who can tell me the beliefs of rastafarianism?

Answer 1

Understand that Rastafarianism isn't a centralized, organized religion. Most of the pieces are highly individualized, and the freedom to work things out for yourself is not only present, but also encouraged. Nevertheless, there are some common themes.

Rastafarians accept that Haile Selassie, who had been the Emporer of Ethiopia in the early-mid 20th century, as either the Messiah as described in the Old Testament, or as a prophet. Some regard him as having a direct, traceable lineage back to Solomon (through Bathsheba) This is partly based because of the attention he gave to the poor & disenfranchised of Africa, and his work to make Ethiopia the first fully-independent state. Before becoming the emporer, his name had been Ras Tafari...hence the name of the religion. Rastafarians refer to him as Jah.

When Selassie spoke of African culture, some of the Jamaican-born descendants of slaves tried to live their lives as how "ideal" African cultures could be, reclaiming the "stolen" heritage of their ancestors. Because Selassie spoke of love of nature and the dignity of man, Rastafarians speak of living with understanding and compassion for all living things. They tend to promote the causes of freedom from oppression, both physical and mental. As a result, they are often loyal to disappearing African cultures, collectively called Zion, often involving themselves in active rejection western civilization, called Babylon, from eradicating them completely. Because Babylon brings about a corrupt way of living, elements that help you understand "clearly" are often used, such as a "natural" style of dress, a more "natural" use of language (for example, using "overstanding" instead of "understanding," as the metaphorical relationship to "seeing how a situation is" fits the former better).

The smoking of marijuana (ganja) is also believed to help somebody more clearly see how the world really is. Thus, it's not surprising to them that ganja is illegal in the countries that constitute Babylon. They also claim to find evidence in the Old Testament for the use of marijuana, including Psalms (103 or 104? Somewhere around there, anyway) that says that "the herb is grown for service of man." Nevertheless, Janet Reno, during her term as the Attorney General stated that Rastafarians do not have a religious right to violate U.S. drug laws.

Because of the Afro-centric element, Rastafarianism was originally seen as a racist, African-pride movement; truth be told, some Rastafrians acted in this way, especially in the United States, for a shortwhile. However, this quickly gave way to an understanding that any sort of racism is destructive to emancipation, universal peace, and harmony in the world.

Because Rastafarian does not follow the New Testament, many of them see themselves as a Jewish movement, and they often follow the dietary laws. This diet, called "ital," is subject to more individual interpretation than in Judaism, and it is widely-believed that the notions behind the dietary laws are to have foods that are pure, or of the earth. As a result, many individuals avoid additives, and sometimes salt, added to their foods. Many are vegetarians, believing that to eat meat is to "touch death," and, therefore, a violation of the Nazarite oath (which also requires that they abstain from alcohol).

The Nazarite oath also takes a verse from Numbers (I don't have the verse offhand, but a Bible search engine should be able to pull it up): All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: [he] will let the locks of the hair of his head grow." Hence, dreadlocks are often associated with the movement, but it's by no means universal, nor restricted to Rastarians. In the words to the Reggae singer Sugar Minnott, "It's not the dread on your head, but the love in-na yer heart, that make ya Rasta, man."

I spoke above about how words are sometimes changed for a more "natural" meaning; i.e., connecting the words to the right connotations. This is rampant. For example, "livication" replaces "dedication" (dead-ication). "Downpression" replaces "oppression," emphasizing that the concept implies that a person is being kept down. The best know, though, is "I-and-I" where just "I" will suffice. In the first-person context, this emphasizes the existence of the divine in the individual; you never act, think, or speak alone. In another context, this stresses unity with the world and the community that we are all apart of, and with which the Rastafarians believe we should all live in harmony.

Answer 2

1. Thou Shalt talk gr'et da people wit' "Ey Mon!"
2. Thou Shalt wear yur 'air dirty n dread locks.
3. Thou Shalt cover nappy hair under a hand knitted hat. The colors of the hat shall be four. Black be the first color mon. Green be de next mon. Yellow s de n'xt mon. En din de last color be da red.
4. Thou Shalt beat out da rythm of warship wit de steel drums.
5. Thou Shalt not seek gainful employmnt'
6. Thou Shalt nvr have a Bobsled team or you will surely die!

Sorry have to go to Church and I have not the dangdest clue as to what they believe.

Answer 3

From the songs I think that it seems like their beliefs are "Don't worry, be happy, and smoke a big spliff 'mon"

Answer 4

You will find everything you want to know there:

http://www.venganza.org


Ramen !