Knitted Hat, Tam
name: label: Collector
content: Jake Homiak
label: Donor Name
content: Jake Homiak
notes: label: Notes
content: A black, green, yellow and red knitted hat with a small black brim. Referred to as a tam, 'cover' or 'crown' in Rastafari culture, the hat is knitted in such a way as to expand to accommodate the varying size and mass of dreadlocks that would be coiled around the male wearer's head or simply pushed into the tam by the wearer. The design and colors of the tam are expressly intended represent the tri-colors of the Ethiopian flag (green on top, yellow center, red on bottom). Woven into both sides of the hat is a profile image of Emperor Haile Selassie I wearing his field marshall military cap. For the Rastafari, the image is iconic, representing the Emperor's ultimate triumph over the fascist Italian forces of Mussolini that invaded and occupied Ethiopia, 1935-41. Even in such rudimentary outline the Rastafari recognize the image and its significance. Tams such as this one are typically worn by male Rastafari in public space outside their yards and/or places of abode. The colors and imagery of the tam are intended to announce the identity of the wearer as a Rastafari. These covers also serve as a form of physical and spiritual hygiene, protecting a male's 'covenant' (i.e., his dreadlocks) with the Godhead from of the various ambient polluting influences of the local 'Babylon,' (i.e., the hegemonic Eurocentric society). In contexts of worship and ritual, males typically remove their tams, allowing their dreadlocks to 'fly' and act as spiritual 'magnets' or 'antennae' to facilitate communication with the Godhead. Hat was collected by John "Jake" Homiak from Rastafari Elder, Shephan Fraser (aka Bongo Shephan), Sabbath Priest for the Nyahbinghi tabernacle in Scotts Pass, Jamaica. Collected at the residence of the priest in Cypress Hall, St. Andrew, Jamaica. It was one of a number of 'tams' (knitted hats) in his possession that had been made by Ras Ivi Tafari (aka Donovan Wright), a well-known Rastafari knitter who markets his craft internationally. Tam had only been worn a few times and was not previously owned by anyone other than Bongo Shephan Fraser.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 27 Mar 2023
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Cypress Hall, St. Andrew, Jamaica, Caribbean
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Jamaican
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2073991
label: USNM Number
content: E434667-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Hat
physicalDescription: label: Diameter - With Visor
content: 24 cm
label: Height - With Support Inside
content: 18 cm