Haile Selassie I and the Rastafari Faith

May 26, 2008

Looking backwards it is easy to understand how the crowning in 1930 of Ras Tafari Makonnen as emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I, could incite Afro-Jamaicans to perceive in him a divine sign. Afro-Jamaicans were in the midst of extreme economic hardship and lacked a positive heritage of their own. Simmering underneath the surface was resentment toward colonial culture with its correct speech and elevation of all things White.

The crowning of Haile Selassie I made possible a series of mental associations that proved to be powerful. An ancient African culture that claimed descent from King Solomon was now ripe for appropriation. Along with the historic faith of Ethiopia came a tight system of symbols connected to kingship in Ethiopia. These symbols, including the Ethiopian colors and the Lion of Judah, could now be imported into the Jamaican context. By claiming this black emperor as the Messiah the eyes of Afro-Jamaicans could be decisively turned toward Africa and away from European versions of Christianity.

This all has an inner logic to it. But what if Haile Selassie I had never been crowned emperor? Would this unique blend of elements that we know as the Rastafari faith never have come into existence? It is important to recognize just how broken the social system was in Jamaica back in 1930, at least for a sizable portion of the population. Some constellation of symbols had to come together to fill this meaning-vacuum.. and even if Haile Selassie had never been crowned we can assume that something like the Rastafari faith would nevertheless have appeared.

An example of this is in Ennis Barrington Edmonds' description of how dreadlocks came to be associated with Rastas:

The dreadlocks hairstyle began in the 1940s. It was apparently inspired by the appearance in the Jamaican press of Africans wearing a similar hairstyle. Those whose pictures appeared have been variously identified as Gallas, Somalis, Masais, or Jomo Kenyatta's Freedom Fighters. [59, Rastafari: From Outcasts to Culture Bearers]

Such was the hunger for a connection to Africa and a positive identity that a photo in the local paper of an unknown group of Africans wearing something like dreadlocks could inspire an immediate copycat response. This style was adopted by Rastas and explained by the desire to take on the nature of the powerful lion (thus dreadlocks). There are also Bible passages to explain dreadlocks (Nazirites from the Torah). But it is essential to recognize that these are after-the-fact rationalizations of an immediate grasping hold of a style that appeared to be native to Africa.

One should not put too much weight on the event of the coronation of Haile Selassie I. Many of the African symbols and associations used now by the Rastafaris could have been adopted and provided with some other, unknown rationalization. The hunger for a positive African identity was going to create out of the stuff of Africa a system of symbols. This process was clearly already at work when Selassie assumed the throne. In fact, that is to me the oddest aspect of the Rastafari faith: how Haile Selassie is such a passive Messiah! But his value is not in himself, but in the associations and connections that his image allowed Afro-Jamaicans to make.