Conclusion about Rastafari
Considered as the most recent religion in the world, Rastafari can be viewed above all as a reaction, rebellion of Blacks in Jamaica faced with the colonial power and the oppression of the authorities. Indeed, the ideology of the movement is indissociable from the context of its birth, that is to say the social segregation policy in colonized countries and in the United States.
Furthermore, it stresses the fight for the liberation of Black people, after centuries of slavery and humiliation. Consequently, we observe some violent, racist, even fundamentalist drift at the beginning of the movement, conditioned by the black’s persecution. However, Rastafari conveys above all universal values, like peace, liberty, rapprochement between people, attachment to roots and to cultural identity, tolerance… To sum up, several tendencies coexist, between an ethnocentrism almost racist and a promotion of universal and peaceful values.
The fact remains that understanding the Rastafari movement is difficult: concepts are badly defined, the religion is not really codified (no place of worship, no preachers, no written doctrine…), it mixes an afrocentrist interpretation of the Bible and more recent beliefs, and presents a « rereading » of the history (in particular about Haile Selassie’s sacred origins)… Actually, we do not know if it is a matter of a true religion or a way of life, a shape of spirituality.
Besides, interpretations and perceptions of the Rastafari culture are often exaggerated, simplicist and are limited to ganja, blacks, dreadlocks, reggae… Obviously, reality is deeper and more complicated, but clichés remain and people do not take this culture seriously.
Finally, the wealth of Rastafari maybe lies in the worship liberty and the moral strength, the wisdom and the dignity of its believers. On the historical level, the founders of the movement have deeply worked for the defence of the Black cause, so they have paved the way for great intellectuals and poets in the XXe century.Antoine