The Holy Herb:
thanks IYAH-BINGHI NEGUS NATTY
Sacrament and Incense for the Holy Temple of the Body ..And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing
seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it
shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon
the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so... -- Genesis 1: 29-30 And I will
raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the
shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even
the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD." -- Ezekiel 34:29-30 "And he shewed me a pure river of
water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and
on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every
month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his
name shall be in their foreheads." -- Revelations 22:1-4 Here, again, it is the Bible which informs the Rastafari
Movement..s Ital way of life and cultural practice of using herbs, clearly defined as given by God for the use and
service of man, specifically, for ..meat.. and for ..healing... However, to most outsiders, observers and critics of the
Rastafari Movement, the connection to smoking herb [cannibus sativa] and the Bible, is obscured. To begin with,
Genesis 1:29-30 states that every herb bearing seed of its kind shall be used for ..meat... That is, for food. Most
people who eat meat, Ethiopians being a curious exception, do not eat it raw. Most ..meat.. is cooked over a heat
source, usually a flame of fire, and then ingested through the mouth. The Rastafari practice of ..smoking.. herb is
really no different than eating meat. Observing the command to use herbs that bear seed of its kind (and everyone
knows that cannibus sativa is a green herb that bears much seed), the Rastafari brethren and sistren, after
separating the seeds from the flowers and leaves, put the herb ..meat.. in a bowl, apply a flame to it, ..cooking it..
and ingest it through the mouth. Hence, the Rastafari saying, ..eating some herb... The fact that the leaves are
consumed with the flowers is the source of the herb..s healing power, Biblically speaking. In defense of this
practice of eating ..smoking.. herb, the Rastafari Movement often cites 2 Samuel 22:9 which is repeated in Psalms
18:8, ..There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it... This
verse refers to ..the Lord.. and ..God... Also, Job 41:20, ..Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or
caldron... That the smoke came out of the Lord God..s nostrils and fire out of his mouth entails that the Lord God
has a body. The question is asked: How did smoke get inside the Lord God..s body? Rastafari answer: through
eating ..smoking.. herb. Rastafari continue their Biblical defence of eating ..smoking.. herb by citing that it
increases spiritual awareness. Often, Exodus 3:3-4 is cited: ..And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not
consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the
LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here am I... God called to Moses out of the midst of the burning bush. Here, a direct connection, a
dialogue, between man and God is associated with a burning bush. Rastafari ritually recreate this connection by
burning the bush, or herb, cannabis sativa. The result, claims the Rastafari Movement, is that it produces a
heightened spiritual awareness, allowing for a closer communion with Haile Selassie, personally. It is understood
implicity that communion with God produces spiritual health, which, in turn, aids both mental health as well as
physical health. Having already interpreted the body as the living temple of God, it is natural and logical for the
Rastafari Movement to further interpret the eating ..smoking.. of herbs as ..filling the temple with incense... The
Searchable King James Bible turned up 142 matches to a search for the word ..incense... The majority of these are
connected with making an offering to God, usually at an alter or in a temple, which is pleasing to the Ancient of Days
(bearded God) who sits upon the Throne of Righteousness, Justice and Judement. In the year that king Uzziah
died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the
seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with
twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of
his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
[Isaiah 6:1-4] And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God
out of the angel’s hand. [Revelations 8:4] And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his
power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
[Revelations 15:8] Incense was used to fill the temple with an offering pleasing to God and to clean the temple by
driving out wicked spirits so that worship services could take place. As one Ras interpret it, ..By means of the holy
herb which The Creator give man for meat, HIM servant separate himself from Babylon (corruption, pollution), even
while in Babylon midst. Man purify man temple by burning this divine Ishence (incense) within. This herb is Ian..I
communion unto JAH, with Psalms, to drive out evil conception from man Living Church, and bar Babylon from re-
entry. . . . To keep man mind on JAH RASTAFARI man need regularly to become a Temple of Fire, burning Hola
Ishence. Man fe bu..n ital cup . . . ... [JAHUG Centennary] This practice of eating ..smoking.. herb during ritual
congregation is most prevalent in the Nyahbinghi Order services. Passing the chalice and sipping the communal
cup is considered a way for the group to spiritually cleanse themselves and come before the presence of God
collectively. The burning of the herb in the chalice creates a ..cloud.. and ..smoke.. filling the tabernacle: And the
LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day,
and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. [Isaiah 4:5] Thus, ..Among the
Elders, the ..Fire Man.. keep the Binghi fire blazing red hot outside the Tabernacle for the duration of Ivine Issembly.
Only clean dry wood must be put into this Hola Ital Fire of purification. Ian..I must remember that Ian..I are all Fire
Man, so it is Ian..I duty to keep JAH Hola flames of judgemant and justice forever burning in all Ian..I everday ital
livity... [JAHUG Centennary Issue] Moreover, the burnt offering is a ..continual.. burnt offering. Therefore, the
Rastafari Movement views the continual eating ..smoking.. of herbs as an acceptable ..meat.. and ..peace.. (since
no animal was violently slaughtered) offering acceptable to God made in the ..temple.. of one..s body. By
comparison, the Catholic Church believes that the Eucharist, the taking of wine and bread at mass, is, according to
the Bible, a sacrament whereby they are consuming the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights Article 18 which reads, ..Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.. allows the
Rastafari Movement to interpret the Bible as they do and to use the herb cannabis sativa, accordingly. It is therefore
a violation of internationally protected human rights to pass laws that prohibit this activity and it is a further violation
of Internationally protected human rights to criminalize and incarcerate members of the Rastafari Movement for
manifesting their beliefs under Article 18. This is one of the major obstacles preventing the recognition and
acceptance of the Rastafari Movement as a whole, and, consequently, its demand for Repatriation. One must
consider that it is not important whether one (i.e. a government) share..s this belief or not. What is important is that
the Rastafari Movemant has a sound and well-articulated doctrine based on the Bible, natural law, and international
human rights law, which provides an unshakeable foundation for their belief in the use of herb as a sacrament and
an industrial renewable resource. Therefore, as long as the herm is made ..illegal.. there will always be a group
persecuted for their religious belief. And so long as this is true, there will always be oppression and injustice in the
earth. And as long as there is injustice in the earth, there will never be peace. That is why, ultimately, the Rastafari
Movemant must and will win their struggle to ..free up the herb... Good will always triumph over evil, and it is evil to
violate god-given natural human rights. [ See more CODESRIA notes, p. 8] For the purposes of this paper,
however, the focus is on the use and practice of herbs in light of Ital livity (culture) and its significance towards
health. This requires some explanation and interpretation. As has already been stated, it is understood implicitly
that spiritual communion with God produces automatically good health, both of the individual and the planet.
Cannabis sativa is ..A plant that has receptors in the human brain waiting to receive its biochemical messages. A
message of respect for the earth, its plants and animals, for our bodies and the foods we eat, for cultures and
peoples other than our own . . . ... [Robinson 1996] For more than 3,500 years, cannabis/hemp/marijuana has
been, depending on the culture or nation, either the most used or one of the most widely used plants for medicines.
This includes: China, India, the Middle and Near East, Africa, and pre-Roman Catholic Europe (prior to 476 A.D.).
From 1850 to 1937, the U.S. Pharmacopoeia listed cannabis as the primary medicine for more than 100 separate
illnesses or diseases. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, NORML, High Times and Omni Magazine (September 1982) all
indicate that, if marijuana were legal it would immediately replace 10-20% of all pharmaceutical prescription
medicines (based on research through 1976). And probably, Mechoulam estimates, 40-50% of all medicines,
including patent medicines, could contain some extract from the cannabis plant when fully researched. In 1992, the
FDA approved THC, under the trade name Marinol (dronabinol), as an appetite stimulant for the treatment of AIDS-
related weight loss. HIV/AIDS patients are the largest group of patients who use dronabinol. So, what, exactly are
some of the health benefits of using herb? Medicinal Benefits of Cannabis Sativa In 1999, The Institute of Medicine
& National Academy of Sciences published a paper entitled, ..The Medical Value of Marijuana and Related
Substances... It made the following conclusions: < * The available evidence from animal and human studies
indicates that cannabinoids can have a substantial analgesic effect; * The profile of cannabinoid drug effects
suggests that they are promising for treating wasting syndrome in AIDS patients. Nausea, appetitie loss, pain and
anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana; * dvances in cannabinoid science of the
past 16 years have given rise to a wealth of new opportunities for the development of medicinally useful
cannabinoid-based drugs. The accumulated data suggests a variety of indications, particularly for pain relief,
antiemesis, and appetite stimulation. For patients such as those with AIDS or who are undergoing chemotherapy,
and who suffer simultaneously from severe pain, nausea and appetite loss, cannabinoid drugs might offer broad-
spectrum relief not found in any other single medication; * The therapeutic effects of cannabinoids are most well
established for THC, which is the primary psychoactive ingredient of marijuana; * The American Medical
Association House of Delegates National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the British Medical Association recommend
clinical trials of smoked marijuana for a variety of symptoms. These benefits should be contrasted to the Western
cultural practices of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as the junk food and processed food diet
so prevalent in Western societies. Recently, it has been noted that Europe and America are suffering from a plague
of obesity and all of its attendant disorders, including high-blood pressure, stroke and heart-attack, as well as
decreased productivity. These practices are contributing to enormous health care costs, too. All of these, however,
are remedied by the preventive medicine function of the Rastafari Ital diet, and even the smoking of herbs, which
within the Rastafari cultural context, underscores and, through spiritual awareness, enlightens and supports,
further Ital practices. The most important benefits of herb, however, are socio-medicinal (i.e. ..public health..),
particularly for people of African descent suffering from the ..pain.. of oppression from chattel slavery through Jim
Crow up to the police brutality and poverty of today. ..Systematic violence creates a condition of permanent
STRESS. Cramped and unnatural living conditions shape a people..s psyche in a way that their behavior will
naturally depart from the norm. Ghetto conditions debase a people..s humanity and bring out the worst of human
nature so that there will be a tendency to behave in the same way that crabs in a barrel are known to behave... [Ras
Jahaziel 2003] If stress is the major cause of diseases such as obesity, high-blood pressure, hypertension,
immune-system deficiencies, stroke, heart attack, etc .. all of which African Americans have the highest risk -- then
the question must be asked, ..What happens to a people who..s existence is reduced to one of permanent stress?..
Would it not be supreme evil to deny such a people of a natural medicine that tends to ..mellow.. a person, and
instead, turn the use of such natural stress-relieving medicine into a legal basis for incarceration? It is a well
known fact that young African American males suffer from severe stress from economic factors which prevent them
from supporting their families, and political factors which make them an over-represented population in the US
criminal justice system. It is equally well-known that, these same young Black males, in order to relax, have turned
to the smoking of herb in the only social space available to them: the ghetto..s street corners. And it is this activity
which land nearly one in three into the prison system! Yet, the ..mellowing.. effect of smoking herb is, arguably, the
most successful deterent to Black violence against white people. Instead of discontent welling up into rebellion, it is
..mellowed.. and directed towards ..spiritual enlightenment... Only Satan himself would want to stop that. Hemp as
rotation crop and soil rejuvenator Cannabis sativa is an ideal rotation crop for farmers worldwide. It puts down a
taproot twelve inches long in only thirty days, preventing topsoil erosion. Its water requirements are negligible, so it
doesn’t require much irrigation and will grow in arid regions. It matures from seed in only 120 days, so it doesn’t
need a long growing season. Hemp’s soil nutrients concentrate in the plant’s roots and leaves. After harvest, the
roots remain and the leaves are returned to the fields. In this way, soil nutrients are preserved. Hemp is also a
beneficial crop for the Earth itself. It is very easy on the land. It doesn’t need many nutrients, so it doesn’t require
chemical fertilizers. Hemp out-competes other weeds, so it doesn’t need herbicides to thrive. Even hemp strains
that are 100 percent THC-free produce their own resins that make the crop naturally pest-free, so it doesn’t require
toxic chemical pesticides. Hemp actually leaves the soil in better condition than before it was planted. There are
other environmental and economic benefits of cannabis sativa, including: 1 acre of Hemp (cannabis
sativa/marijuana) = 4 acres of trees and will make every grade of paper BETTER at 1/4th of the cost of wood pulp
and 1/5th the pollution. (source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) - Hemp seed is one of the world’s best and cheapest
sources of protein. (source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Congressional Records) - Hemp and waste paper can
generate ALL fuel for autos and replace ALL nuclear power at a fraction of the cost of fossil fuel WITH NO
POLLUTION or CHERNOBYLS. (source: Solar Gas 1980, Science Digest 1983-84, U.S. Dept. Energy) - Hemp
plants can reach treelike heights of 20 feet or more & could replace cut forests in just one growing season! (source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) - 10 acres of Hemp is equal to 40 acres of pulp land. Hemp forests would protect the top
soil from further erosion. Hemp plants make oxygen for you and ME to breath! (source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)
Here are just a few of the things that could be manufactured from Hemp, just to name a few... - Clothing (softer and
more durable than cotton) - Automobile GAS (pollution free) - Motor OIL - Coal (pollution free burning) - Cellophane -
Methanol - Plastics - TNT (dynamite) - Medicines - Food (the seeds of Hemp contain no THC and are second to
soybean in protein content) - Hemp oil could replace WHALE oil Given that hemp is a renewable annual crop, the
implications for desertification and re-forestry plans is obvious. Prior to its prohibition, hemp was used in all
manner of rope and canvass making, too. All of these factors can be incorporated into any sustainable
development plan, and the Rastafari Movement, which has lead the charge in the legalization of the herb, stands
poised, as expert growers, to provide the supply to meet the demand. That is, if African development planners
assert their ..independence.., and take the initiative to legalize the herb, with some measure of protection to the
Rastafari Community. There are enormous economic benefits of cannabis sativa, too. According to de
Albuquerque (1996c:4), in Jamaica in the early 1980s "illegal income from marijuana, estimated then at U.S. $3.5
billion a year, (was) larger than the country’s GDP." British Columbia developed a $6-billion industry. Add to this the
billions of dollars spent fightin cannabis cultivation and incarceration for possession,cultivation, distribution, etc,
and the numbers are staggering. Industrially speaking, the world wide sales of hemp were estimated about R32m
in 1993, but this figure had grown to R473m within two years. It is expected to reach R9,5bn by 2001. This is why
ANC MPL Andre De Wet said that the legalization of the hemp industry could "transform much of rural Transkei from
rural poverty to rural prosperity" [..South Africa: Politicians Call For Legalization Of Hemp.. 1998] Indeed, it could
transform all of Africa! Commercial Achievements ..As stated in the introduction (quote at beginning of Rastafari
Culture (..Way of life..) above), there are many other components that combine to give meaning to our way of life.
The components come in the form of music, art and any other projects we endeavor to accomplish in the name of
Rastafari. . . . Whether Nyahbinghi, Twelve Tribe, Bobo Shanti, or a simple Rasta man/woman who belong to no
particular house, these seven principles apply to you. The Red, Gold and Green, the Lion, the Drums, the chanting,
the Bible, the history, the language, the culture, the values, the life style, the behavior and the attitude is within the
fabric of these seven principles... -- from Seven Principles of Rastafari Reggae, crafts and image [This section to be
more fully developed] ..If one even looks at ARTS and CRAFTS, it is the same story. Many are the occasions when
VENDORS have been pushed from place to place out behind everybody..s back, and persecuted when they were
just seeking an honest living from their talents. . . . Too often a brother or sister may have a SKILL, OR A PRODUCT
that has marketable potential but it never becomes a viable income generator all because it lacks support and
investment. If it had adequate support and investment it could become a productive activity capable of supporting
many more... [Ras Jahaziel Book ..1] Marginalization from mainstream ..There are billions of dollars being sunk in
internal investments in the ..informal sector.. by ordinary African men and women. Many African leaders do not take
these resources seriously. Indeed, many of them do everything possible to undermine entrepreneurs in these
sectors of the economy through harassment and seizures of properties. This is because the leaders have no
confidence in the creative and innovative powers of their own people, leading them to externalize their ill-gotten
wealth at the first available opportunity. These ..internal.. investments can be strengthened and improved upon to
constitute the basis for an alternative ..accumulation.. model[i.e. susu economics] that can strengthen internal
accumulation and investment... [Nabudere 2001] This has been especially true of the Rastafari Movement
worldwide. Many Rasses ..separate.. themselves intentionally from the ..Babylon system.. of economic ..
downpression... Others because of their dreadlocks or illegally enforced drug tests, can..t get employment. The
Rastafari Movement solution has always been small scale entrepreneurism ..peddling.. and agricultural
entrpreneurism such as the ganja trade, ..roots.. drinks, ital restaurants, etc. These small scale industries, pro-
human and pro-agriculture, are now ripe for transformation into economies of scale. Ironically, it is this very pro-
human, spiritual culture and its products, which has been excluded from the dominant Eruropean-American
economic order, and even the African and African Diasporan mainstream culture. This is best explained by Ras
Jahaziel in an article entitled: ..Present condition of Rastafari Elders.. FIRST OF ALL, DO NOT VIEW THE ELDERS
AS NEEDING PITY, or else one may continue that age old malady of BLAMING THE VICTIM. Because most of THE
ELDERS are talented people, what they need is ASSISTANCE IN PROMOTING THEIR TALENTS. THIS IS THE
CHALLENGE BEFORE IANDI. COLLECTIVELY, WORKING TO PROMOTE IANDI CULTURE AND BREAKING DOWN
ALL THE OBSTACLES THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED IN IANDI WAY. If the TALENTS OF RASTAFARI have not brought
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY so far, it is because of THE GREAT WALL OF EXCLUSION which the SATANIC
UROPEAN system has set up to marginalize CONSCIOUS CULTURE and support THE CULTURE OF UN-
CONSCIOUSNESS. The same ones who slaved black people to plant SUGAR CANE, TO MAKE RUM, TO
DESTROY GENERATIONS OF BLACK FOLK AND NATIVE AMERICANS, are the same ones who sit in the self-
righteous TOWERS OF WHITE SUPREMACY and dictate by means of force and economic pressure, WHAT THE
BLACK MAN CAN PLANT AND WHAT HE CANNOT PLANT. and these are the same ones who control the IMF AND
THE WORLD BANK limiting wages, while driving THE COST OF LIVING sky high. LETS FACE IT. THERE IS AN
INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY OF LONG STANDING, TO CUT OFF AFRICA FROM EVER ARISING TO HER
FORMER GREATNESS. the reason why THE SLAVE MASTER’S CASTLES ARE INCREASING AND GETTING
BIGGER AND BIGGER WHILE AFRICANS ARE GETTING MORE DEPENDENT ON PITY, is because the system is
set up so that AFRICANS WILL ALWAYS BE TOO BUSY BUILDING THE SLAVE MASTER’S KINGDOM TO GET
AROUND TO BUILDING THEIR OWN ALL BLACK MEN WHO DARED REBEL AND GIVE THEIR LIFE TO THE
AFRICAN STRUGGLE were either slandered and had their characters defamed, or THEY WERE BOYCOTTED
ECONOMICALLY. ASSASSINATION IN SOME FORM OR THE OTHER. So again when looking at THE ELDERS OF
RASTAFARI, as an AFRICAN, one is looking at one’s own predicament from which one can weigh the options.
PRESS FORWARD MORE DETERMINEDLY TO BE FREE FROM U-ROCENTRICK DOMINATION, by seeking more
and more wayshow to COLLECTIVELY GENERATE RASTAFARI CULTURE TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL, or the other
option left is TO STAY CONTENTED WITH BOWING AND TAKING ORDERS FROM THE WHITE BOY. One can dig
deep within oneself and set a firmer commitment toAFRICAN LIBERATION or one could give in to the attemptmake
THE U-ROPEANIZED AFRICAN A PERMANENT FEATURE OF THE LANDSCAPE... [Ras Jahaziel 2000] This
marginalization partially explains the lack of Rastafari Repatriation/Development Funds.<br>Unable to ..fit neatly..
into donor/scholarship paradigm because of its Ethiopian ..spiritual supremecy paradigm.. and direct threat to Euro-
American/Western World Hegemony which rules African elites, the Rastafari Movement has not had access to
traditional routes of development which are based on ..feasibility studies.. and university/institutional connections.
To understand this, consider that while a fully funded Israeli state was created for Ashkenazic converted Jews after
WWII, it wasn..t until 1996 the the Rastafari Movemant gained consultative status at the UN/ECOSOC. This is in
spite of the fact that Rastafari demand for Reparations and Repatriation for descendants of the Slave-Trade pre-
date Reparations to Israel. To date, while Israel receives several billions of dollars annually, no monies have ever
been paid to the Rastafari Movement or to the African Diaspora for the African Holocaust which supersedes the
Jewish Holocaust both in terms of length of oppression and cost in human lives. Marginalization from OAU/AU
1961 Mission and JA Government failure to follow-up Long before the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was
established by Haile Selassie in His capital city of Addis Ababa, the people called by his name .. the Rastafari ..
have cried out for Repatriation, to return the descendants of Africa who were taken in captivity to the west. In 1922,
Ras Tafari invited Garveyites ..to return home.. [see Niah and Ras Nathaniel..s Malcolm X article]. Land in
Shashemane, Ethiopia, was even granted to Black people of the west as early as 1931, and many people, mostly
members of the Rastafari and Jamaican communities, began to settle there. From that time to the present,
Rastafari people have done more to promote African Unity and Repatriation than any group of Africans abroad. In
fact, it was the Rastafari culture which taught the world ..Africa for Africans at home and abroad... Before the OAU
was formed, the African Diaspora, including three members of the Rastafari community and a delegate of the
Ethiopian World Federation, sent a fact-finding mission to several African nations in 1961 to discuss Repatriation.
The mission, sponsored by the Jamaican Government, was met and welcomed by H.I.M. Haile Selassie of
Ethiopia, Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwi of Nigeria, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, President William
Tubman of Liberia and Prime Minister Milton Margai of Sierra-Leone. Several official and unofficial reports with
recommendations were made at that time, and thus, the issue of Repatriation was the primary issue of concern of
both the African Diaspora and leading governments of Africa who, two years later, would form the OAU. Perhaps the
first attempt that the OAU made to include the African Diaspora happened in 1963 at the opening session of the
OAU Summit. At that conference, H.I.M. Haile Selassie affirmed that,..Our Armageddon is past. Africa has been
reborn as a free continent and Africans have been reborn as free men. The blood that was shed and the sufferings
that were endured are today Africa..s advocates for freedom and unity. Those men who refused to accept the
judgment passed upon them by the colonies, who held unswervingly through the darkest hours to a vision of an
Africa emancipated from political, economic and spiritual domination, will be remembered and revered wherever
Africans meet. Many of them never set foot on this continent... At that same conference, Milton Obote of Uganda
insisted that a representative of the Africans in America be invited to participate. In 1964, that representative was
Malcolm X, who addressed the Second African Summit Conference in Cairo on July 17, and stated, ..Some African
leaders at this conference have implied that they have enough problems here on the mother continent without
adding the Afro-American problem. With all due respect to your esteemed positions, I must remind all of you that
the good shepherd will leave ninety-nine sheep, who are safe at home, to go to the aid of the one who is lost and
has fallen into the clutches of the imperialist wolf... Malcolm X also attended the OAU session in Addis Ababa on
August 17 as an observer. Malcolm X was instructed to form a single organization to represent all 22 million
Africans in America. This organization was called the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). Nearly as soon
as it was formed, Malcolm X was murdered and the OAAU failed to materialize its strength. Also at this same time,
two members of the Rastafari Community in Jamaica made a second mission to Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya to
follow up on the 1961 mission, and invited H.I.M. Haile Selassie to visit Jamaica. Two years later, in 1966, His
Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie visited Jamaica and addressed the Parliament, saying, ..From another point of
view, this is precisely why the OAU has been established. It is because the African Continent, which comprises
more than 250 million people, if it were to remain divided among more than 30 states, their individual voices would
not carry weight. It is precisely why, since there is an identity of interest, we have attempted to include Jamaica...
1980-2003 Rastafari Communications to the OAU From that time to now several members of the Rastafari
Community have demanded their rights to African citizenship and to Repatriation. Numerous communications were
forwarded to the OAU. In 1992, during the 100 Year Anniversary/Centennary Celebration Year of His Majesty
Emperor Haile Selassie I, the struggle for Repatriation entered a new phase, as Ethiopia witnessed the consistent
arrival of Rastafari men, women and children. On August 4, 1992, the Ethiopian World Federation, Incorporated met
with officials at the OAU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During this same year, Priest Harry of the Ethiopian
African Black International Congress (EABIC) had face-to-face communications with OAU General Secretary Salim
Salim concerning Repatriation. The EABIC called on the OAU to grant Jamaica observer status so that she
(Jamaica) could request an OAU member state to take up the issue of Repatriation. In May of 1993, in Abuja,
Nigeria, the OAU organised a Pan-Afrikan Conference on Reparations for the suffering caused by colonialism in
Africa The issue of Repatriation was put off. Then in June, rather than giving a member seat to Jamaica, the OAU
made Eritrea (historically an Ethiopian territory) its 52nd member. Indeed, on July 14, 1993, Ghanian President
Jerry John Rawlings, in a speech to the OAU in Cairo, called for African leaders to ..Make a place for Africans in the
Diaspora... President Rawlings also said, "We should and must find a way to include all the sons and daughters of
Africa in building and moving our societies forward. In this respect, I would propose that the OAU should consider
granting observer status to representative groups of Black Africans in the Diaspora... This was followed up by the
EABIC with another letter submitted to OAU General Secretary Salim Salim through a Mr. Hagaga on November 17,
1994. More recently, in 1998, The EABIC Honorable Priest Kenny forwarded a report to Mr. Abdul Kouroma,
Assistant Secretary General of the OAU [Chief of Political affairs?] and outlined the situation of the Rastafari
Community on the Shashemane land grant. Two years later, in 2000, the Honorable Priest Kenny was also
murdered, and to this day, the Rastafari Community still has not received a response from the OAU. Rastafari
Absence at AU Western Diaspora Forum and other planning forums When the African Union reached out to the
African Diaspora, incredibly no invitation was extended to the Rastafari Community. Consequently, the Rastafari
Community was not represented at the First African Union Western Diaspora Forum held in Washington, D.C.
December 17-19, 2002. As a result, the main issue of Repatriation was not even mentioned in the Forum..s report.
The Rastafari movement has been noteably absent at other major Diasporic forums, including those of NCOBRA
and AFFORD. When the author attended the NCOBR 11th Annual Reparations Conference in Washington D.C. and
asked a Rastafari Elder who lived in the area why he wasn..t attending the conference just down the street at
Howard University, his response was that no one called and invited ..us.. and that if they weren..t going to air his
comments on CNN, he wasn..t going to waste his breathe. Reparations over repatriation. In the USA, in Africa and
in the Caribbean, several groups and committees are meeting to discuss the issue of Reparations. As the
pressure for Reparations increases, there arises a need for a central co-ordinating body to organise and present a
major international petition which addresses this issue. I declare that the Rastafari movement is best-suited to
lead this international call for Reparations to Black people. Rastafari is, firstly, the first community of African
descendants to stake a claim for Reparations. Secondly, from its position as a new world religion with members of
the faith to be found in all countries, the Rastafari movement has a spiritual foundation which is globally known and
respected, as well as an international network of members united by a common Afro-cultural philosophy. [Hannah ]
As noted above, in May of 1993, in Abuja, Nigeria, the OAU organised a Pan-Afrikan Conference on Reparations for
the suffering caused by colonialism in Africa The issue of Repatriation was put off. This signaled that Reparations
would be the priority issue around which the pan-African movement was going to rally around. A decade later, we
see the results: numerous Reparations movements and conferences, including the the African Reparations
Movement (ARM) in the UK, the Jamaican Reparations Movement (JaRM) and even Caucasians United for
Reparations and Emancipation (CURE). The 2nd World Reparations and Repatriation Truth Commission
convened in Ghana in 2000 concluded with a Petition being served in the International Court at the Hague for: $ 777
TRILLION US,, Against the United States of America (USA), Canada, and European Union Members, For Unlawful
Removal And Destruction Of Petitioners’ Mineral And Human Resources From The African Continent Between The
Years Of 1503 A.D. Up To The End Of The Colonialism Era - 1957 Through 1960s. Last October, the African and
African Descendants’ World Conference Against Racism convened in Barbados and drew heavy criticism for
expelling non-African delegates. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) hosted its
14th Annual conference this past June and has a program to make Representative John Coyners HR40 ..
Reparations Bill.. a major issue in the US Presidential campaign in 2004. By contrast, there has not been a single ..
Repatriation.. conference nor has any ..Repatriation.. group formed. Strangely, Rastafari leaders, with a few
exceptions, particularly in JaRM, and in Barbados, are absent from these Reparation conferences and movements,
and thus the voice of Repatriation is also absent, and Reparations continues to be framed in such a way that the
Rastafari Movement and Repatriation is poorly understood and hence further marginalized. There are literally
thousands of voices and workers in the Reparations movement, white the entire Repatriation movement numbers
a few hundred. It is interesting to note, however, how the NEPAD ..development partners.. are strategizing against
the Reparations movement. Last November, SABCnews.com reported that former apartheid South African
President FW De Klerk suggested that support for a claim filed by Jubilee South Africa and the Khulumani Support
Group against international banks and companies would impede foreign investment in South Africa and hamper
progress of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). [SABCnews.com 2001] Although the idea that
claims against corporations for Apartheid Reparations would hurt foreign investment in South Africa was refuted by
World Bank chief economist Jeffrey Stiglitz, nonetheless South African Minister of Justice and Constitutional
Development Penuell Maduna, upon request of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, submitted an intervention to US
courts in New York opposing legal action against corporations that aided and abetted the illegitimate apartheid
state and called for a legal complaint to that effect to be ..dismissed... [Gabrielle 2003] This begs the question: How
can we expect equal partnership from development partners that won..t recognize the legitimacy of Reparations for
the African Holocaust, who walk out on the World Conference Against Racism, and who are actively fighting against
the African Diaspora..s Reparations Movement?
thanks IYAH-BINGHI NEGUS NATTY
Sacrament and Incense for the Holy Temple of the Body ..And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing
seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it
shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon
the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so... -- Genesis 1: 29-30 And I will
raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the
shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even
the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD." -- Ezekiel 34:29-30 "And he shewed me a pure river of
water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and
on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every
month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the
throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his
name shall be in their foreheads." -- Revelations 22:1-4 Here, again, it is the Bible which informs the Rastafari
Movement..s Ital way of life and cultural practice of using herbs, clearly defined as given by God for the use and
service of man, specifically, for ..meat.. and for ..healing... However, to most outsiders, observers and critics of the
Rastafari Movement, the connection to smoking herb [cannibus sativa] and the Bible, is obscured. To begin with,
Genesis 1:29-30 states that every herb bearing seed of its kind shall be used for ..meat... That is, for food. Most
people who eat meat, Ethiopians being a curious exception, do not eat it raw. Most ..meat.. is cooked over a heat
source, usually a flame of fire, and then ingested through the mouth. The Rastafari practice of ..smoking.. herb is
really no different than eating meat. Observing the command to use herbs that bear seed of its kind (and everyone
knows that cannibus sativa is a green herb that bears much seed), the Rastafari brethren and sistren, after
separating the seeds from the flowers and leaves, put the herb ..meat.. in a bowl, apply a flame to it, ..cooking it..
and ingest it through the mouth. Hence, the Rastafari saying, ..eating some herb... The fact that the leaves are
consumed with the flowers is the source of the herb..s healing power, Biblically speaking. In defense of this
practice of eating ..smoking.. herb, the Rastafari Movement often cites 2 Samuel 22:9 which is repeated in Psalms
18:8, ..There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it... This
verse refers to ..the Lord.. and ..God... Also, Job 41:20, ..Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pot or
caldron... That the smoke came out of the Lord God..s nostrils and fire out of his mouth entails that the Lord God
has a body. The question is asked: How did smoke get inside the Lord God..s body? Rastafari answer: through
eating ..smoking.. herb. Rastafari continue their Biblical defence of eating ..smoking.. herb by citing that it
increases spiritual awareness. Often, Exodus 3:3-4 is cited: ..And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not
consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the
LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here am I... God called to Moses out of the midst of the burning bush. Here, a direct connection, a
dialogue, between man and God is associated with a burning bush. Rastafari ritually recreate this connection by
burning the bush, or herb, cannabis sativa. The result, claims the Rastafari Movement, is that it produces a
heightened spiritual awareness, allowing for a closer communion with Haile Selassie, personally. It is understood
implicity that communion with God produces spiritual health, which, in turn, aids both mental health as well as
physical health. Having already interpreted the body as the living temple of God, it is natural and logical for the
Rastafari Movement to further interpret the eating ..smoking.. of herbs as ..filling the temple with incense... The
Searchable King James Bible turned up 142 matches to a search for the word ..incense... The majority of these are
connected with making an offering to God, usually at an alter or in a temple, which is pleasing to the Ancient of Days
(bearded God) who sits upon the Throne of Righteousness, Justice and Judement. In the year that king Uzziah
died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the
seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with
twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of
his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
[Isaiah 6:1-4] And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God
out of the angel’s hand. [Revelations 8:4] And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his
power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
[Revelations 15:8] Incense was used to fill the temple with an offering pleasing to God and to clean the temple by
driving out wicked spirits so that worship services could take place. As one Ras interpret it, ..By means of the holy
herb which The Creator give man for meat, HIM servant separate himself from Babylon (corruption, pollution), even
while in Babylon midst. Man purify man temple by burning this divine Ishence (incense) within. This herb is Ian..I
communion unto JAH, with Psalms, to drive out evil conception from man Living Church, and bar Babylon from re-
entry. . . . To keep man mind on JAH RASTAFARI man need regularly to become a Temple of Fire, burning Hola
Ishence. Man fe bu..n ital cup . . . ... [JAHUG Centennary] This practice of eating ..smoking.. herb during ritual
congregation is most prevalent in the Nyahbinghi Order services. Passing the chalice and sipping the communal
cup is considered a way for the group to spiritually cleanse themselves and come before the presence of God
collectively. The burning of the herb in the chalice creates a ..cloud.. and ..smoke.. filling the tabernacle: And the
LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day,
and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense. [Isaiah 4:5] Thus, ..Among the
Elders, the ..Fire Man.. keep the Binghi fire blazing red hot outside the Tabernacle for the duration of Ivine Issembly.
Only clean dry wood must be put into this Hola Ital Fire of purification. Ian..I must remember that Ian..I are all Fire
Man, so it is Ian..I duty to keep JAH Hola flames of judgemant and justice forever burning in all Ian..I everday ital
livity... [JAHUG Centennary Issue] Moreover, the burnt offering is a ..continual.. burnt offering. Therefore, the
Rastafari Movement views the continual eating ..smoking.. of herbs as an acceptable ..meat.. and ..peace.. (since
no animal was violently slaughtered) offering acceptable to God made in the ..temple.. of one..s body. By
comparison, the Catholic Church believes that the Eucharist, the taking of wine and bread at mass, is, according to
the Bible, a sacrament whereby they are consuming the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights Article 18 which reads, ..Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.. allows the
Rastafari Movement to interpret the Bible as they do and to use the herb cannabis sativa, accordingly. It is therefore
a violation of internationally protected human rights to pass laws that prohibit this activity and it is a further violation
of Internationally protected human rights to criminalize and incarcerate members of the Rastafari Movement for
manifesting their beliefs under Article 18. This is one of the major obstacles preventing the recognition and
acceptance of the Rastafari Movement as a whole, and, consequently, its demand for Repatriation. One must
consider that it is not important whether one (i.e. a government) share..s this belief or not. What is important is that
the Rastafari Movemant has a sound and well-articulated doctrine based on the Bible, natural law, and international
human rights law, which provides an unshakeable foundation for their belief in the use of herb as a sacrament and
an industrial renewable resource. Therefore, as long as the herm is made ..illegal.. there will always be a group
persecuted for their religious belief. And so long as this is true, there will always be oppression and injustice in the
earth. And as long as there is injustice in the earth, there will never be peace. That is why, ultimately, the Rastafari
Movemant must and will win their struggle to ..free up the herb... Good will always triumph over evil, and it is evil to
violate god-given natural human rights. [ See more CODESRIA notes, p. 8] For the purposes of this paper,
however, the focus is on the use and practice of herbs in light of Ital livity (culture) and its significance towards
health. This requires some explanation and interpretation. As has already been stated, it is understood implicitly
that spiritual communion with God produces automatically good health, both of the individual and the planet.
Cannabis sativa is ..A plant that has receptors in the human brain waiting to receive its biochemical messages. A
message of respect for the earth, its plants and animals, for our bodies and the foods we eat, for cultures and
peoples other than our own . . . ... [Robinson 1996] For more than 3,500 years, cannabis/hemp/marijuana has
been, depending on the culture or nation, either the most used or one of the most widely used plants for medicines.
This includes: China, India, the Middle and Near East, Africa, and pre-Roman Catholic Europe (prior to 476 A.D.).
From 1850 to 1937, the U.S. Pharmacopoeia listed cannabis as the primary medicine for more than 100 separate
illnesses or diseases. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, NORML, High Times and Omni Magazine (September 1982) all
indicate that, if marijuana were legal it would immediately replace 10-20% of all pharmaceutical prescription
medicines (based on research through 1976). And probably, Mechoulam estimates, 40-50% of all medicines,
including patent medicines, could contain some extract from the cannabis plant when fully researched. In 1992, the
FDA approved THC, under the trade name Marinol (dronabinol), as an appetite stimulant for the treatment of AIDS-
related weight loss. HIV/AIDS patients are the largest group of patients who use dronabinol. So, what, exactly are
some of the health benefits of using herb? Medicinal Benefits of Cannabis Sativa In 1999, The Institute of Medicine
& National Academy of Sciences published a paper entitled, ..The Medical Value of Marijuana and Related
Substances... It made the following conclusions: < * The available evidence from animal and human studies
indicates that cannabinoids can have a substantial analgesic effect; * The profile of cannabinoid drug effects
suggests that they are promising for treating wasting syndrome in AIDS patients. Nausea, appetitie loss, pain and
anxiety are all afflictions of wasting, and all can be mitigated by marijuana; * dvances in cannabinoid science of the
past 16 years have given rise to a wealth of new opportunities for the development of medicinally useful
cannabinoid-based drugs. The accumulated data suggests a variety of indications, particularly for pain relief,
antiemesis, and appetite stimulation. For patients such as those with AIDS or who are undergoing chemotherapy,
and who suffer simultaneously from severe pain, nausea and appetite loss, cannabinoid drugs might offer broad-
spectrum relief not found in any other single medication; * The therapeutic effects of cannabinoids are most well
established for THC, which is the primary psychoactive ingredient of marijuana; * The American Medical
Association House of Delegates National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the British Medical Association recommend
clinical trials of smoked marijuana for a variety of symptoms. These benefits should be contrasted to the Western
cultural practices of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption, as well as the junk food and processed food diet
so prevalent in Western societies. Recently, it has been noted that Europe and America are suffering from a plague
of obesity and all of its attendant disorders, including high-blood pressure, stroke and heart-attack, as well as
decreased productivity. These practices are contributing to enormous health care costs, too. All of these, however,
are remedied by the preventive medicine function of the Rastafari Ital diet, and even the smoking of herbs, which
within the Rastafari cultural context, underscores and, through spiritual awareness, enlightens and supports,
further Ital practices. The most important benefits of herb, however, are socio-medicinal (i.e. ..public health..),
particularly for people of African descent suffering from the ..pain.. of oppression from chattel slavery through Jim
Crow up to the police brutality and poverty of today. ..Systematic violence creates a condition of permanent
STRESS. Cramped and unnatural living conditions shape a people..s psyche in a way that their behavior will
naturally depart from the norm. Ghetto conditions debase a people..s humanity and bring out the worst of human
nature so that there will be a tendency to behave in the same way that crabs in a barrel are known to behave... [Ras
Jahaziel 2003] If stress is the major cause of diseases such as obesity, high-blood pressure, hypertension,
immune-system deficiencies, stroke, heart attack, etc .. all of which African Americans have the highest risk -- then
the question must be asked, ..What happens to a people who..s existence is reduced to one of permanent stress?..
Would it not be supreme evil to deny such a people of a natural medicine that tends to ..mellow.. a person, and
instead, turn the use of such natural stress-relieving medicine into a legal basis for incarceration? It is a well
known fact that young African American males suffer from severe stress from economic factors which prevent them
from supporting their families, and political factors which make them an over-represented population in the US
criminal justice system. It is equally well-known that, these same young Black males, in order to relax, have turned
to the smoking of herb in the only social space available to them: the ghetto..s street corners. And it is this activity
which land nearly one in three into the prison system! Yet, the ..mellowing.. effect of smoking herb is, arguably, the
most successful deterent to Black violence against white people. Instead of discontent welling up into rebellion, it is
..mellowed.. and directed towards ..spiritual enlightenment... Only Satan himself would want to stop that. Hemp as
rotation crop and soil rejuvenator Cannabis sativa is an ideal rotation crop for farmers worldwide. It puts down a
taproot twelve inches long in only thirty days, preventing topsoil erosion. Its water requirements are negligible, so it
doesn’t require much irrigation and will grow in arid regions. It matures from seed in only 120 days, so it doesn’t
need a long growing season. Hemp’s soil nutrients concentrate in the plant’s roots and leaves. After harvest, the
roots remain and the leaves are returned to the fields. In this way, soil nutrients are preserved. Hemp is also a
beneficial crop for the Earth itself. It is very easy on the land. It doesn’t need many nutrients, so it doesn’t require
chemical fertilizers. Hemp out-competes other weeds, so it doesn’t need herbicides to thrive. Even hemp strains
that are 100 percent THC-free produce their own resins that make the crop naturally pest-free, so it doesn’t require
toxic chemical pesticides. Hemp actually leaves the soil in better condition than before it was planted. There are
other environmental and economic benefits of cannabis sativa, including: 1 acre of Hemp (cannabis
sativa/marijuana) = 4 acres of trees and will make every grade of paper BETTER at 1/4th of the cost of wood pulp
and 1/5th the pollution. (source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) - Hemp seed is one of the world’s best and cheapest
sources of protein. (source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Congressional Records) - Hemp and waste paper can
generate ALL fuel for autos and replace ALL nuclear power at a fraction of the cost of fossil fuel WITH NO
POLLUTION or CHERNOBYLS. (source: Solar Gas 1980, Science Digest 1983-84, U.S. Dept. Energy) - Hemp
plants can reach treelike heights of 20 feet or more & could replace cut forests in just one growing season! (source:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture) - 10 acres of Hemp is equal to 40 acres of pulp land. Hemp forests would protect the top
soil from further erosion. Hemp plants make oxygen for you and ME to breath! (source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture)
Here are just a few of the things that could be manufactured from Hemp, just to name a few... - Clothing (softer and
more durable than cotton) - Automobile GAS (pollution free) - Motor OIL - Coal (pollution free burning) - Cellophane -
Methanol - Plastics - TNT (dynamite) - Medicines - Food (the seeds of Hemp contain no THC and are second to
soybean in protein content) - Hemp oil could replace WHALE oil Given that hemp is a renewable annual crop, the
implications for desertification and re-forestry plans is obvious. Prior to its prohibition, hemp was used in all
manner of rope and canvass making, too. All of these factors can be incorporated into any sustainable
development plan, and the Rastafari Movement, which has lead the charge in the legalization of the herb, stands
poised, as expert growers, to provide the supply to meet the demand. That is, if African development planners
assert their ..independence.., and take the initiative to legalize the herb, with some measure of protection to the
Rastafari Community. There are enormous economic benefits of cannabis sativa, too. According to de
Albuquerque (1996c:4), in Jamaica in the early 1980s "illegal income from marijuana, estimated then at U.S. $3.5
billion a year, (was) larger than the country’s GDP." British Columbia developed a $6-billion industry. Add to this the
billions of dollars spent fightin cannabis cultivation and incarceration for possession,cultivation, distribution, etc,
and the numbers are staggering. Industrially speaking, the world wide sales of hemp were estimated about R32m
in 1993, but this figure had grown to R473m within two years. It is expected to reach R9,5bn by 2001. This is why
ANC MPL Andre De Wet said that the legalization of the hemp industry could "transform much of rural Transkei from
rural poverty to rural prosperity" [..South Africa: Politicians Call For Legalization Of Hemp.. 1998] Indeed, it could
transform all of Africa! Commercial Achievements ..As stated in the introduction (quote at beginning of Rastafari
Culture (..Way of life..) above), there are many other components that combine to give meaning to our way of life.
The components come in the form of music, art and any other projects we endeavor to accomplish in the name of
Rastafari. . . . Whether Nyahbinghi, Twelve Tribe, Bobo Shanti, or a simple Rasta man/woman who belong to no
particular house, these seven principles apply to you. The Red, Gold and Green, the Lion, the Drums, the chanting,
the Bible, the history, the language, the culture, the values, the life style, the behavior and the attitude is within the
fabric of these seven principles... -- from Seven Principles of Rastafari Reggae, crafts and image [This section to be
more fully developed] ..If one even looks at ARTS and CRAFTS, it is the same story. Many are the occasions when
VENDORS have been pushed from place to place out behind everybody..s back, and persecuted when they were
just seeking an honest living from their talents. . . . Too often a brother or sister may have a SKILL, OR A PRODUCT
that has marketable potential but it never becomes a viable income generator all because it lacks support and
investment. If it had adequate support and investment it could become a productive activity capable of supporting
many more... [Ras Jahaziel Book ..1] Marginalization from mainstream ..There are billions of dollars being sunk in
internal investments in the ..informal sector.. by ordinary African men and women. Many African leaders do not take
these resources seriously. Indeed, many of them do everything possible to undermine entrepreneurs in these
sectors of the economy through harassment and seizures of properties. This is because the leaders have no
confidence in the creative and innovative powers of their own people, leading them to externalize their ill-gotten
wealth at the first available opportunity. These ..internal.. investments can be strengthened and improved upon to
constitute the basis for an alternative ..accumulation.. model[i.e. susu economics] that can strengthen internal
accumulation and investment... [Nabudere 2001] This has been especially true of the Rastafari Movement
worldwide. Many Rasses ..separate.. themselves intentionally from the ..Babylon system.. of economic ..
downpression... Others because of their dreadlocks or illegally enforced drug tests, can..t get employment. The
Rastafari Movement solution has always been small scale entrepreneurism ..peddling.. and agricultural
entrpreneurism such as the ganja trade, ..roots.. drinks, ital restaurants, etc. These small scale industries, pro-
human and pro-agriculture, are now ripe for transformation into economies of scale. Ironically, it is this very pro-
human, spiritual culture and its products, which has been excluded from the dominant Eruropean-American
economic order, and even the African and African Diasporan mainstream culture. This is best explained by Ras
Jahaziel in an article entitled: ..Present condition of Rastafari Elders.. FIRST OF ALL, DO NOT VIEW THE ELDERS
AS NEEDING PITY, or else one may continue that age old malady of BLAMING THE VICTIM. Because most of THE
ELDERS are talented people, what they need is ASSISTANCE IN PROMOTING THEIR TALENTS. THIS IS THE
CHALLENGE BEFORE IANDI. COLLECTIVELY, WORKING TO PROMOTE IANDI CULTURE AND BREAKING DOWN
ALL THE OBSTACLES THAT HAVE BEEN PLACED IN IANDI WAY. If the TALENTS OF RASTAFARI have not brought
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY so far, it is because of THE GREAT WALL OF EXCLUSION which the SATANIC
UROPEAN system has set up to marginalize CONSCIOUS CULTURE and support THE CULTURE OF UN-
CONSCIOUSNESS. The same ones who slaved black people to plant SUGAR CANE, TO MAKE RUM, TO
DESTROY GENERATIONS OF BLACK FOLK AND NATIVE AMERICANS, are the same ones who sit in the self-
righteous TOWERS OF WHITE SUPREMACY and dictate by means of force and economic pressure, WHAT THE
BLACK MAN CAN PLANT AND WHAT HE CANNOT PLANT. and these are the same ones who control the IMF AND
THE WORLD BANK limiting wages, while driving THE COST OF LIVING sky high. LETS FACE IT. THERE IS AN
INTERNATIONAL CONSPIRACY OF LONG STANDING, TO CUT OFF AFRICA FROM EVER ARISING TO HER
FORMER GREATNESS. the reason why THE SLAVE MASTER’S CASTLES ARE INCREASING AND GETTING
BIGGER AND BIGGER WHILE AFRICANS ARE GETTING MORE DEPENDENT ON PITY, is because the system is
set up so that AFRICANS WILL ALWAYS BE TOO BUSY BUILDING THE SLAVE MASTER’S KINGDOM TO GET
AROUND TO BUILDING THEIR OWN ALL BLACK MEN WHO DARED REBEL AND GIVE THEIR LIFE TO THE
AFRICAN STRUGGLE were either slandered and had their characters defamed, or THEY WERE BOYCOTTED
ECONOMICALLY. ASSASSINATION IN SOME FORM OR THE OTHER. So again when looking at THE ELDERS OF
RASTAFARI, as an AFRICAN, one is looking at one’s own predicament from which one can weigh the options.
PRESS FORWARD MORE DETERMINEDLY TO BE FREE FROM U-ROCENTRICK DOMINATION, by seeking more
and more wayshow to COLLECTIVELY GENERATE RASTAFARI CULTURE TO ITS FULL POTENTIAL, or the other
option left is TO STAY CONTENTED WITH BOWING AND TAKING ORDERS FROM THE WHITE BOY. One can dig
deep within oneself and set a firmer commitment toAFRICAN LIBERATION or one could give in to the attemptmake
THE U-ROPEANIZED AFRICAN A PERMANENT FEATURE OF THE LANDSCAPE... [Ras Jahaziel 2000] This
marginalization partially explains the lack of Rastafari Repatriation/Development Funds.<br>Unable to ..fit neatly..
into donor/scholarship paradigm because of its Ethiopian ..spiritual supremecy paradigm.. and direct threat to Euro-
American/Western World Hegemony which rules African elites, the Rastafari Movement has not had access to
traditional routes of development which are based on ..feasibility studies.. and university/institutional connections.
To understand this, consider that while a fully funded Israeli state was created for Ashkenazic converted Jews after
WWII, it wasn..t until 1996 the the Rastafari Movemant gained consultative status at the UN/ECOSOC. This is in
spite of the fact that Rastafari demand for Reparations and Repatriation for descendants of the Slave-Trade pre-
date Reparations to Israel. To date, while Israel receives several billions of dollars annually, no monies have ever
been paid to the Rastafari Movement or to the African Diaspora for the African Holocaust which supersedes the
Jewish Holocaust both in terms of length of oppression and cost in human lives. Marginalization from OAU/AU
1961 Mission and JA Government failure to follow-up Long before the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was
established by Haile Selassie in His capital city of Addis Ababa, the people called by his name .. the Rastafari ..
have cried out for Repatriation, to return the descendants of Africa who were taken in captivity to the west. In 1922,
Ras Tafari invited Garveyites ..to return home.. [see Niah and Ras Nathaniel..s Malcolm X article]. Land in
Shashemane, Ethiopia, was even granted to Black people of the west as early as 1931, and many people, mostly
members of the Rastafari and Jamaican communities, began to settle there. From that time to the present,
Rastafari people have done more to promote African Unity and Repatriation than any group of Africans abroad. In
fact, it was the Rastafari culture which taught the world ..Africa for Africans at home and abroad... Before the OAU
was formed, the African Diaspora, including three members of the Rastafari community and a delegate of the
Ethiopian World Federation, sent a fact-finding mission to several African nations in 1961 to discuss Repatriation.
The mission, sponsored by the Jamaican Government, was met and welcomed by H.I.M. Haile Selassie of
Ethiopia, Governor General Nnamdi Azikiwi of Nigeria, President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, President William
Tubman of Liberia and Prime Minister Milton Margai of Sierra-Leone. Several official and unofficial reports with
recommendations were made at that time, and thus, the issue of Repatriation was the primary issue of concern of
both the African Diaspora and leading governments of Africa who, two years later, would form the OAU. Perhaps the
first attempt that the OAU made to include the African Diaspora happened in 1963 at the opening session of the
OAU Summit. At that conference, H.I.M. Haile Selassie affirmed that,..Our Armageddon is past. Africa has been
reborn as a free continent and Africans have been reborn as free men. The blood that was shed and the sufferings
that were endured are today Africa..s advocates for freedom and unity. Those men who refused to accept the
judgment passed upon them by the colonies, who held unswervingly through the darkest hours to a vision of an
Africa emancipated from political, economic and spiritual domination, will be remembered and revered wherever
Africans meet. Many of them never set foot on this continent... At that same conference, Milton Obote of Uganda
insisted that a representative of the Africans in America be invited to participate. In 1964, that representative was
Malcolm X, who addressed the Second African Summit Conference in Cairo on July 17, and stated, ..Some African
leaders at this conference have implied that they have enough problems here on the mother continent without
adding the Afro-American problem. With all due respect to your esteemed positions, I must remind all of you that
the good shepherd will leave ninety-nine sheep, who are safe at home, to go to the aid of the one who is lost and
has fallen into the clutches of the imperialist wolf... Malcolm X also attended the OAU session in Addis Ababa on
August 17 as an observer. Malcolm X was instructed to form a single organization to represent all 22 million
Africans in America. This organization was called the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU). Nearly as soon
as it was formed, Malcolm X was murdered and the OAAU failed to materialize its strength. Also at this same time,
two members of the Rastafari Community in Jamaica made a second mission to Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Kenya to
follow up on the 1961 mission, and invited H.I.M. Haile Selassie to visit Jamaica. Two years later, in 1966, His
Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie visited Jamaica and addressed the Parliament, saying, ..From another point of
view, this is precisely why the OAU has been established. It is because the African Continent, which comprises
more than 250 million people, if it were to remain divided among more than 30 states, their individual voices would
not carry weight. It is precisely why, since there is an identity of interest, we have attempted to include Jamaica...
1980-2003 Rastafari Communications to the OAU From that time to now several members of the Rastafari
Community have demanded their rights to African citizenship and to Repatriation. Numerous communications were
forwarded to the OAU. In 1992, during the 100 Year Anniversary/Centennary Celebration Year of His Majesty
Emperor Haile Selassie I, the struggle for Repatriation entered a new phase, as Ethiopia witnessed the consistent
arrival of Rastafari men, women and children. On August 4, 1992, the Ethiopian World Federation, Incorporated met
with officials at the OAU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During this same year, Priest Harry of the Ethiopian
African Black International Congress (EABIC) had face-to-face communications with OAU General Secretary Salim
Salim concerning Repatriation. The EABIC called on the OAU to grant Jamaica observer status so that she
(Jamaica) could request an OAU member state to take up the issue of Repatriation. In May of 1993, in Abuja,
Nigeria, the OAU organised a Pan-Afrikan Conference on Reparations for the suffering caused by colonialism in
Africa The issue of Repatriation was put off. Then in June, rather than giving a member seat to Jamaica, the OAU
made Eritrea (historically an Ethiopian territory) its 52nd member. Indeed, on July 14, 1993, Ghanian President
Jerry John Rawlings, in a speech to the OAU in Cairo, called for African leaders to ..Make a place for Africans in the
Diaspora... President Rawlings also said, "We should and must find a way to include all the sons and daughters of
Africa in building and moving our societies forward. In this respect, I would propose that the OAU should consider
granting observer status to representative groups of Black Africans in the Diaspora... This was followed up by the
EABIC with another letter submitted to OAU General Secretary Salim Salim through a Mr. Hagaga on November 17,
1994. More recently, in 1998, The EABIC Honorable Priest Kenny forwarded a report to Mr. Abdul Kouroma,
Assistant Secretary General of the OAU [Chief of Political affairs?] and outlined the situation of the Rastafari
Community on the Shashemane land grant. Two years later, in 2000, the Honorable Priest Kenny was also
murdered, and to this day, the Rastafari Community still has not received a response from the OAU. Rastafari
Absence at AU Western Diaspora Forum and other planning forums When the African Union reached out to the
African Diaspora, incredibly no invitation was extended to the Rastafari Community. Consequently, the Rastafari
Community was not represented at the First African Union Western Diaspora Forum held in Washington, D.C.
December 17-19, 2002. As a result, the main issue of Repatriation was not even mentioned in the Forum..s report.
The Rastafari movement has been noteably absent at other major Diasporic forums, including those of NCOBRA
and AFFORD. When the author attended the NCOBR 11th Annual Reparations Conference in Washington D.C. and
asked a Rastafari Elder who lived in the area why he wasn..t attending the conference just down the street at
Howard University, his response was that no one called and invited ..us.. and that if they weren..t going to air his
comments on CNN, he wasn..t going to waste his breathe. Reparations over repatriation. In the USA, in Africa and
in the Caribbean, several groups and committees are meeting to discuss the issue of Reparations. As the
pressure for Reparations increases, there arises a need for a central co-ordinating body to organise and present a
major international petition which addresses this issue. I declare that the Rastafari movement is best-suited to
lead this international call for Reparations to Black people. Rastafari is, firstly, the first community of African
descendants to stake a claim for Reparations. Secondly, from its position as a new world religion with members of
the faith to be found in all countries, the Rastafari movement has a spiritual foundation which is globally known and
respected, as well as an international network of members united by a common Afro-cultural philosophy. [Hannah ]
As noted above, in May of 1993, in Abuja, Nigeria, the OAU organised a Pan-Afrikan Conference on Reparations for
the suffering caused by colonialism in Africa The issue of Repatriation was put off. This signaled that Reparations
would be the priority issue around which the pan-African movement was going to rally around. A decade later, we
see the results: numerous Reparations movements and conferences, including the the African Reparations
Movement (ARM) in the UK, the Jamaican Reparations Movement (JaRM) and even Caucasians United for
Reparations and Emancipation (CURE). The 2nd World Reparations and Repatriation Truth Commission
convened in Ghana in 2000 concluded with a Petition being served in the International Court at the Hague for: $ 777
TRILLION US,, Against the United States of America (USA), Canada, and European Union Members, For Unlawful
Removal And Destruction Of Petitioners’ Mineral And Human Resources From The African Continent Between The
Years Of 1503 A.D. Up To The End Of The Colonialism Era - 1957 Through 1960s. Last October, the African and
African Descendants’ World Conference Against Racism convened in Barbados and drew heavy criticism for
expelling non-African delegates. The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) hosted its
14th Annual conference this past June and has a program to make Representative John Coyners HR40 ..
Reparations Bill.. a major issue in the US Presidential campaign in 2004. By contrast, there has not been a single ..
Repatriation.. conference nor has any ..Repatriation.. group formed. Strangely, Rastafari leaders, with a few
exceptions, particularly in JaRM, and in Barbados, are absent from these Reparation conferences and movements,
and thus the voice of Repatriation is also absent, and Reparations continues to be framed in such a way that the
Rastafari Movement and Repatriation is poorly understood and hence further marginalized. There are literally
thousands of voices and workers in the Reparations movement, white the entire Repatriation movement numbers
a few hundred. It is interesting to note, however, how the NEPAD ..development partners.. are strategizing against
the Reparations movement. Last November, SABCnews.com reported that former apartheid South African
President FW De Klerk suggested that support for a claim filed by Jubilee South Africa and the Khulumani Support
Group against international banks and companies would impede foreign investment in South Africa and hamper
progress of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). [SABCnews.com 2001] Although the idea that
claims against corporations for Apartheid Reparations would hurt foreign investment in South Africa was refuted by
World Bank chief economist Jeffrey Stiglitz, nonetheless South African Minister of Justice and Constitutional
Development Penuell Maduna, upon request of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, submitted an intervention to US
courts in New York opposing legal action against corporations that aided and abetted the illegitimate apartheid
state and called for a legal complaint to that effect to be ..dismissed... [Gabrielle 2003] This begs the question: How
can we expect equal partnership from development partners that won..t recognize the legitimacy of Reparations for
the African Holocaust, who walk out on the World Conference Against Racism, and who are actively fighting against
the African Diaspora..s Reparations Movement?
