http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120907/letters/letters3.html

Friday,
December 18, 2015

3:04 PM

Selassie gov't best for Ethiopia

Published:Friday
| September 7, 2012 | 12:00 AM

THE
EDITOR, Sir:

The Ethiopian World Federation
Incorporated (IEWF Inc) is the 'arm' of the Ethiopian Government in exile in
Jamaica and has acknowledged the death of Ethiopia's dictator Meles Zenawi in
the last few weeks.

The IEWF Inc declares that the
only way there can be peace and stability in Ethiopia is under the return of
the theocratic government of Emperor Haile Selassie I's family. Emperor Haile
Selassie I states in one of his prophetic declarations of historical
significance: "If America does not take a leading role in the morality of
the world, there will never be peace."

We demand that the United
Nations and the moral leaders of the world let their voice be heard on behalf
of Ethiopia's return to the constitutional government of Emperor Haile Selassie
I. Will the international world that suffered under Hitler and Mussolini
(1935-1941) remain silent after the great liberation that Emperor Haile
Selassie I sought and fought for that they can exist today?

God and history are watching
their behaviour. We are confident in the victory of good (modern Ethiopianism)
over evil (Marxism, Stalinism, fascism, communism, socialism, imperialistic
expansionism, and neofascism) in Ethiopia.

Emperor Haile Selassie I
Liveth.

PAUL
MORRISON

Oxford
Street, Kingston

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

10:29 AM

Haile Selassie celebration - Rastafarians to
commemorate the 45th anniversary of Selassie's three-day visit in April

Published:Sunday
| January 2, 2011 | 12:00 AM

Haile
Selassie (third right) on his historic visit to Jamaica on April 23, 1966. -
File

Howard
Campbell, Gleaner Writer

WHEN
ETHIOPIAN Emperor Haile Selassie I arrived in Jamaica on April 21,1966, it was
considered more than just a state visit by the country's growing Rastafarian
population. It gave the religion of dreadlocked disciples a sense of legitimacy
in their homeland.

"People used to call us
mad and sey Selassie would not come here. It brought recognition for I and I in
Jamaica," said Shephan Fraser, chairman of the Ancient Council and a
priest in the Nyabinghi Order.

The various Rasta groups in
Jamaica plan to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Selassie's three-day visit
in April with a series of events dubbed 'Survival World Culture Music Festival'
to be held at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.

Lance Ho Shing, spokesman for
the Ancient Council, told The Sunday Gleaner
that several cultural acts are scheduled to perform on the live segment of the
event, including some from Africa. The series actually starts April 20 with the
lighting of a symbolic fire at the Trelawny stadium.

Ho Shing said the events will
also mark the 50th anniversary of independence for several African nations from
European colonialism.

Embraced
Rastafari

Repatriation to Africa, a
cornerstone of the Rastafarian message, will be one of the issues to be
discussed during the activities.

Fraser was 27 years old when
Selassie came to Jamaica. The St Catherine-born pastor's son said he embraced
Rastafari at age 15 and suffered social prejudice because of his beliefs.

He was among the hundreds of
Rastafarians who showed up at what was then the Palisadoes Airport to welcome
Selassie, whom many Jamaicans hailed as a hero, due to his courageous
leadership of Ethiopian troops against armies of the Fascist Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.

Most Rastafarians at the time
regarded Selassie as God because he is reportedly a direct descendant of King
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

The Ethiopian monarch's trip
came at a time when Rastafarians were experiencing widespread aggression from
Jamaican police and shunned by mainstream society. At the same time, the
Jamaican Government was taking a studied look at Rastafarians.

In 1960, Rastafarian leaders
approached University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturers M.G. Smith, Roy
Augier, and Rex Nettleford to conduct a study on the group which many scholars
believe originated in west Kingston during the 1930s. The 50th anniversary of
that report was recognised with the Rastafari Studies Conference at the Mona
campus of the UWI last August.

One year later, three
Rastafarians - Mortimo Planno, Douglas Mack, and Philmore Alvaranga - were part
of a government-sanctioned team that went on a fact-finding tour of Africa. A
technical mission, again funded by the Government, also visited the continent
that year.

Selassie's visit to Jamaica
was the second stop in a four-country Caribbean trip that also included visits
to Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, and Barbados. During his Jamaican stay, Selassie
met Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante, was awarded an honorary degree from
the UWI and addressed Parliament.

His visit inspired rebellious
Jamaican youth to accept Rastafa-rianism, and by the dawn of the 1970s, the
faith was the voice of reggae music standard-bearers like Bob Marley and
Burning Spear.

While reggae was making
international strides in 1974, Ethiopia was in the midst of an economic crisis.
Selassie was deposed by the Ethiopian military that year and was reportedly
executed in August 1975.

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

10:29 AM

A defiant message from the Church of Haile Selassie I

Published:Sunday
| September 8, 2013 | 12:00 AM

Photo

Video

Abbot
Shubael - Contributed

Dr Glenville Ashby, Contributor

It is noon on Sunday and I am in the belly of West Indian Brooklyn. Just
off Nostrand Ave, a multi-coloured building bearing the emblem of The Lion of
Judah - a strutting lion - proud with its foreleg carrying the Rastafarian
flag is displayed. The chanting from inside the church pierces its thick
doors.

I enter just in time for the
liturgical service of the Church of Haile Selassie I (Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile
Selassie I), referred to as a "bona fide
Ethiopian religious institution in exile". The inside exudes a kinetic
ecclesiastical feel. The usher, a young man with a red, green and yellow sash,
directs me to one of the pews, not before being cautioned against
photographing the proceedings and taking notes from the Anaphora (Divine
Liturgy). I make a faint protest. After all, I followed their protocol and had
scheduled an appointment several days before. One Rastafarian, obviously with
some sway, baulks, and allows me to transcribe the words of Abbot Shubael, who
by now held court.

The Church of Haile Selassie
I is touted as the only veritable Rastafarian group in the US. It is chartered
as an Ethiopian institution and incorporated in New York, a fact that is
repeated during the fiery sermon of Abbot Shubael, a bespectacled, slightly
built man fully draped in all the accoutrements of his august position.

Treading down the thorny road
of sectarianism, the Abbot stridently blasts other "Rasta outfits"
such as the 12 tribes of Israel, Bobo Shanti and Nyabingi "that use the
jargon of Rastafarianism but practice a skewed creed". He teaches that
these groups are short on a structured liturgy and philosophy. "There are
organisations out there that distort the true meaning of Rastafarianism,"
he laments. "These groups congregate, while we worship. That's a big
difference." His message is unswerving and defiant.

He assails
"dancehall" Rastas, steeped in secularism and the ways of 'Babylon'.
"We follow a definitive philosophy. It is Rastalogy, the path of
knowledge. It is an attitude of mind and very academic."

The Church of Haile Selassie
I is well structured, managed and hierarchical - an Order that is headed by
the Abuna (a title equivalent to 'Pope'), who resides in Jamaica. Clerical
training is challenging and requires at least seven years of study and devotion.

Unflustered Message

With branches in Jamaica,
Britain, Barbados, and eyes on Trinidad, its message of redemption and
restoration of the Ethiopian monarchy is unambiguous. Its homilectics is
culled from the books of Proverbs, Mark and John. The message is unflustered.
"Rules and regulations are mandatory so there must be discipline and
order." Abbot Shubael preaches in a thick vernacular. His oratory is
plied with Caribbean aphorisms on discipline. "Licks never kill
nobody." It elicits scattered laughter.

On every pew are Bibles,
liturgical booklets and prayer scripts that ascribe Godhood to Haile Selassie
I. The sexes are separated and the reverence to the tabernacle catches the eye
(members are prohibited from turning their back to the "Holy of Holies,"
carefully walking backwards through the aisle. Newly arrived members approach
the tabernacle, bow and gesture symbolically, with circular hand movements
followed by what seems to be the signing of a cross inches away from the
chest.

Abbot Shubael and the
sacerdotal group of five young men circumambulate the tabernacle on several
occasions. Pictures of Haile Selassie I and his lineage adorn the walls. The
tabernacle itself is draped in white, lit and adorned with a menorah and the
Star of David. The chanting is repetitious and infectious. The frankincense
and myrrh blur your vision and overwhelm your olfactory sense. The blessings
and benedictions are personalised. With chalice swaying, each member is
fumigated, followed by a priest with an open Bible that he places before the
forehead of devotees, while chanting with a rapidity that is barely
comprehensible. Interestingly, the holy book is parted on Psalm 87 with the
adjacent page bearing the likeness of Haile Selassie I.

The service is highly
ritualistic and solemn. There is veneration with a ceremonial character that
is unmistakable. But this takes little always from a message that rivets and
stirs the passions of believers. The Abbot later counsels me on being a "true
Rasta". He vigorously rejects the "propaganda" that Haile
Selassie I was under house arrest before his passing. The former Emperor of
Ethiopia, according to Abbot Shubael, is one with the Creator and the Head
Creator. He is in fact called "The Might of the Trinity". In a
belief that borders the abstruse concepts of the Ascension and the Assumption,
Haile Selassie I, he says "walked away, never to be seen again"
thereby "fulfilling prophecy".

"The Emperor is still
alive and can never die," he assures me.

He later explains his
affinity to Rastafarianism in a revealing exchange that appears to echo the
spirit of Dr Sultana Afroz, who dispelled the myth of European discovery of
"the so-called New World".

Abbot Shubael also concurs
that East Africans predated Columbus in the form of 15th century Zara
Yacobrite people of Ethiopia and recoils at the thought of his foreparents
being slaves.

"My lineage has nothing
to do with slavery, but is part of the great tribes of Ethiopia. It was easy
for me to identify and embrace Rastafarianism because of my ancestry."

Hours later, I continue to
ponder. As guarded as it might be, I cannot help but reflect on the rich
fraternity of this unique church. It projects an authenticity that cannot be
feigned. Handshakes, smiles and greetings of "Rasta" made for an enviable,
elucidating experience - refreshing and equally thought-provoking.

Dr
Ashby is the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Interfaith Council. You may
send feedback to [email-masked] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby.

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

10:35 AM

Untold story of Selassie's wife

Published:Sunday
| April 15, 2012 | 12:00 AM

Photo

1

2

Christopher Serju, Sunday Gleaner Writer

"It doesn't matter who
did it, but people find it interesting that it is me."

This admission from Anjahli
Parnell has to do with the publication of her first book The Biography of Empress Menen Afsaw, The Mother of
the Ethiopian Nation, which is considered quite an achievement in and
of itself, documenting as it does the life of a matriarch of the Ethiopian
royal family.

Parnell, a white woman born
in Anchorage, Alaska undertook voluminous research, travelled to South Africa,
and Ethiopia and spent hours talking with people who know the royal family in
order to get an accurate representation of a woman respected the world over
for her unflinching commitment to the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, and
the people of that nation.

The journey which started in
2009 with a trip to South Africa, culminated with the book launch at the Bob
Marley Museum, St Andrew on Tuesday, April 3 the 121st anniversary of Empress
Menen's 'earthday' (birthday).

It adds much substance to the
meagre body of personal information about the woman who was crowned alongside
the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, whose official title was King of
Kings and Lord of Lords on Sunday, November 2, 1930, spending 47 years together
before predeceasing him in 1962. The most notable work on Empress Menen's life
prior to Parnell's book is the 50-page document by Yared Gebre Michael. With
240 pages inclusive of 62 historic photographs Empress
Menen Afsaw, the Mother of the Ethiopian Nation offers much more than a
glimpse into the everyday life of this remarkable woman.

It records how while husband
Haile Selassie was engaged on the battlefield, among other things the empress
established childcare centres and handicraft schools, and pursued successful
business ventures while always attending to the needs of her family. Empress
Menen also experienced a great deal of sorrow and personal hardship, including
the loss of seven of her 10 children, spent five years in exile during the
Italian occupation of Ethiopia and coped with the everyday struggle of
on-going health problems.

For the author, who is
married to a Rastafarian and lives in Jamaica but is herself not Rastafarian,
the gruelling hours spent on the road and other hardships encountered trying
to verify information which in most cases had to be translated first from the
original Ge'ez to Amharic and then English, it was a difficult task. Still,
she is proud of what is still a work in progress and there are some errors
such as the misspelling of the Empress' name, Asfaw which appears as Afsaw on
the cover. This, however, in no way detracts from what is definitely a
well-needed and timed delivery, which was as much a joy in the
conceptualization as gestation for Parnell, who admits as much.

"This entire project has
felt like a gift from God, and so it is offered to the world with that in
mind. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to highlight such an
extraordinary woman, Empress Menen. May her good works be remembered and
treasured," she shared with The Sunday
Gleaner.

In his endorsement of the
text, His Imperial Highness, Sahle Selassie, the Empress' grandson who is also
president of the Ethiopian Crown Council wrote:

"The rich, complex and
challenging life of Empress Menen has remained obscure for decades. With the
first-time translation and publication of this new volume, I trust readers
will once again become reacquainted with the life of the Empress and her great
contribution to her faith, her country and her family. There were many details
about Empress Menen's life in the book that I learned about through this
biography."

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

4:42 PM

Selassie: A very modern monarch

Published:Wednesday
| September 18, 2013 | 12:00 AM

1

2

On
the anniversary of the end of his rule, we examine how Haile Selassie helped
bring Africa into the 20th century.

Jermaine
Haughton, Voice Writer

HAILE
SELASSIE (1892 - 1975) was deposed as Emperor of Ethiopia 39 years ago in a
military coup, ending his more than half-a-century reign over the only African
nation never to be officially colonised.

Standing at a diminutive 5ft
4ins, Selassie was both Napoleonic in stature and resilience, defiantly seeing
off the five-year fascist occupation of Ethiopia during the Second World War,
belligerent in his determination for a strong and powerful united Africa and
its diaspora.

Selassie - heir to a dynasty
which claimed origins dating back to King Solomon - was denounced by his
critics as an undemocratic, pampered leader who enjoyed life's finer luxuries
and who allegedly transferred billions of pounds of public funds into private
overseas bank accounts.

But his supporters will
conversely argue that he was responsible for leading a largely illiterate,
rural and feudal country with 2,000 languages and dialects into the 20th
century.

God
Incarnate

To followers of the Rastafari
movement, he was God incarnate. Most notable was Selassie's contribution to
African unity and the pan-African movement.

A fellow African who met the
emperor at the United Nations Security Council session in Addis Ababa in 1972
surmised: "Haile Selassie is one of the world's great men. He did a lot
for his country and early became a respected voice for Africa and for the Third
World." Indeed, in 1935, he was named Time
magazine's Man of the Year.

Ras Habte Wold, from West
Midlands-based research group Rastafari Heritage, spoke of the emperor's impact
on Africa. He said: "He modernised Ethiopia and brought her out of the
dark ages into the modern world. His efforts led Ethiopia to join the League of
Nations in September 1923.

"He, through the 'Power
of the Holy Trinity' [which translates as Haile Selassie in Amharic language],
shone a bright light of liberation that inspired black people across the world
to shake off the yoke of captivity and 'down-pression' and to stand as free
men.

"This light which he
shone among his own African people would also light up the lives of all
peoples, tongues, colours and nations. The emperor is called the 'Father of
Africa' for his work towards bringing unity amongst the African countries which
had disputes, being a founder member of the OAU (Organisation of African
Unity), and then wider afield championed world peace across the globe."

Ethiopia's
First Universities

It was Selassie who
established one of Ethiopia's first universities, now Addis Ababa University,
which taught political economy and law, among other subjects, as well as
enabling the Ethiopian military to learn the sophisticated training techniques
of allies like the United States - which were to be used against him in the
military coup in 1974.

His pan-Africanism ideology
was influential across the globe, reflected in the civil-rights movement in the
US and in South Africa. It is based on the belief that unity is vital to
economic, social, and political progress and aims to "unify and uplift"
people of African descent.

Alongside other important
thinkers such as Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta, Selassie's influence was
important for the creation of the African Union (AU) in 2001, consisting of
every African state barring Morocco - making it the largest and most influential
pan-African organisation in the world. With economic growth among Africa's
larger nations such as Angola, Ghana and Nigeria up to around four per cent,
the AU is in a special strategic position, both politically and geographically.

It, therefore, suggests that
the AU can play an important role in brokering important decisions for its
people and overseas.

Toyin Agbetu, founder of the
Pan-African human-rights organisation Ligali, argued that the unification of
African people is more urgently needed within governments rather than in local
communities: "The unification of Africa has been going on for many years
at a trade level, with people freely selling and buying goods from different
countries - sharing their experiences, language and customs. On the other hand,
there is a lack of unification on a political and economic level, partly due to
the living legacy of the way Africa was divided by colonial powers.

"The AU has great
potential to improve the standing of the continent. Work still needs to be
done, though. In the past, the AU has been used as a talking shop for
politicians, while there are people who are doing some great work under the
radar, who don't make the headlines."

However, Agbetu adds that it
is the education of the people which is needed to drive greater cooperation
among African nations. "People can create that change. We cannot wait for
others to decide our futures. We all have to embrace political literacy and
create leaders who can make the change we want. So far, many African countries
have struggled to translate their personal relationships institutionally."

Copyright
© 2015 The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

4:42 PM

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Selassie: A very modern monarch

Published:Wednesday
| September 18, 2013 | 12:00 AM

Photo

Video

Previous Pause Next

1

2

On
the anniversary of the end of his rule, we examine how Haile Selassie helped
bring Africa into the 20th century.

Jermaine Haughton, Voice Writer

HAILE SELASSIE (1892 - 1975) was deposed as Emperor of Ethiopia 39 years
ago in a military coup, ending his more than half-a-century reign over the
only African nation never to be officially colonised.

Standing at a diminutive 5ft
4ins, Selassie was both Napoleonic in stature and resilience, defiantly seeing
off the five-year fascist occupation of Ethiopia during the Second World War,
belligerent in his determination for a strong and powerful united Africa and
its diaspora.

Selassie - heir to a dynasty
which claimed origins dating back to King Solomon - was denounced by his
critics as an undemocratic, pampered leader who enjoyed life's finer luxuries
and who allegedly transferred billions of pounds of public funds into private
overseas bank accounts.

But his supporters will
conversely argue that he was responsible for leading a largely illiterate,
rural and feudal country with 2,000 languages and dialects into the 20th
century.

God Incarnate

To followers of the Rastafari
movement, he was God incarnate. Most notable was Selassie's contribution to
African unity and the pan-African movement.

A fellow African who met the
emperor at the United Nations Security Council session in Addis Ababa in 1972
surmised: "Haile Selassie is one of the world's great men. He did a lot
for his country and early became a respected voice for Africa and for the
Third World." Indeed, in 1935, he was named Time magazine's Man of the Year.

Ras Habte Wold, from West
Midlands-based research group Rastafari Heritage, spoke of the emperor's
impact on Africa. He said: "He modernised Ethiopia and brought her out of
the dark ages into the modern world. His efforts led Ethiopia to join the League
of Nations in September 1923.

"He, through the 'Power
of the Holy Trinity' [which translates as Haile Selassie in Amharic language],
shone a bright light of liberation that inspired black people across the world
to shake off the yoke of captivity and 'down-pression' and to stand as free
men.

"This light which he
shone among his own African people would also light up the lives of all
peoples, tongues, colours and nations. The emperor is called the 'Father of
Africa' for his work towards bringing unity amongst the African countries
which had disputes, being a founder member of the OAU (Organisation of African
Unity), and then wider afield championed world peace across the globe."

Ethiopia's First Universities

It was Selassie who
established one of Ethiopia's first universities, now Addis Ababa University,
which taught political economy and law, among other subjects, as well as
enabling the Ethiopian military to learn the sophisticated training techniques
of allies like the United States - which were to be used against him in the
military coup in 1974.

His pan-Africanism ideology
was influential across the globe, reflected in the civil-rights movement in
the US and in South Africa. It is based on the belief that unity is vital to
economic, social, and political progress and aims to "unify and uplift"
people of African descent.

Alongside other important
thinkers such as Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta, Selassie's influence was
important for the creation of the African Union (AU) in 2001, consisting of
every African state barring Morocco - making it the largest and most influential
pan-African organisation in the world. With economic growth among Africa's
larger nations such as Angola, Ghana and Nigeria up to around four per cent,
the AU is in a special strategic position, both politically and
geographically.

It, therefore, suggests that
the AU can play an important role in brokering important decisions for its
people and overseas.

Toyin Agbetu, founder of the
Pan-African human-rights organisation Ligali, argued that the unification of
African people is more urgently needed within governments rather than in local
communities: "The unification of Africa has been going on for many years
at a trade level, with people freely selling and buying goods from different
countries - sharing their experiences, language and customs. On the other
hand, there is a lack of unification on a political and economic level, partly
due to the living legacy of the way Africa was divided by colonial powers.

"The AU has great
potential to improve the standing of the continent. Work still needs to be
done, though. In the past, the AU has been used as a talking shop for
politicians, while there are people who are doing some great work under the
radar, who don't make the headlines."

However, Agbetu adds that it
is the education of the people which is needed to drive greater cooperation
among African nations. "People can create that change. We cannot wait for
others to decide our futures. We all have to embrace political literacy and
create leaders who can make the change we want. So far, many African countries
have struggled to translate their personal relationships
institutionally."

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

6:51 PM

BLACK HISTORY: Leonard P. Howell the first Rasta

Published:Sunday
| February 2, 2014 | 12:00 AM

An
artist's (B. Howell's) impression of Leonard P. Howell, widely regarded as The
First Rasta and the settler of the first Rastafarian village in Jamaica,
located at The Pinnacle in St Catherine.

Paul
H. Williams, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Sligoville, St Catherine:On
November 2, 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor Haile Selassie I of
Ethiopia in Africa. His supporters believe that he was the earthly
manifestation of God or Jah. His birth, it is said, was foretold in the Bible
and his lineage goes back several centuries before the birth of Christ.
Selassie was born in 1892.

Six years later, in 1898,
Leonard P. Howell was born in the parish of Clarendon, on June 16. At an early
age, he migrated to the United States, where he joined Marcus Garvey's
Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

Soon, Howell became one of
Garvey's top-brass members, but Garvey and the UNIA were constantly under the
radar of US authorities, which eventually arrested and charged Garvey for
various crimes. Garvey was deported in 1928, and Howell was to follow him in
1932.

But Howell's activism switched
from Garveyism to one that focused on the importance of Selassie I. He saw
Selassie as the great Black Messiah, and he established the King of Kings
Mission out of respect for Selassie, and appointed himself Selassie's representative
in Jamaica. He also wrote the first book about Rastafarianism, The Promised Key.

In 1933, soon after his return
to Jamaica, Howell stepped up his preaching on Selassie, which, in addition to
his faith healing practices, earned him a huge following. In his book, Overstanding Rastafari - Jamaica's Gift to the World,
Yasus Afari says, at the beginning of the 1930s, "the
streets of Jamaica (Kingston and St Catherine in particular) were energised by
the inspired preaching and teachings of the Honourable Leonard Howell, one of
the earliest Rastafarian pioneers".

Howell was preaching
'doctrines' that were considered by the authorities as anti-Church and
anti-government.

He was charged and sent to
prison for sedition. But imprisonment did not shake the foundation of Howell's
beliefs. Upon his release from prison in 1940, he set up the first Rastafarian
village in Jamaica on 400 acres at Sligoville, St Catherine.

CAMPS TARGETED

The settlement was called The
Pinnacle because of its high hilltop elevation, and the residents became
self-sufficient farmers. Howell's influence spread outside of The Pinnacle, and
Rastafarian communities were set up across the country. The original Rasta
camps were also regularly raided and dislocated by the police "as the governing class and conservative sectors
of the Jamaican society became alarmed by the grossly misunderstood
Rastafarians".

In 1941, government forces
swooped down on Pinnacle and arrested many of Howell's followers. Howell fled,
but he was eventually arrested, and on August 20, he was tried again for
sedition and sentenced to two years in prison. When he was released in 1943, he
returned to Pinnacle.

For almost a decade after his
return, Pinnacle flourished as the residents were left alone to carry on their
lives.

Trading and farming were their
major sources of income, of which they earned a lot. The population also boomed
as people saw Pinnacle as a place where they could go to prosper on their own.
But the good life was not to last forever.

DESTROYED

In 1954, government militia
invaded Pinnacle and completely destroyed the village. The residents fled, but
they were to subsequently return. Yet, Pinnacle never really got back to its
heyday. However, the movement continued to proliferate in Jamaica and many
parts of the world, but the persecution itself wasn't waning.

In Jamaica, the animosity
involving the wider society and the Rastafarians culminated in bloodshed in
1963, in Coral Gardens, St James, when some Rastafarians and other civilians
were involved in disturbances. The Jamaica Defence Force was called in and,
"consequently, many Rastafarians were killed, beaten, intimidated
brutally, trimmed, ridiculed, harassed and arrested", Afari says.
"This unfortunate and brutal episode represented the most horrific
experience of the Rastafarians in Jamaica."

As horrific as it may have
been, the tragedy did not kill the resolve of the community which continued to
expand in many ways. Howell died in 1981 at age 82, leaving a legacy of a
movement that transcends races and classes, which has electrifying tentacles
all over the world, and which is the subject of many studies, research, and
college and university papers. Howell perhaps had no idea that the movement
which he started on the streets of Kingston and St Catherine, and for which he
was incarcerated, would have become one of the most influential movements of
the 20th and 21st centuries, but, it is indeed.

- P.H.W.

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

7:14 PM

Story of the Song: His Imperial Majesty traced through
song

Published:Sunday
| November 11, 2012 | 12:00 AM

Jacob
Miller - File

1

2

3

Mel
Cooke, Gleaner Writer

November
2 marked the 82nd anniversary of the crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie I, the
First and Her Imperial Majesty Empress Mennen at the Cathedral of St George in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is a date central to the Rastafarian community and,
with Jamaican popular music forms reggae and dancehall heavily influenced by
Rastafari, has made its way into song.

However, in addition to the
date, other aspects of Haile Selassie's public life have been included in
Jamaican singers and deejays' lyrics, making for an informal record of
significant moments in his life in Jamaican popular music.

Unfortunately, however, many
times the essential female component - Empress Mennen - is left out of the
narrative.

Sizzla is one of those who has
recorded the coronation date in song. It is included in Mash Dem Down on the 2002 album Da
Real Thing.

Mash
Dem Down, a song of faith in the inevitability of prevailing over one's
opponents and obstacles ("come we go mash
dem dung nah lose/all dem a wrinch an a frown stumbling blocks will have to
move"), gives the coronation date in the context of instructing
youngsters on how to live:

Little
children I say to honour your mother and your father

Tell
you again I say to love one another

Praise
Selassie I crown in Addis Ababa

Second
of November 1930 ...

The image of Haile Selassie
and Empress Mennen on their thrones, looking composed and serene, is striking
and powerful. The Natural-Ites, in Picture On
The Wall, literally put it in a place of paramount importance in the
home. The song starts with a question and answer narrative:

Q: The I have a
picture of his Majesty Rasta?

A: Yes iyah, Jah live
y'n

Q: And the I have a
picture of His Majesty dread?

A: Yes iyah, Jah is
within I

Q: And the I dem have
a picture of His Majesty Rasses?

Chorus: Yes I

Then, singing, they confirm:

In
my house there's a picture on the wall

Rastafari
sit upon his throne

Jacob Miller died in a motor
vehicle accident in 1980, one of his signature tracks being the slow Chapter a Day. Musically, the introduction is
dominated by the organ, giving it a distinctly church atmosphere. A song of
deep faith, in a spoken section Miller expands on Emperor Haile Selassie's
titles, part of which he had already sung. Miller includes the titles in his
exhortation:

The
works of His Majesty Haile God Selassie I the First, ever ruling God who ever
stands firm and show all leaders of the world that he is Kings of Kings and
Lords of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, Earth
Rightful Ruler, His Majesty God Haile Selassie I, give thanks and praise, Jah
Rastafari!

Emperor Haile Selassie I
visited Jamaica in April 1966, his tumultuous reception at the Norman Manley
Airport on April 21, 1966, the basis of enduring legend. As part of the 'Pieces
of the Past' series in The Gleaner,
Rebecca Tortello wrote:

The
heat that rose from the tarmac of Kingston's Norman Manley International
Airport was nothing compared to the level of expectation that was seeping
through the thousands gathered on the tarmac that 21st day of April, 1966. The
day was declared a public holiday in honour of the emperor and people had
started arriving from Wednesday night from places near and far, to form the
largest crowd to have ever assembled at the Norman Manley International
Airport. They came to the airport any way they could - by car, by truck, by
bus, by bicycle, by foot. Drum beats and chants were heard almost non-stop,
providing an almost hypnotic rhythm. The smell of ganja wafted through the air
completing a welcome unprecedented in size and expectation for the Emperor on his
first state visit to Jamaica ...

When
the insignia of a roaring lion and stripes of red, green and gold finally came
into view, the rain stopped. People shouted, "See how God stop de
rain." The sound from the crowd was deafening as masses of people rushed
to get closer to the island's distinguished visitor. The crowd simply broke
down any barriers that stood in their way in their eagerness to position
themselves as close as possible to the 'King of Kings'. But the Lion of Judah
did not appear immediately as expected. Instead, the plane stood there, silent
in a sea of activity and sound. No movement could be seen from within the
cabin. The door to the plane finally opened 45 minutes later, close to 2:15
p.m., and His Imperial Majesty came to the top of the stairs to deplane.

The
crowd responded with a roar that "was louder than the sound of

thunder
rolling, louder even than an explosion" recalls Mitsy Seaga who

accompanied
her husband, Edward Seaga, the then minister of development

and
welfare."

Deejay

Early B, the late standout on
Kilamanjario sound system and whose

One
Wheel Wheelie is an early 1980s hit record, puts

the historic visit into the
dancehall record. He starts Visit

of
the King with speech, placing himself in the historic

occasion as a child ("Well I've seen many world leaders, many

heads
of state, but none of them impress me like when I was youth, bout

six,
seven, eight when King Selassie I visit, 1966

...).

Deejaying on the Midnight Rock
rhythm,

associated with Jah Thomas,
Early B details the occasion, a high point

for those not in

officialdom:

It
was the

year
1966

When
Selassie I made a

visit

Mi
seh Rasta make de wicked

dem
look like rubbish

He

sums up the crowd ("Thousan' of people Jah know de crowd

thick"),
the weather ("It was good weather but the

rain
did a drip") and an open use of the sacrament

("Mi seh every dreadlock a burn up a spliff"). The

detailing is exquisite, from
the rain stopping and a rainbow coming to a

flock of birds on the plane's
wing. The King emerges

("Selassie come out wid him lion on him stick") and,

after describing his outfit
and height ("about four foot

six"),
Early B notes the overturning of the social

order:

Babylon
dem have to

run,
them couldn't stan it

Because

the
airport come in like Rasta

district

The song

continues with Selassie's
address at the National Stadium, then wryly

notes how it was back to
business as usual after Selassie

left:

When
Selassie I

come,
the herb did bun

But
now him

gone
home dem a run we

dung

At least two of His

Imperial Majesty's addresses
to the highest world body have made it into

reggae. The most widely known
is War by Bob Marley

and the Wailers on the 1976 Rastaman Vibration

album.

The lyrics are almost verbatim
from Haile

Selassie I's speech to the
United Nations General Assembly in

1963.

Poet Mutabaruka notes the
potential

world-changing effect of
Selassie's speech to the League of Nations in

1936, speaking to Italy's use
of chemical weapons against

Ethiopia.

In
Great Kings of Africa

by Dennis Brown, Ini Kamoze
and Mutabaruka, the poet

says:

Now
the King of

Kings
Haile Selassie

Was
invaded by

the
fascist Mussolini

If
the world

had
listened to this little

man

World
War Two might have never

began

Haile Selassie I

died on August 27, 1975, at 83
years old in circumstances that remain

obscure. Bob Marley and the
Wailers responded directly to the news of

His Majesty's death with Jah Live, released shortly

after news of the death broke
as a single and included on the

Songs
of Freedom box set.

In

Jah
Live, Marley sings "Fools say in
their

heart/Rasta
your God is dead/But I an I know/Dread it shall be dreader

dread".
And nearly two decades after Selassie was reported

dead, Capleton observed "A say Selassie dead an dem cyaa show

no
tomb".

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

7:27 PM

'Ancients' to celebrate Selassie visit

Published:Friday
| March 18, 2011 | 12:00 AM

Ras
Ho-Shing

Howard
Campbell, Gleaner Writer

In
1998 when Lance Ho-Shing came to Jamaica, it was to recruit gospel performers
for the Reggae Sunsplash For World Peace Music Festival in his London hometown.

Within one year, he was
singing a different song - a Rastafarian one.

More than a decade after he
became a Rastafarian, Ho-Shing is preparing to stage what he considers his
biggest project to date: a week-long festival commemorating the 45th
anniversary of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I's visit to Jamaica.

That event, the 'Survival
World Culture Music Festival', is scheduled for April 20-27, at the Trelawny
Multi-purpose Stadium.

"It's very important to
Rasta, because it will show how much His Imperial Majesty (Selassie) is now
regarded globally," Ho-Shing, 49, said.

"We are expecting a large
turnout."

Some of the biggest names in
roots-reggae are expected to perform at the festival, including Ras Michael and
The Sons of Negus, Sizzla and Capleton.

Ho-Shing told The Gleaner that delegations from as far away
as Africa have also confirmed their participation.

Haile Selassie arrived in
Kingston on April 21, 1966 for a three-day state visit.

Tolerance
is critical

Hundreds of exuberant
Rastafarians - who hailed Selassie as God - greeted him when he arrived at, was
then the Palisadoes International Airport.

Some of the excited, young
Rastas who welcomed Selassie that day now form the Ancient Council, for which
Ho-Shing is spokesperson. While mainstream acceptance of Rasta principles and
repatriation to Africa remain primary concerns, Ho-Shing believes building
tolerance among its elders is critical.

"The modern reality is
that Rasta is not only for those who call His name, it's for all
Africans," Ho-Shing explained. "Our purpose was to unify Africa, and
that means much more than people wearing locks on their heads."

Born in Falmouth, Trelawny,
Ho-Shing, who now has a subtle British accent, immigrated to London at age
nine. He began growing his now shoulder-length locks four years ago, only after
deciding to make a permanent return to Jamaica and devote his time to the
Rastafarian cause.

For most of his professional
life, Ho-Shing was a civil engineer but also dabbled in show promotion as head
of High Society (London) Limited.

Life-changing
experience

Twelve years ago, he said he
had a life-changing experience when he met Alvin 'Ras Cudjoe' Brown, a
respected member of the Nyahbinghi order.

"Before I came to
Jamaica, the spirit told me to seek out the ancients because they are the ones
who took the beatings and sacrificed themselves in the King's name," said
Ho-Shing.

"After I met Cudjoe, I
started to understand more and more about the whole reality of the
movement," he added.

Ho-Shing admits his family in
England questioned his sanity when he told them he had converted to Rastafari
and received a divine order to return to Jamaica.

"Even they have come to
realise that while this is my calling, it's bigger than any one person. This is
a movement that's a tribute to every African who came through the Middle
Passage," he said.

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

7:37 PM

The Queen gets her musical crown - Artistes give
Empress Menen more than a passing mention

Published:Sunday
| November 3, 2013 | 12:00 AM

Her
Imperial Majesty Empress Menen

1

2

Mel
Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Yesterday
marked 83 years since His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie and Her
Imperial Majesty Empress Menen were crowned at the Cathedral of St George in
the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Abbaba.

While the overwhelming focus
of observances of the date which is especially significant to the Rastafarian
movement is on Haile Selassie, Empress Menen gets her due in song.

Singer Tarrus Riley's She's Royal is well known as a tribute to the
inner and outer beauty of women. Among the standout lines are "What a
natural beauty/No need no make-up to be a cutie/She's a queen".

However, referring to a regal
woman by official title, Riley tips a lock at HIM Haile Selassie's move to make
the equality between himself and his mate clear:

Yes
I an I

I
know the King and Queen crown same time

So
I will never leave your side

Not saying Empress Menen's
name outright, although the reference with the dual coronation within a
Rastafari context is clear, makes the scope of those who can be considered
regal wider.

Warrior King's view

Similarly, although he does
not openly state a critique of the Christian Trinity of Father, Son and Holy
Spirit in Virtuous Woman, Warrior King
affirms the inclusion and equality of the woman in Rastafari's Royalty:

Give
ises to the King

And
his Empress Menen

Who
showed us the right and true way of living

Woman
could never cause sin

He goes on to affirm:

Equality
inna Zion

By
nature's law that's the way it should go

In a previous interview with The Sunday Gleaner, Warrior King said the line
underscores his belief that "the man is the man in the relationship, but
you have to respect the woman".

Ironically Mutabaruka's Great Queens of Africa (which features the
voices of Sharon Forrester and Ini Kamoze) does not refer to the coronation of
Empress Mennen. However, he goes further back in time than the November 2,
1930, dual coronation.

Still, he includes Haile
Selassie's matriarchal lineage, thereby emphasising the importance of woman in
another way:

Talkin'
'bout Makeda, Queen of Sheba

Ruled
from Arabia to Ethiopia

Fell
in love with Solomon

Brought
forth Selassie forefather

Menelik
I

And the central message is:

Great
queens of Afrika

Rulers
all around

They
were mighty brave and strong

Europeans
couldn't get them down

As is his wont, the
Informative History Man goes into extensive detail about Empress Menen in his
track of the same name. He states her year of birth, 1890, the date of her
wedding to Haile Selassie (July 31, 1911). And, of course, History Man speaks
to the coronation:

1930
she wear the crown of Empress

She
is the highest, the best, the greatest goddess

The circumstances of Haile
Selassie's death on August 27, 1975, at 83 years old remain obscure. He was
predeceased by Empress Menen, who died in 1962.

[email-masked]

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

7:47 PM

Hail Rastafari

Published:Sunday
| July 4, 2010 | 12:00 AM

A
Rastafarian man instructs a little girl how to beat a drum during a lecture by
His Imperial Highness Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile Selassie, one of the
grandsons of Haile Selassie. The prince lectured on Africa and the new
millennium at the Univesity of the West Indies' undercroft. - File

Mel
Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Academic interest in Rastafari
has accelerated and deepened extensively in the half-century since the Rex
Nettleford, M.G. Smith and Roy Augier authored 'Report on the Rastafari
Movement in Kingston, Jamaica', published by then University College of the West
Indies.

Rastafari has spread from its
beginnings in Jamaica, transplanted by itinerant or migratory persons, as well
as through adaptation by persons who may not have come into direct contact with
Jamaicans but have been influenced by art and literature. Academic
interrogation has accompanied those literal movements of the Rastafari
movement.

Now, timed to celebrate the
report's 50th anniversary as well as to coincide with National Hero Marcus
Garvey's 123rd birthday on August 17, the Inaugural Rastafari Studies
Conference will be centred around the University of the West Indies (UWI),
Mona. It is subtitled 'Negotiating the African Presence: Rastafari Livity and
Scholarship'.

Schedule

Dr Jalani Niaah, lecturer at
the UWI, tells The Sunday Gleaner that
"the conference schedule takes place within a week of celebrations".

So while the conference runs
from Tuesday, August 17, to Friday, August 20, there is a 'Sunday to Sunday'
schedule, beginning on the 15th, which also incorporates the Ethio-Africa
Diasporic Union Millennium Council and Liberty Hall.

"The idea is that using
the facilities of the council (on Mona Road) Liberty Hall and the university,
that week of activities will share a Pan-African agenda," Niaah says. The
Smithsonian Museum, which put in the 'Discovering Rastafari'exhibit in 2007, is
also involved in the conference.

The conference will consist of
presentations by persons who have submitted abstracts, about 75 of which have
been accepted, and there will be about 120 speakers overall.

There are a number of proposed
papers highlighting gender and Rastafari thought, and philosophy is also a
popular category.

Niaah said: "I am sure on
the spot we will be getting some persons wanting to contribute." This,
however, cannot be accommodated.

The earliest days of the week
are considered to be more of a Rastafari family gathering in preparation for
the conference, and part of the plans is a proposed village at the Mona Road
location.

On the UWI campus, there will
be an exhibition on Rastafari in the Multi-Functional Room, which will move
into the main library when the conference ends.

With the work of Jerry Small,
Suzanne Moss and Dr Clinton Hutton combining for a photography and painting
exhibition, and seven films (Moss included in the presenters, as well as
Deborah Thomas and Oliver Hill) are programmed.

Role
as a mediator

Niaah points to the
"university's role as a mediator between the (Rastafari) movement and the
public" and underscores the effect of the 50-year-old report.

It stopped the society and
caused serious interrogation of Rastafari to the government level, that leading
in turn to the mission to Africa within a year of the report.

While that mission, of which
the late Mortimer Planno was a noted member, is much storied, there was also a
following technical mission in which Nettleford participated. The report on
that mission, which was never published, will be made available as part of a
three-in-one publication.

And with Sir Roy Augier slated
to deliver the opening keynote address, the link between the report 50 years
ago and the Inaugural Rastafari Studies Conference will take on flesh. The
international reach and impact of Rastafari has been reflected by significant
interest from South Africa, as well as submissions from Haiti, Martinique,
Trinidad and Tobago, New Zealand, the United States, and other countries.

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

7:55 PM

Understanding Rastafari (Part II)

Published:Saturday | May 9, 2015 | 12:00 AMPaul H. Williams

Paul Williams

Rastafarians
use decorative drums in their performance.

RASTAFARI, THE spiritual
movement pioneered by Leonard P. Howell in the 1930s, was born out of Howell's
belief that Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, born Lidj Tafari Makonnen,
was the black messiah, the manifestation of God or Jah on Earth.

Despite several attempts to
silence and wipe out the movement, it has grown to become one of the most
significant spiritual movements of the 21st century.

"It is one of the most
important popular movements of the modern age, and it has influenced Jamaican
culture, changed other cultures and helped defined Jamaica's image abroad. It
has impacted almost everybody's lives in one way or another," writes Dr
Jonathan Greenland, director, National Museum Jamaica, in the preface of
Rastafari, a journal published by the Institute of Jamaica in July 2013.

But what exactly is Rastafari,
and what is it espousing? "The Rastafari community seeks to preserve its
ancestry and the traditions it has inherited and sustained in the face of
slavery and colonialism. The community has always strongly affirmed its desire
for repatriation to Africa, the physical and spiritual homeland and of its
ancestors," writes Rastafarian Attorney-at-law Marcus Goffe in the same
journal. Thus, Rastafari has a serious spiritual connection to Africa, and has
developed its own culture and philosophy.

It is credited for the
development of reggae music, which has "evolved from traditional Rastafari
drumming patterns and the community's spiritual ideology". The drums are a
major part of Rastafari's chanting and ceremonial rituals, which "form the
basis of Rastafari traditional cultural expressions", Goffe writes,
"the ceremonial beating of decorative Rastafari drums ... along with
spiritual cleanliness of community members, is believed to evoke protective, as
well as offensive powers". Rastafari believe that 'word, sound is power'.

Like all
religions/faiths/movements, Rastafari has symbols that are easily recognisable.
The Star of David, the Lion of Judah, the staff of correction, the image of
Hail Selassie I, red-green-and-gold clothes, scarves, flags, banners, pennants,
the Nyabinghi drum, the map of Africa, the chalice, are some of the symbols
that represent Rastafari, which is regarded as a way of life.

Rastafarians, invariably
vegetarians, lead a natural lifestyle, often referred to as 'livity'. Salt and
processed foods are eliminated from their diet, which is called Ital.
"Ital signifies the unity of the individual with nature and includes a
diet of natural foods that increases life energy or 'livity'," Goffe
writes.

Herbal healing is a part of
Rastafari livity. Thus herbal, and not synthetic, medicines are used to treat a
variety of illnesses.

Because of this concept of
livity, many do not see Rastafari as a religion like Christianity and Islam. It
has more than one leader and no central administrative buildings. In the
movement, there are a number of houses or mansions. The main ones are Twelve
Tribes of Israel, Nyahbinghi and Bobo Shanti. Some of the early pioneers were
Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, Robert Hinds, Athlyi Rodgers, and Howell
himself.

The movement which he started
is now a force to be reckoned with. It has a huge legacy, and has evolved in
many ways. But what has not changed is "his message of hope and his
example of black self-determination". "This philosophy became the
cornerstone of the Rastafari faith," write Jahlani Niaah and Ijahnya
Christian in the journal.

[email-masked]

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Saturday,
December 19, 2015

8:07 PM

Haile Selassie celebration - Rastafarians to
commemorate the 45th anniversary of Selassie's three-day visit in April

Published:Sunday
| January 2, 2011 | 12:00 AM

Haile
Selassie (third right) on his historic visit to Jamaica on April 23, 1966. -
File

Howard
Campbell, Gleaner Writer

WHEN
ETHIOPIAN Emperor Haile Selassie I arrived in Jamaica on April 21,1966, it was
considered more than just a state visit by the country's growing Rastafarian
population. It gave the religion of dreadlocked disciples a sense of legitimacy
in their homeland.

"People used to call us
mad and sey Selassie would not come here. It brought recognition for I and I in
Jamaica," said Shephan Fraser, chairman of the Ancient Council and a
priest in the Nyabinghi Order.

The various Rasta groups in
Jamaica plan to commemorate the 45th anniversary of Selassie's three-day visit
in April with a series of events dubbed 'Survival World Culture Music Festival'
to be held at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.

Lance Ho Shing, spokesman for
the Ancient Council, told The Sunday Gleaner
that several cultural acts are scheduled to perform on the live segment of the
event, including some from Africa. The series actually starts April 20 with the
lighting of a symbolic fire at the Trelawny stadium.

Ho Shing said the events will
also mark the 50th anniversary of independence for several African nations from
European colonialism.

Embraced
Rastafari

Repatriation to Africa, a
cornerstone of the Rastafarian message, will be one of the issues to be
discussed during the activities.

Fraser was 27 years old when
Selassie came to Jamaica. The St Catherine-born pastor's son said he embraced
Rastafari at age 15 and suffered social prejudice because of his beliefs.

He was among the hundreds of
Rastafarians who showed up at what was then the Palisadoes Airport to welcome
Selassie, whom many Jamaicans hailed as a hero, due to his courageous
leadership of Ethiopian troops against armies of the Fascist Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.

Most Rastafarians at the time
regarded Selassie as God because he is reportedly a direct descendant of King
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

The Ethiopian monarch's trip
came at a time when Rastafarians were experiencing widespread aggression from
Jamaican police and shunned by mainstream society. At the same time, the
Jamaican Government was taking a studied look at Rastafarians.

In 1960, Rastafarian leaders
approached University of the West Indies (UWI) lecturers M.G. Smith, Roy
Augier, and Rex Nettleford to conduct a study on the group which many scholars
believe originated in west Kingston during the 1930s. The 50th anniversary of
that report was recognised with the Rastafari Studies Conference at the Mona
campus of the UWI last August.

One year later, three
Rastafarians - Mortimo Planno, Douglas Mack, and Philmore Alvaranga - were part
of a government-sanctioned team that went on a fact-finding tour of Africa. A
technical mission, again funded by the Government, also visited the continent
that year.

Selassie's visit to Jamaica
was the second stop in a four-country Caribbean trip that also included visits
to Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, and Barbados. During his Jamaican stay, Selassie
met Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante, was awarded an honorary degree from
the UWI and addressed Parliament.

His visit inspired rebellious
Jamaican youth to accept Rastafa-rianism, and by the dawn of the 1970s, the
faith was the voice of reggae music standard-bearers like Bob Marley and
Burning Spear.

While reggae was making
international strides in 1974, Ethiopia was in the midst of an economic crisis.
Selassie was deposed by the Ethiopian military that year and was reportedly
executed in August 1975.

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