Rastafarianism

With news of Snoop Dogg’s conversion to Rastafarianism, CULTURE felt the time was ripe to educate our readers about Rastas and their faith. First of all, to dispel any myths, the Rastafari movement is not one solely based around smoking cannabis—in fact, some Rastas do not smoke at all. But it is part of many Rastas’ belief system.

Here are some talking points:

The term Rastafari comes from Ras Tafari, the name of Haile Selassie I before he became the emperor of Ethiopia in 1930. Some Rastas consider Haile Selassie I a divine figure while others view him as God’s chosen king on Earth. Not surprisingly, Ethiopia is considered a spiritual homeland for Rastas.

Some Rasta beliefs incorporate the ideas and philosophy of Marcus Garvey, who was an early back-to-Africa proponent who preached Black nationalism.

In the Rasta mythos, Babylon is a reference to the corrupt Western world and its practices. Zion is considered a heavenly domain or an anticipated (spiritual and/or physical) paradise or a promised land.

Just as the Abrahamic faiths have various terms for God (Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, etc.), the Rasta term for the Supreme Being is Jah.

One common Rasta practice is a “reasoning,” which is when the faithful gather, smoke cannabis, meditate and discuss spiritual matters.

Some Rastas grow dreadlocks based on references in the Bible (Leviticus and Numbers, for example) in which God commands the faithful not to cut their hair, or otherwise grow their hair long.