of Jamaicans believed Selassie was the Living Godof Abraham and Isaac/ He Whose Name Should Not Be Spoken. They took on his originalname and called themselves Rastafarians or Rastas.Emperor Selassie was not a Rastafarian. He was a devout Christian. Its not clear whathe thought about this religion and its focus on him. An incident is told about a group of Rastaswho went to his palace in Ethiopia to honor him. A palace official told them to go away. Thisdid not dampen their faith. It only served to strengthen it because they were convinced that Godis not supposed to know He is God. When the world media reported the Emperors death, Rastasbelieve this was a trick to undermine their faith. Their devotion to Selassie led them to believethat he did not die. He now had taken on perfect or eternal flesh and with his wife, EmpressMenen, he sits atop Mt. Zion in Israel, waiting for judgment day.Rastas use the Bible for guidance. They invite all peoples of the world to repent andaccept Jah (a shortened form of Jehovah). Babylon symbolizes the white political powerstructure that has terrorized and enslaved the black race for centuries. Rastas see the history ofblacks as one of being physically held down by iron shackles. In the present, Rastas feel blacksare held down by poverty, illiteracy, inequality, and trickery by the white man. To stand upagainst thi...
