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Beliefs,
Practices and Sacraments
of Rastafari
  astafarians
acknowledge that their religion is the blending of the purest
forms of both Judaism and Christianity; they also accept the
Egyptian origins of both these religions. In affirming the
divinity of Haile Selassie, Rastafari
rejects the Babylonian hypocrisy of the modern church. The
church of Rome, and even the council of Rome, are considered
to be particularly Babylonian: was it not from this city that
Mussolini invaded the holy land of Ethiopia in 1935? Religions
always reflect the social and geographical environment out
of which they emerge, and Jamaican Rastafari is no exception:
for example, the use of marijuana as a sacrament and aid to
meditation is logical in a country where a particularly potent
strain of 'herb' grows freely.
Marijuana:
The Weed of Wisdom
 In
fact, the herb "ganja" (marijuana) was regarded as "wisdomweed,"
and Rasta leaders urged that it be smoked as a religious rite,
alleging that it was found growing on the grave of King Solomon
and citing biblical passages, such as Psalms 104:14, to attest
to its sacramental properties: "He causeth the grass to grow
for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may
bring forth food out of the earth."
"Ital"
Diet and Dreadlocks
 A
set of dietary and hygienic laws were formulated to accompany
the religion's doctrine. They urged their flocks to shun the
ingestion of alcohol, tobacco, all meat (especially pork),
as well as shellfish, scaleless fish, snails, predatory and
scavenger species of marine life, and many common seasonings
like salt. In short, anything that was not "ital," a Rasta
term meaning pure, natural or clean, was forbidden.
They
also outlawed was the combing or cutting of hair, citing the
holy directive in Leviticus 21:5: "They shall not make baldness
upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of
their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh." Their
nappy tresses were allowed to mat and twine themselves into
ropy dreadlocks, so called to mock non-believers' aversion
to their appearance. (The noun "dread" has also since evolved
into a word of praise.)
Babylon
Will Fall
 The
Rastas deny allegations by other relgious groups that they
were antiwhite or antibrown (mulatto) and invited all to repent
and accept Jah (a shortened form of Jehovah). They vowed that
at a secret hour known only to a devout few, converts would
return to Ethiopia by an undisclosed means, leaving behind
the tropical steambath of Jamaica,
which they considered to be literally Hell on Earth. Until
that time, Rastas would refuse to take part in the machinations
of daily life and commerce in "Babylon," the sphere of temporal
captivity of the spirit.
The
poor flocked to the Rastas' call, since the cult's creed lent
a certain nobility to their alienated status. As Rastas, they
could now await with dignity the Judgment Day, when the last
shall be first and the first shall be last.
Source
: http://www.bobmarley.com
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