His Imperial Majesty - Haile Selassie I.

Rastafari: more than dreadlocks and reggae
Prince Ital Joe's press biography claims that "...his involvement with the Rastafarian movement has given [him] a sense of pride and a godly outlook on life..." But what exactly is the Rastafarian movement?

"The Rastafarian movement started in the 1930s. The theory is based on the back-to-Africa idea. The Rastafarians consider themselves a people that need to return to the country of their origin. Bob Marley sang about this in his song 'Exodus'. The Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I, who died in 1974, is considered their still-living God, also named 'Jah'. The Rastafarians mix ideas from the bible with African rituals. Rastafari teaches freedom and chastity, which for hardcore Rastafarians means they have a great personal pride, don't use western medicine, don't eat pig meat and don't get married. Smoking marihuana on the other hand is quite accepted and even promoted (remember Peter Tosh's song 'Legalize it'?). The Rastafari movement has seen a lot of persecution on Jamaica, it is also a protest against poverty, unemployment and violence, which marks the lifes of many Jamaicans. Rastafarians can be recognized by, of course, their dreads, but also by their clothing. They often wear red, green and yellow colors, or the sign of the marihuana leaf."

Source: NvhN
Published in Marky Mark Magazine, April 1994



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