The Rastafarian Religion :: essays research papers

While some will call Rastafarianism a religion, others will say that Rastafarianism is a kind of spiritual consciousness because the Rastas lack a great deal of what is central for other religions while still retaining a belief in a God. There aren't too many organised Rasta 'churches', and the closest thing you would come to a church will probably be Rasta organisations like 'The Twelve Tribes of Israel', the 'Nyabinghi Order' and especially the 'Bobo Dreads'. Rastafarianism also lacks a confession of fate, which most other religious systems will have. So the question will remain open if this is a religion or a spiritual consciousness where everyone calling him/herself a Rasta will be more or less free to believe in what they like. As already mentioned, Rastafarianism is not just a religion or spiritual consciousness, but also a way of life. This encompasses among other things food, called Ital food. Rastas are supposed to be vegetarians, while some eat fish, the Ital food consists only of vegetables and spices, not including salt, which for health reasons are not used in cooking. The food is very healthy, as health is also generally very important to Rastas. You will seldom see an unhealthy Rasta. Rastas also smoke ganja, or marijuana as it's more commonly known, but this is not something you have to do. The smoking of ganja is founded on Bible passages describing how ganja was used in ancient times by people like King Solomon, and the Rastas see it as a way to ease the way to commune with Jah. But there are even a small number of Rastas who do not smoke it on the grounds that easy ways out to reach a 'communion' with Jah should not be sought. The Rasta way of life also encompasses a social side, where the lives and rights of everyone, but especially of the poor, are taken into account. They believe that everyone deserves and has the right to freedom, and more than anything else a belief in equal rights for everyone. The question of dreadlocks or no dreadlocks is not so important, even if most Rastas will have them. Even one of today's reggae groups sing a song that's called, 'You don't haffi (have to have) dread to be Rasta' (Morgan Heritage). It's more to do with how you behave, act and what you believe in, than how you look. Even the language of the Rastas has changed the Jamaican Patois language, where many of the expressions unique to Jamaica originated in Rastafarianism, like 'I and I', meaning we.