The Rastafari do not have a formalised structure with anointed leaders. Elders are generally given respect; this is considered something they earn through living the Rastafari way for many years. As such, there are few figures who are held above others as ‘successors’ of the original preachers. Prince Emmanuel (Charles) Edwards (1915-1994) founded the group or ‘mansion’ of Bobo Shanti in 1958 in Bull Bay, Jamaica (see ‘Diversity’ below). It was then that he called the first Binghi in 1958. These are communal celebrations of Rastas (see ‘Religious/Ritual Practice’ below). Edwards lived in the Back-O-Wall commune in Kingston until 1966 when his group was driven out by police. He claimed that he ‘appeared’ in St Elizabeth in 1915, that he had no father or mother, and that he was the reincarnation of the biblical Melchizedek. He was a key figure in the confrontations with the Jamaican government in the 1950s and 1960s. He led an attempted repatriation in 1959 that failed.

The reggae musician Bob Marley is a prophet and poet for Rastas and for Jamaicans more generally. As a teenager, Marley was apprenticed to a Rastaman and adopted the beliefs and ways of living himself. His music uses the rhythms of traditional Rastafari drumming. Many of his famous songs include Rastafari teachings. As a member of the Twelve Tribes (see ‘Diversity’ below), Marley’s understanding of the livity was fairly unusual; however he became widely popular among Rastas. Marley was to the 1970s English and American Rastas what Marcus Garvey was to the 1930s Jamaican Rastas: a prophet and an inspiration. He was instrumental in the spread of Rastafari to the UK and the USA in the 1970s through disseminating Rastafari ideas and themes throughout the world using his music. While not every Rastafari sees him as a prophet, he has been very influential for the movement. He became a symbol of the archetypal Rasta after his death in 1980. He was posthumously given the Order of Merit, the third highest honour in Jamaica, and buried with a state funeral.

A number of preachers emerged in the 1930s in Jamaica with similar messages about black self-determination and Haile Selassie I as the black messiah. Among those recorded by historians were Leonard P. Howell (1898-1981), Joseph Hibbert (1894-1986), Archibald Dunkley (dates unknown), and Robert Hinds (dates unknown). They may have been Garveyites, although the specific details about their early lives are sparse. The best known is Leonard Howell, who served in the Ashanti War of 1896 and learned several African languages. He visited the United States and there experienced severe racial discrimination. Leonard Howell was a leading figure in the early Rastafari movement through his ministry in the West Kingston slums. Joseph Hibbert lived in Costa Rica from the age of 17; he was a member of the Ancient Order of Ethiopia, a Masonic Lodge, before returning to Jamaica in 1931. Hibbert started preaching in St Andrews and then moved to Kingston. Robert Hinds was a follower of the revivalist preacher Alexander Bedward until the latter was confined to an asylum; he then founded his own King of Kings Mission, which had the most members of the early known Rastafari groups. Archibald Dunkley was a sailor in the United Fruit Company, who began a mission in Port Antonio then moved to Kingston. All four were ministers and founders of separate groups that claimed to receive the revelation that the newly crowned Emperor of Ethiopia was the messiah of black people.

The Rastafari movement began in the slums of Kingston, the capital city of Jamaica, and from there spread to the rest of the island. The early preachers worked separately and recruited Garveyites, with a core of the emerging movement formed by 1934. They offered hope at a time of social and economic depression and hurricane destruction, when the future of the poor seemed bleak. The coronation of a black Emperor identified by preachers as the messiah offered a vision of future renewal for black people who continued to be oppressed under British colonial rule. Leonard Howell preached six principles: hatred for the white race; the complete superiority of blacks; revenge on whites for evil; the negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal authorities in Jamaica; preparation for black people to return to Africa; and Haile Selassie as the supreme being and only ruler of black people. This teaching presented a direct challenge to the government of Jamaica. Howell was arrested along with other Rastafari leaders and followers for sedition in 1934 by the British colonial authorities, and Howell was imprisoned. His teachings were continued by his lieutenants in secret.

In 1940, Howell founded a commune called the Pinnacle in the hills of St. Catherine, outside Kingston. The members were following the example of the 19th century Maroons, who had rebelled against slavery on the plantations of Jamaica and taken up arms against the colonial authorities, living in the hills in a self-sufficient community, which served as a beacon to other slaves in assisting their escape. Between 500 to 1600 followers lived at various times in Howell’s self-sufficient community at Pinnacle. Howell proclaimed himself the chief, styled after African tribal organisation. He allegedly had 13 wives. The commune subsisted on its own produce but also planted cash crops to sell in Kingston, including ganja (marijuana) which went on to assume religious significance for Rastafari. In January 1941, the police raided the commune, having been tipped off by neighbours that the Rastafari had demanded taxes from them in the name of Haile Selassie. Howell was arrested and imprisoned again. The Pinnacle community dispersed in his absence.

The second phase of Pinnacle began in 1953, and it was during this period that some Rastas started growing the distinctive dreadlocks. The commune was raided and the members were arrested again in 1954. Pinnacle was destroyed on 22 May 1954. By this time, Howell was claiming that he was divine; following the destruction of Pinnacle his followers deserted him, and he was committed to a Kingston mental hospital in 1960. In 1975, he was living with followers in Bushy Park, a few miles from the original Pinnacle site. Howell has been charged with acting as an autocrat at Pinnacle by historians of Rastafari, because he meted out punishments and was in charge of everything. He was the first to use the honorific ‘Gong’, an abbreviation of the name ‘Gangunguru Maragh’ which has an East Asian origin with Gangunguru translated as ‘teacher of famed wisdom’ and Maragh as ‘king’. The other early preachers achieved less lasting renown (or infamy), but each was a charismatic figure in the early movement. Hinds and Dunkley were seen as prophets. Joseph Hibbert was thought to have powers of clairvoyance, to see the truth of the past and what would happen in the future. Hibbert based his organisation on ‘occultism’, reading secrets hidden in the Books of Maccabees (these texts are not in the Hebrew Bible and are either relegated to a section called ‘Apocrypha’ or omitted from Protestant Bibles, but included in Roman Catholic versions). While he was known for having occult powers, he did not like teaching his secrets to his followers who subsequently left him.

The central revelation for Rastafaris is a prophecy by Marcus Garvey, in conjunction with the ascension of Haile Selassie to the throne. Garvey preached in 1916 (although this is often dated as 1920): “Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be your Redeemer”. This inspired a number of Pan-African and Afro-Caribbean religious movements to expect a black messiah. It was not a reference to Haile Selassie specifically, as Garvey did not suggest that he was the messiah. However, with the crowning of Haile Selassie I as Negus Negusta (Amharic for ‘King of Kings’) of Ethiopia in 1930, taking the biblically inspired titles of ‘King of Kings’, ‘Elect of God’, and ‘Lion of the Tribe of Judah’ and placing himself in legendary line of King Solomon, this was seen by some as a revelation from God and a fulfilment of Marcus Garvey’s earlier prophecy. Those hoping for religious renewal of the African diaspora created by the slave trade saw the coronation as a fulfilment of biblical prophecy and Haile Selassie as the messiah of African redemption. A reading of the prophecy of the Emperor in the Book of Revelation was taken as confirming Haile Selassie was the messiah due to the titles he adopted. Daniel 7:9 was also read as confirmation that the messiah was a black man and the king of Ethiopia because of the longevity of Ethiopian kingship. Haile Selassie was seen as the climax of the revelation of God, whose first manifestation was Moses, the second was Elijah, the third was Jesus Christ, then Haile Selassie was the final incarnation, and he would never die.

The Bible in the form of the King James Bible is a holy book for Rastafari, but not all of the contents are acceptable. They believe that the Bible as it was originally written gave the early history of the black race, their identity and destiny as the chosen people of Jah. They believe it was originally written in Amharic (the language of Ethiopia) and corrupted by later translations to support the philosophy of the European slave masters. Part of Rastafari practice is therefore decoding the Bible, learning how to decrypt it as a book of symbols and debate it in their meetings. They focus in particular on the Old Testament. Psalm 87:3-4 is read as proof that the messiah will be born in Ethiopia. Daniel 2:31-42 is read as meaning that black people are destined to rule the world. Psalm 68 was central to the Garvey movement and is also one of the most frequently quoted in the Rastafari movement. The Book of Revelation is a central text, in particular the prophecy about the Emperor, whose titles, ‘Lion of the Tribe of Judah’ (Rev 5:2-5) and ‘King of Kings’ (Rev 19:16), mirror Haile Selassie I’s titles. References to Jesus in the Bible are read as references to Haile Selassie, the black messiah, whose true nature was hidden as white by the slave masters. Despite their view of the Bible as corrupted by white people, Rastafaris use the Bible because Haile Selassie, an Orthodox Ethiopian Christian, advocated it. However, they accept only their own interpretations by, for example, reading references to the devil as referring to the god of white Christianity.

The Bible is looked to as a source for Rastafari ways of living. There are biblical justifications for ganja use in Genesis 1:12, Genesis 1:29, Genesis 3:18, Exodus 10:12, Proverbs 15:17, Psalm 104:14, Psalm 18:18, Revelation 22:2, and many others. Dreadlocks are justified with Old Testament proscriptions against hair cutting such as “They shall not make baldness…” Leviticus 21:5, and Numbers 6:5, and 1 Corinthians 11:4-6 for women covering their hair. Rastas recite Psalm 133: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” at the beginning of meetings. Reading scripture is a regular part of weekly and monthly meetings. In ‘reasonings’ they strive to find hidden ‘true’ meanings in the Bible. One of the strictest ‘Mansions’ of Rastafari, the Bobo Shanti, read a section of the Bible nonstop for three hours, starting with Laws, then Prophets, and ending with the Gospels and Epistles, rarely commenting on what they are reading.

The work of Marcus Garvey and his organisation, the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), form a source of scriptural inspiration to Rastafari. Revered by Rastafaris as an inspirer, Garvey is second only to Haile Selassie. Garvey advocated a back-to-Africa movement. His spiritual mission was fighting against the social and economic oppression of black people in Jamaica and worldwide. A movement formed around him, which he organised into the UNIA in 1914. His work promulgates Pan-Africanism, a worldwide confraternity of black people, with Africa as the united self-sufficient black nation. All black people could return there. He supported establishing black educational institutions for teaching about black cultures and worked to uplift the black race, proclaiming “Africa for the African at home and abroad”. However, he never visited Africa himself; it was a symbol of a homeland that was never realised. He was never accepted in his native Jamaica, only achieving success in the United States. Garvey did not approve of Rastafari, which he saw as a form of religious fanaticism.

Other significant scriptures for the Rastafari include the Holy Piby, written by Robert Athlyi Rogers, an Anguillan, in the 1920s and distributed by the early Rastafari preacher, Leonard Howell. Rogers wrote it to support his own Afrocentric religion, the Afro Athlican Constructive Church, in which Ethiopians (meaning black Africans) were God’s chosen people and Marcus Garvey was an apostle. Rogers’ church did not find much support, but the Holy Piby became an early scriptural resource for Rastafari. The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy by Fitz Ballintine Pettersberg, an African American preacher, was also written in the 1920s and provided inspiration for the early Rastafaris. It refers to King Alpha and Queen Omega and the ‘resurrection’ of Ethiopia. The Promised Key was written in 1935 by Leonard Howell, echoing much of the sentiment and some verbatim text of The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy, although with King Alpha being identified as Haile Selassie. My Life and Ethiopia’s Progress is the two-volume autobiography of Haile Selassie written over his life and used by Rastafari for inspiration from the life of the man that they believe to be the messiah, the incarnation of Jah. The 14th century Kebra Nagast gives an account of the meeting of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon and relates how the Ark of the Covenant came to Ethiopia. It is used by Rastafari who trace Haile Selassie’s lineage to the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, making him the descendent of the biblical King David, and his descendants the true Israelites of the Bible to whom God promises salvation.

Rastafari emerged in the 1930s in Jamaica. A central belief is that the Ethiopian King, Haile Selassie I (1892-1975), is the living God. Tafari Makonen was the birth name of Haile Selassie I, which was changed upon his coronation on 2 November 1930, and ‘Ras’ was his title before coronation, meaning ‘duke’ or ‘prince’. The name ‘Haile Selassie’ means ‘power of the Trinity’. The movement took his original first name and title as its own. Haile Selassie I identified himself as the 225th King of biblical Ethiopia. However, it is unclear whether he ever supported the Rastafari belief that he was also divine. For Rastas, Haile Selassie I is the black messiah, who redeems black people who have been exiled from Africa through slavery. Rastafari beliefs reject the subordinate status of black people under colonialism. It was a radical reformulation of Jamaican social conditions in the early 20th century. These conditions were still structured according to the colonial order where white, European people held higher status, while black, African-descended people were enslaved. In 1807 the slave trade was abolished throughout the British Empire, and then in 1833 slavery as an institution was abolished, due in part to a revolt by slaves in Jamaica.

Jamaica had a history of resistance to slavery, including the Maroons and revolts which often took a religious form [1]. In the early 20th century Jamaica and the rest of the British Empire was still a two-tier society. The claim that God was black, and that Jesus was also black, is an inversion of the racial order supported by Protestantism, which was the dominant form of Christianity associated with the Empire. Rastafari was just one of a number of ‘revival’ religions inspired by African religious traditions, mixed with elements of Christianity and Caribbean innovations. These new religions appealed to black people directly, providing hope and pride in their status as African-descended Caribbeans, rather than offering salvation through assimilation to white, European Christianity.

Rastas refer to God as ‘Jah’, which is a shortened form of the biblical ‘Yahweh’ or ‘Jehovah’ as in Psalm 68:4 of the King James Version of the Bible. Jah is spirit that has been manifested in the historical persons of Moses, Jesus, and Haile Selassie I. However, Jah is also present in all people. This concept is invoked through the phrase ‘I and I’. In earlier Rastafari thought, this was limited to black people. As a rejection of the subjugated status of black people as the descendants of slaves, Rastafari viewed black people as the reincarnation of the biblical Israelites, meaning that they are God’s chosen people. Black people were taken as slaves and were then living in exile in Babylon, a land of oppression, adapting the biblical narrative of the Jews’ exile in Babylon. ‘Babylon’ is the name Rastas give to the white colonial system. It stands for evil. Rastas will be delivered from Babylon through a return to Zion, which for Rastafari is Ethiopia or Africa more generally. Ethiopia is heaven, also known as Zion, this is the Promised Land for the chosen people, where they will finally be free. Jamaica is Hell.

The repatriation of all black people to Africa was meant to occur whenever Haile Selassie decided. Repatriation is the Rastafari symbol of the return to freedom. It is a fulfilment of biblical history, in which the true children of Israel held captive in Babylon are set free in Zion. In the Millennium, the time after the Second Coming when God’s Kingdom is on Earth, the saved will sail to the Promised Land, which the Rastafari identified variously as Africa, Ethiopia, and Mount Zion. Repatriation would be symbolised with seven miles of ships leaving from darkness and hell fire. In the emerging movement this took a particular racial form that black people will be saved because they are special to God. In later formulations, Zion and Babylon are understood symbolically as states of being, which can be cultivated by people regardless of race. Rastafari beliefs can be seen as a religious formulation of social and political resistance to slavery, colonialism, and imperialism. Scholars have discussed whether it is best understood as a religion or an expression of black cultural or political identity, but some have concluded that it is impossible to separate out these strands.

Ethiopianism is an important influence on Rastafari beliefs, especially as formulated by Marcus Garvey (1887-1940). Garvey was a proponent of Black Nationalism and founded the United Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League. In his Pan-Africanism, Ethiopia-Africa is the Promised Land to which the African diaspora created through slavery should return. Garveyism was religious as well as political, asserting that God is black. Ethiopia was viewed as a great civilisation that existed prior to the white colonial empires. Garvey supported this belief with biblical references to Ethiopia and Egypt, which he used to construct a historical mythology of the superiority of black people. Garveyism formed the doctrinal base of the Rastafari movement, which also believed white people, through their actions as colonial oppressors, were inferior to black people, who were God’s chosen people. However, the beliefs from the 1930s to the 1970s differed from post-1970s beliefs, when emphasis on black superiority and racial segregation gradually decreased. Rastafaris in the 21st century continue to see the post-colonial social structures as evil, but individual white people are seen and judged separately, based on their behaviour.

God is an immanent deity for Rastas, meaning that God is inherent in all people and that everyone is connected. The divine is found in the individual. This belief has far-reaching consequences. There is no single authority on doctrine for the Rastafari; it is up to individual interpretation how God or Jah is manifested for them. This means beliefs are fluid, as is membership, which is often a gradual process of realisation. There is no conversion ritual such as baptism or any creed to recite to make oneself Rastafari. There is a general dislike of ‘isms’, which is why most scholars do not call it ‘Rastafarianism’. Rastas use the word ‘livity’ to denote following ital norms such as dietary and clothing regulations (explained below) but more broadly to refer to the Rastafari way of life, severing oneself from the ways of the West and embracing the spiritual, social, political and cultural ways of the black God. There is no agreed system of beliefs, as Rastafari beliefs are open to debate and interpretation. However, there is a widely shared theology: Haile Selassie I is the living God, Ethiopia is the home of black people, redemption through repatriation is close, and the ways of white people are evil. This could even be reduced to two essential truths: Haile Selassie I is the living God and salvation for black people will come through repatriation to Africa, although for many in a symbolic rather than a physical sense. There are also a number of complementary and sometimes paradoxical ‘truths’ in Rastafari that are used as ways of explaining the past, present, and future circumstances of black people.

1. Maroons were Africans who had escaped from slavery and established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica.

The main religious journey for Rastafari is repatriation, or return to Africa. This journey seeks to reverse the forced movement of black slaves from Africa to Jamaica and other colonies by the European empires. The early Rastafari preachers spoke of ships coming from Ethiopia to take them to land specially reserved for them in Africa by Haile Selassie. It was a journey to a land where they hoped to be free from oppression and racism. Repatriation was thought to be imminent in the 1950s. There was even an aborted attempt at repatriation in 1959, where hundreds of Rastafari gathered at docks in Jamaica waiting for the ships to arrive to take them away. Then in 1966 the visit by Haile Selassie I to Jamaica was interpreted as the last step before repatriation. However, Haile Selassie reportedly encouraged Rastafari elders to support liberation in Jamaica before trying to come to Ethiopia. He did grant around 500 acres in Ethiopia at Shashamane for members of the African diaspora who wished to settle there, in return for their support during the war with Italy. Rastas, in particular, were drawn to Shashamane by this offer. Some Rastafari communities were established on this land, as of 2014 there were still around 800 Rastafari at Melka Oda near Shashamane, and a few in the cities of Addis Ababa and Bahir Dar. However, it became more difficult for Rastafari in Ethiopia after the deposition of Haile Selassie in 1974, when the Marxist revolutionaries nationalised the land the king had granted them. Furthermore, there was less enthusiasm for repatriation after the Ethiopian famine in the 1980s. It is still common for Rastafari to visit Ethiopia on pilgrimages without settling permanently. For many Rastafaris in the 21st century, it is not a physical or literal repatriation to Ethiopia but a symbolic one, achieved through connecting and celebrating the African side of their identity. Repatriation to Africa can be interpreted in both physical and spiritual ways. Spiritual repatriation occurs through becoming fully aware of their African identity, discovering the truth about themselves through ‘head resting’ with Jah. Fairfield House in Bath has become a place of pilgrimage for Rastas in the UK as it was the home of Haile Selassie during his exile in Bath (1936-41), and now houses a museum and gallery.

A ritual celebration is called a ‘duty’, but there is no obligation to attend. Participation in ritual and ceremony is voluntary. In all types of Rastafari ritual, ganja (a form of marijuana) is smoked as a sacrament, often called ‘wisdom weed’ or ‘holy herb’. It is used to meditate, called ‘head resting with Jah’ (see ‘Prayer’ below). This is smoked through a glass or wooden chillum pipe called a ‘chalwa’, ‘chalice’ or ‘cup’ because sections of Deuteronomy and other biblical books that mention sending up incense to God from a chalice or cup are read as referring to smoking ganja. Rituals also generally involve chanting, drumming, meditating, dancing, and prayer. Most Rastafari communities hold weekly and monthly meetings. The most important is the Binghi, held on special occasions for the purposes of celebration; more frequent are reasoning sessions. There are also less ritualised weekly meetings called ‘business meetings’ which are forums to solve problems and to discuss ongoing programmes such as community projects.

‘Reasonings’ are “a ceremony of varying degrees of formality in which participants access the spirit through the ritual smoking of herb (ganja) and the use of word/sound/power for the purpose of gaining clarity about spiritual, philosophical, political, and social truth claims” (Christensen 2014: 61). The discussion is cooperative not competitive, with the aim to reach consensus about the implications of a particular insight. There is a democratic atmosphere in which each member is given time for full and free debate on all subjects. Everyone has the chance to speak for as long as necessary. Participants tell each other about revelations they had in dreams and meditation. Reasonings are a form of ritual discussion that can also include daily prayers, meditation, drumming, chanting, hymns, lyrics, and poetry. Another name for the sessions is ‘groundings’. Monthly meetings begin in the early evening, last the entire night, and involve dancing, smoking and eating. Such meetings often begin with Psalm 122, then a Rastafari prayer, scripture readings, comments, and end with the Rastafari national anthem. This is followed by drumming and singing for fun for a few hours.

Larger celebrations are called Binghi. In Jamaica, members from all over the island join celebrations; these are held in various parts of the island, like a convention for Rastas. Binghi last for one to three days or for a whole week. The word ‘Binghi’ comes from East Africa, where it denoted a religio-political resistance movement to colonialism from the 1890s to 1928. The term in Jamaica meant “death to the Black and White oppressors” prior to its association with Rastafari ceremony. It is a gathering of brethren for inspiration, exhortation, feasting, smoking, and social contact. Binghi is also called ‘Groundation’ or ‘Grounation’. The first one was held in March 1958, called by Prince Emmanuel Edwards in Bull Bay, Jamaica. It is the central communal ritual of Rastafari. It originated as a ritual burning down of Babylon. The drumming, dancing, building and tending the fire were meant to unleash cosmic energy pervading the universe to eliminate the forces of imbalance. While they can be held spontaneously, they are routinely held on holy days and on days commemorating significant events in Rastafari history. Anyone can hold a Binghi; first they get the support of their immediate group, then they announce the time and place for the gathering, then other Rastas arrive early to set up a tabernacle (see ‘Places of Worship’ below), prepare food, socialise, and then the ceremony begins at sunset. Drumming, chanting, dancing, and smoking ganja continues throughout the night and can last for several days. Proper dress for women is a long skirt, a top with long sleeves, and a covered head. Women traditionally cannot attend if menstruating.

Birth is celebrated with a Binghi, the same can be held for a formal marriage ceremony. However, it is not necessary, and a man and woman living together are regarded as married whether or not a ceremony is held. There is generally no funeral ceremony for Rastas, who believe in reincarnation and that following Rastafari ways faithfully grants eternal life. Only evil things die. Atoms form new babies and life continues. People only die if they are unfaithful to Jah and have not followed the ways that grant proper self-preservation. This means that a true Rasta cannot die. When people do die, it is explained away by saying the dead person had strayed from true path of Rastafari somehow. Death is seen as unnatural and avoidable, an evil brought about by the influences of Babylon. Dying is called ‘transitioning’ to denote that it is not the end of that person’s life but a change to a new body. Rastafari believe reincarnation occurs with the same identity despite a change in physical form. This is how the line of black prophets from Moses to Jesus to Haile Selassie is of the same person. This notion connects the Israelites of the Bible to Africans and Rastas as the chosen people; Rastas and black people generally are the biblical Israelites reincarnated. However, notable Rasta elders have died after living exemplary lives following Rastafari codes of conduct. This has brought some reckoning of death among Rastafari. The first Rastafari funeral was for a Nyabinghi elder, Bongo Tawney, the chairperson of the Nyabinghi Order. It was conducted and presided over by Nyabinghi priests in Jamaica in April 2010. The Nyabinghi Order were previously the most opposed to funeral rituals, claiming “let the dead bury their dead”, implying Rastas should have nothing to do with death at all.

The following holy days are observed by Rastafari:

• Ethiopian Christmas on 7th January. Ethiopian Christmas is observed on the date of the Orthodox Church celebration of the birth of Jesus, usually on or around the 7th January, using the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar to calculate the date of his birth. Ethiopian holy days are observed because of their importance to Haile Selassie I, who was an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian.

• Groundation Day (or Grounation) on 21st April. This is the date when Haile Selassie I visited Jamaica in 1966.

• Ethiopian Constitution Day on 16th July. The date commemorates the proclamation of the first modern constitution of Ethiopia by Haile Selassie I.

• Birthday of Emperor Haile Selassie I on 23rd July.

• Marcus Garvey’s Birthday on 17th August.

• Ethiopian New Year’s Day on 11th September. In leap years on the Gregorian calendar this falls on 12th September.

• Coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie I on 2nd November.

Many of the Rastafari stories or mythology surround Haile Selassie I. One of the founding myths is that Haile Selassie was descended from the child of the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon, who in turn was descended from the biblical King David. Haile Selassie himself claimed this legendary heritage. It is used to back up the claim that the Rastafari are the Israelites (the people of King David) reborn, and therefore God’s chosen people. The first marijuana was grown on the grave of King Solomon, according to another mythological story, connecting this biblical heritage to the plant that Rastafari use as a sacrament. There are stories that, when he visited in 1966, Haile Selassie left a constitution that was kept hidden by the government of Jamaica, guarded from the people, who can be charged under the authority of this document. The constitution sets out the rights of Rastafaris, which is why the government chose to hide it, since it undermined their own (in Rastafari eyes, illegitimate) authority. A story that expressed their millenarian hopes is that of the seven-mile flotilla of ships coming to take them to Africa for repatriation.