Description
Book SynopsisIlluminates how the Rastafari movement managed to evolve in the face of severe biases
Misunderstood, misappropriated, belittled: though the Rastafari feature frequently in media and culture, they have most often been misrepresented, their political and religious significance minimized. But they have not been vanquished.
Charles Price's Rastafari: The Evolution of a People and Their Identity reclaims the rich history of this relatively new world religion. Charting its humble and rebellious roots in Jamaica's backcountry in the late nineteenth century to the present day, Price explains how Jamaicans' obsession with the Rastafari wavered from campaigns of violence to appeasement and cooptation. Indeed, he argues that the Rastafari as a political, religious, and cultural movement survived the biases and violence they faced through their race consciousness and uncanny ability to ride the waves of anti-colonialism and Black Power.
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Trade Review
"Well-written and engaging . . . breaks new ground both in the data it analyzes and the theory it advances. Price deftly demystifies the ‘sudden’ appearance of Rastafari by showing how it is rooted in notions of black identity and African redemption." -- Ennis B. Edmonds, Donald L. Rogan Professor of Religious Studies, Kenyon College
"In clear prose and with a storyteller’s disposition, Charles Price offers a detailed analysis of the emergence of collective identity of the Rastafari in Jamaica, illustrating how that collective identity is an ever-changing phenomenon, with variations across time and space. Will be a lasting contribution to the field." -- Anita Waters, Denison University
"Fascinating and a pleasure to read. Charles Price makes a distinctive contribution by detailing how a Rastafari cultural gestalt emerges. Price shows how cultural patterns can have multiple origins, influences, and significance. Rastafari is a new and necessary reframing of Rastafari culture." -- Richard Salter, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
