Jun 29, 2010
Rastafarian Miss Jamaica Beauty.
Dreadlocked Miss Jamaica puts Rastas in new light
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - With dreadlocks down to below her buttocks, the first Rastafarian to compete for the Miss Universe title is out to smash the stereotype that Rastas are only interested in reggae and marijuana.
Zahra Redwood, 25 and the first Miss Jamaica to be crowned from the country's minority Rastafarian faith, is also shaking up a years-old view among many Rastas that beauty pageants should be shunned as degrading to women.
"Not all Rastafarians smoke" marijuana, Redwood, a classically beautiful Jamaican with a degree in biotechnology and zoology, told Reuters.
"People criticize what they don't know or understand and develop preconceptions, and so given that, I have gone against what they've developed as a stereotype," said Redwood, who is in Mexico for the Miss Universe final on May 28 in Mexico City.
Rastafarians -- who worship the late Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie as a God they call "Jah" -- stress peace, love, spiritual goals and natural living, Redwood said, denying a clash between Rasta culture and being a beauty queen.
"The Rastafarian culture and beauty pageants have a great deal in common because they both promote decorum in the attitude of the female and the female as a role model in society. You're looking at beauty of the mind, body and soul," she said.
Rather than discrimination, the main reason for a dearth of Rasta beauty queens on the international circuit is the movement's rejection of the more corrupt or gaudy facets of modern society, which they call "Babylon," Redwood said.
MADE FAMOUS BY BOB MARLEY
Made famous around the world by Bob Marley's reggae songs, the Rasta culture emphasizes human dignity and self-respect.
"Rastafarians have been a very conservative group so modelling and pageants have been considered Babylonian to some extent," Redwood said.
But the reaction from fellow Rastafarians to her competing to be Miss Universe against women from some 75 other countries has been overwhelmingly positive, partly because black women with dreadlocks are so rarely seen in beauty contests, she said.
"They've been very, very happy for what they consider a psychological breakthrough. For them it's a huge thing," Redwood said.
The Rastafari movement was born in Jamaica in the 1930s after Haile Selassie's coronation in Ethiopia. Followers started to worship Haile Selassie, who died in 1975, as a type of messiah, in light of a 1920 prophecy by Jamaican civil rights leader Marcus Garvey that a black man would be crowned king in Africa.
Roughly a 10th of Jamaicans are Rastafarians, many of whom also take literally a biblical verse in the book of Leviticus that instructs against taking a razor to one's head.
In the Miss Universe 2007 line-ups, Redwood's twisty black dreadlocks, often massed into a huge bun, stand out from the lacquered manes of the other contestants.
"For the final I'm still not sure what style I will go with. But of course the locks have to show," she said.
Smoking marijuana, known in Jamaica as ganja, is a sacred rite for many Rastas, but Redwood said she does not smoke it.
Rasta in Shashemene .
Jamaican Rastas bring cultural diversity to 'Promised Land'
Published: Friday | June 18, 2010 16 Comments and 0 ReactionsPatrina Pink, Gleaner Intern
Rastafarians who have repatriated to the Shashemene province in southern Ethiopia are reportedly having a monumental impact upon the youth of the area.
From embracing vegetarianism, Jamaican names and the infamous 'rude boy' mannerisms, to speaking Jamaican, young Ethiopians in Shashemene have abandoned the 'Babylon' language of the past and have embraced the new 'livity' of their Rastafari brethren and sistren.
Nicknamed 'Little Jamaica', the Shashemene area has been inhabited by Jamaicans since the 1960s. In 1968, Haile Selassie I legitimised the use of property in what has come to be known as the Shashemene Land Grant.
Since then, the land has been available to members of the diaspora wishing to return 'home'. Jamaicans living in Shashemene have since developed relations with Ethiopian women and men. The offsprings of these relations are considered Jamaican under Ethiopia's strict anti-migrant laws, despite being born in Shashemene.
It is this first generation of children, commonly referred to as the 'free-born' generation, that has been critical to much of the cultural exchange between young Jamaicans and Ethiopians. Yet, with almost 500 Rastafarians settled in Shashemene, how did this radical group build its foundation in Ethiopia?
"Rastafari sees Ethiopia as the 'Promised Land'. It's really been about 50 years now that West Indians have been trying to settle there. The most substantial efforts have been made by the Twelve Tribes of Israel," said Dr Jalani Niaah, a lecturer in the Department of Cultural and Reggae Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.
"Twelve Tribes is the largest numerical group among the Jamaicans there, but the Ethiopian Federation has a presence that predates that of Twelve Tribes," he added.
Niaah accounts that it was the scientific use of fact-finding missions organised by the Twelve Tribes group, prior to settling, that was largely responsible for Rastafari success in Ethiopia. After the missions, the group sent individuals and their families, in different rounds, to settle.
Fundamental exchange
In a presentation at UWI titled 'Ethiopia speaks Jamaican Creole: Voices from Shashemene', Renato Tomei, a linguistics researcher at the University for Foreigners Perujio, reflected on the impact of Jamaican patois on Ethiopian youth.
"The exchange between Jamaicans, particularly Rastafarians in Shashemene and young Ethiopians, is very fundamental and important. The local youths greet Rastafari in Jamaican patois. They have a lot of respect for Rasta and Jamaicans, especially."
Tomei has worked as an instructor at the Jamaica Rastafari Development Community (JRDC) School in Shashemene and said his class had several Caribbean nationals as well as Ethiopian children.
"The diversity that Rasta is helping to bring to Shashemene is amazing.
"It is truly something special. I had two Trinidadians in my class sitting beside Bajans and Jamaicans, as well as local children. The cultural mix and exchange is wonderful."
The local children of Shashemene are not just speaking Jamaican, some consider themselves to be Jamaican.
One young man, who Tomei showed a video of, was living in Addis Ababa, the capital, but through his early interaction with Rastafarians, particularly at the JRDC school, he had abandoned what he said one of his teachers referred to as 'Babylon English'.
"Jamaicans are Africans. They are Ethiopians, we are one Africa," said the youngster.
In a country where social mobility is often a fancy term in a social-studies textbook, relatively few will ever get the chance to read. The Rastas provide schools for children, and work on their many farming and hotel projects for many local parents.
Recently, the JRDC funded the construction of a police post. This has done wonders for community relations and Shashemene policemen are said to be tolerant of Rastas' use of marijuana.
"Rasta has done well in Shashemene. I see the relationship growing and getting stronger and stronger.
"The next concern must be the nationality of children born in Ethiopia," said Tomei.
Rastafari group get the go ahead to build Secretariat and Tabernacle.
Members of the Haile Selassie I Theocracy Reign Ivine Order of Nyahbinghi said after a successful meeting with President Bharrat Jagdeo they now plan to apply for legal documentation to build their secretariat and tabernacle.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, I-elect of Treasury Ras Binghi Trug Ras Addis Asher and five other members sought the President’s intervention in obtaining permission to construct the buildings and to inform him about their awareness programme. The meeting was held at State House.
Jagdeo committed to providing support for the lighting project for the tabernacle in the Linden Central Tabernacle ground and assured the group that land will be made available to establish its secretariat in Georgetown. “This (the Secretariat) is very important to us building our community and social life,” the treasurer said
The group said its awareness programme will target an audience of law enforcement agencies, schools, private and public sectors and all religious and cultural groups as it hopes to foster mutual trust and confidence from the government and wider society towards the Rastafari community in Guyana. It said too it hopes to contribute to the boosting of youth’s self-confidence.
GINA said the group also used the occasion to distance itself from the comments one of its members made regarding the failed ganja march on Monday. It said it disagrees with what it considers “prejudicial utterances expressed by Vice President of the Guyana Rastafari Council Ras Simeon Selassie last Tuesday at the Square of the Revolution. It noted that though the proposal for a march was brought to the Rastafari community, it was never given unanimous approval by the elders. “The attempt to stage a march was purely from an individualistic perspective,” the group said, adding that it regretted any ill feelings that it may have caused.
By Marcus Garvey
Last Sunday, a great ceremony took place at Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia. It was the coronation of the new Emperor of Ethiopia — Ras Tafari. From reports and expectations, the scene was one of great splendor, and will long be remembered by those who were present. Several of the leading nations of Europe sent representatives to the coronation, thereby paying their respects to a rising Negro nation that is destined to play a great part in the future history of the world. Abyssinia is the land of the blacks and we are glad to learn that even though Europeans have been trying to impress the Abyssinians that they are not belonging to the Negro Race, they have learned the retort that they are, and they are proud to be so.
Ras Tafari has traveled to Europe and America and is therefore no stranger to European hypocrisy and methods; he, therefore, must be regarded as a kind of a modern Emperor, and from what we understand and know of him, he intends to introduce modern methods and systems into his country. Already he has started to recruit from different sections of the world competent men in different branches of science to help to develop his country to the position that she should occupy among the other nations of the world.
We do hope that Ras Tafari will live long to carry out his wonderful intentions. From what we have heard and what we do know, he is ready and willing to extend the hand of invitation to any Negro who desires to settle in his kingdom. We know of many who are gone to Abyssinia and who have given good report of the great possibilities there, which they are striving to take advantage of.
The Psalmist prophesied that Princes would come out of Egypt and Ethiopia would stretch forth her hands unto God. We have no doubt that the time is now come. Ethiopia is now really stretching forth her hands. This great kingdom of the East has been hidden for many centuries, but gradually she is rising to take a leading place in the world and it is for us of the Negro race to assist in every way to hold up the hand of Emperor Ras Tafari.
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