Description
Book SynopsisA look into the origins and practices of Rastafarianism. From the direct accounts of these early members, the author is able to reconstruct pivotal episodes in Rastafarian history to offer a look into a subgroup of Jamaican society whose beliefs took root in the social unrest of the 1930s.
Trade ReviewVital for students of African American religions and Caribbean religions, but also of interest to anthropologists, sociologists, and historians. Highly recommended. Chevannes closely attends to the internal rifts and doctrinal disputes that caused denominational splits within the movement. As Rastafari moved into the larger world, some of its teachings, such as the strict observance of menstrual taboos, were attacked. Chevannes’s analysis of that growth and how it is changing present-day Rastafari is fascinating and illuminating. No fanbook for couch-bound ‘Waspafaris’ sitting around the plastic bong, this is a serious look at a living, growing religion. Rastafari is unquestionably the best guide to the historical and social connections between the Rasta movement and Jamaica’s peasant religious traditions. It is also the finest overview of the movement and worthwhile reading simply for the tales of the individuals who founded the movement. The most authoritative analysis of the Rastafarian movement to date. Chevannes combines an oral history account of the social origins of the movement in Jamaica with an ethnographic study of current processes among Rastafarians in the city of Kingston.
