From: tjj@thumper..bellcore.com (J Tim Jordan)
Subject: Rastafarians and more
Reply-To: tjj@thumper.UUCP (J Tim Jordan)
Organization: MRE
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 18:20:30 GMT

:            KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ Rastafarians gathered Wednesday for a
: huge reggae concert and other events to mark the 100th anniversary
: of the birth of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, whom the
: Rastas consider their god.
:            The week of festivities starts Thursday with a free concert at
: the National Arena. Freddy McGregor, Third World, Ziggy Marley and
: The Melody Makers, Beres Hammond, the Mystic Revelation of
: Rastafari, Judy Mowat Mutabaruka and I Jahman Levi will perform.
:            The Rastafarians, distinguished by their dreadlocks hairstyle,
: abstinence from salt and belief that marijuana is the biblical weed
: of wisdom, also plan a motorcade retracing the route followed by
: Selassie during an April 1966 visit to Jamaica.
:            ``We are His Majesty's children in the West and it is only
: fitting that we mark his 100th birthday with a celebration filled
: with the honor, respect and majesty that he is due,'' said Minion
: ``Minnie'' Phillips, the organizer of the ``Jah Live'' concert.
:            Members of the Rastafarian cult, which originated in Jamaica,
: say Selassie, who was born July 23, 1892 and died in 1975, a year
: after being dethroned in a Marxist takeover, was reincarnated as
: the black Christ.
:            They also advocate a return to Africa, which they regard as the
: spiritual home of all black people.


: ARTICLE  Rastafarians
: TEXT     {rah-stuh-far'-ee-uhnz}  Rastafarians are members of a Jamaican
: messianic movement dating back to the 1930s  in 1974 they were estimated
: to number 20,000 in Jamaica. According to Rastafarian belief the only true
: God is the late Ethiopian emperor HAILE SELASSIE (originally known as Ras
: Tafari), and Ethiopia is the true Zion. Rastafarians claim that white Christian
: preachers and missionaries have perverted the Scriptures to conceal the
: fact that Adam and Jesus were black. Their rituals include the use of marijuana
: and the chanting of revivalist hymns. REGGAE music is the popular music
: of the movement. The Rastafarians, who stress black separatism, have exercised
: some political influence in Jamaica.
: BIBLIOG  Bibliography: Barrett, Leonard E., The Rastafarians: Sounds of
: Cultural Dissonance (1977)  Sparrow, Bill, and Nicholas, Tracy, Rastafari:
: A Way of Life (1979).


: ARTICLE  Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia
: TEXT     {hy'-lee suh-lahs'-ee}  Haile Selassie was emperor of Ethiopia
: from 1930 to 1974. A cousin of Emperor MENELIK II, he was born Tafari Makonnen
: on July 23, 1892. Menelik was succeeded in 1913 by his grandson Lij Yasu,
: a converted Muslim. When Lij Yasu attempted to change the official religion
: of Ethiopia from Coptic Christianity to Islam, Tafari Makonnen drove him
: from the throne and installed (1916) his aunt as Empress Zauditu. Assuming
: the title Ras Tafari, he named himself regent and heir to the throne. He
: became de facto ruler of the country and was crowned king in 1928. Two
: years later, after the mysterious death of the empress, he became emperor
: as Haile Selassie I.  Haile Selassie ruled as an absolute monarch, centralizing
: Ethiopia and instituting a number of reforms, including the abolition of
: slavery. In 1935, after the Italian Fascist troops of Benito MUSSOLINI
: had invaded Ethiopia, Haile Selassie gained the admiration and sympathy
: of the world with his impassioned plea for aid from the League of Nations.
: The league was powerless to act, however, and Mussolini consolidated his
: gains and officially annexed Ethiopia to Italy. Haile Selassie was forced
: into exile.  Ethiopia was liberated early in World War II, and Haile Selassie
: regained his throne in 1941. After the war he resumed his long-range plans
: to modernize Ethiopia. He continued his autocratic rule, however, and opposition
: to him grew. Beginning in 1960 a series of coups d'etat were attempted,
: and in reaction his rule became increasingly despotic. Finally, in 1974
: the army succeeded in seizing control. Haile Selassie was stripped of his
: powers, and later that year he was removed from the throne and placed under
: house arrest. He died in Addis Ababa on Aug. 27, 1975.BIBLIOG  Bibliography:
: Clapham, Christopher S., Haile Selassie's Government (1969)  Legum, Colin,
: Ethiopia: The Fall of Haile Selassie's Empire (1975)  Mosley, Leonard,
: Haile Selassie: The Conquering Lion (1964)  Shwab, Peter, ed., Ethiopia
: and Haile Selassie (1972).
: 
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