Rastafarianism - tell me more
Facts and information
Rastafarians do not any official church buildings or leaders. Each Rastafarian group or person has independence to make their own decisions.
Rastafarians believe that all people are joined together as one person, and that God is inside all of us. This belief is called I and I.
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Their understanding of god
Rastafarians believe that God – or Jah – showed himself to us over hundreds of years. They believe that Jah lived among us as many saviours, these were Moses, Elijah, Jesus Christ and lastly Haile Selassie.
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How it began
Rastafarianism began in 1930 when Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie the 1st of Ethiopia. He was announced to be Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Elect of God, Conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah.
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About worship
Rastafarians live a peaceful life and do not own very many things. They worship by spending a lot of time working to understand Rastafarian holy writings. They say the people who always buy things and hoard money live in Babylon. Rastafarians try to avoid being part of this group.
Women keep their heads covered when they worship or have visitors. Men have to uncover their heads when they worship.
Rastafarianism’s most important symbols are the Lion of Judah, (which was Haile Selassie’s symbol), and the red, black, green and gold flag, from Garvey’s ‘back to Africa’ group.
- Red stands for the blood of African martyrs (or people who chose to suffer greatly to support something they believe in).
- Black stands for the very old African people.
- Green stands for how fruitful the Promised Land (Ethiopia) is, Ethiopia.
- Gold stands for Africa’s wealth.
The Christian cross is another important symbol.
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How many people believe in this faith?
There are about 1 million Rastafarians in the world. Most of the people living in Jamaica are Rastafarians or support the faith.
Around 5 thousand Rastafarians live in the UK.
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| Diet
Rastafarians generally eat an I-tal diet, which means foods that are –
- as pure as possible
- often, but not always, raw
- free of chemical additives and preservatives.
They avoid meat (especially pork), coffee, salt, tobacco, alcohol, and seafood (although small fish are allowed).
Hair
Rastafarians must –
- not cut their hair
- not change the way it naturally grows
- not use hair products or stylists
This is why Rastafarians have dreadlocks, because this is how the hair naturally grows if we leave it alone.
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