Rastafari

Rastafari is a religious and cultural movement that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s, affirming African identity and revering Haile Selassie I.

Marcus Garvey: A Jamaican political leader whose Pan-African ideas inspired movements for Black liberation and return to Africa. His call to affirm African identity and his prophecy about a Black king influenced early Rastafari.
Pan-Africanism: A movement advocating solidarity and shared political interests among people of African descent. Rastafari’s affirmation of African identity grows from a wider tradition of diasporic solidarity.
Reggae: A Jamaican popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s from ska and rocksteady. Reggae carried Rastafari themes and language to audiences around the world.
Ethiopianism: A religious and political tradition that uses Ethiopia as a symbol of African dignity, redemption, and liberation. It predates Rastafari and helps explain the movement’s Ethiopian symbols and biblical readings.
Haile Selassie I: Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, revered by Rastafari as a divine figure and symbol of African sovereignty. His coronation in 1930 became a defining event in Rastafari interpretation.
Babylon (Rastafari): In Rastafari thought, a name for oppressive political, economic, and cultural systems associated with colonial rule. The concept frames resistance to institutions understood as sustaining racial domination.
Bob Marley: A Jamaican singer-songwriter whose music brought reggae and Rastafari-associated themes to a global audience. His songs made Rastafari imagery and ideas widely recognizable.
Revivalism in Jamaica: A family of Jamaican Christian religious traditions blending Protestant Christianity with African-derived practices. Rastafari emerged in a landscape already shaped by Jamaican prophetic and revivalist religion.
Leonard Howell: A Jamaican preacher and organizer regarded as one of Rastafari’s earliest leaders. His preaching and Pinnacle community helped establish the movement in Jamaica.
Zion (Rastafari): In Rastafari thought, a spiritual homeland associated especially with Ethiopia and liberation from oppression. Zion provides a sacred counterpoint to Babylon and a focus for return and belonging.

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