Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction

From its obscure beginnings in Jamaica in the early 1930s, Rastafari has grown into an international socio-religious movement. It is estimated that 700,000 to 1 million people worldwide have embraced Rastafari, and adherents of the movement can be found in most of the major population centers and many outposts of the world. Most believers worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (ruled 1930-1974), as God incarnate. They often embrace the spiritual use of cannabis and reject western society, called Babylon. Believers proclaim Africa (also "Zion") as the original birthplace of mankind, and the call to repatriation to Africa is a key tenet. Rastafari: A Very Short Introduction provides an account of this widespread but often poorly understood movement. Ennis B. Edmonds looks at the essential history of Rastafari, including its principles and practices and its internal character and configuration. He examines its global spread, its far-reaching influence on cultural and artistic
production in the Caribbean and beyond, and its handling of gender issues.

ISBN-13: 9780199584529

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Publication Date: 02-07-2013

Pages: 144

Product Dimensions: 6.70h x 4.57w x 0.30d

Series: Very Short Introductions

Ennis B. Edmonds is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Kenyon College. An authority on African Diaspora Religions, Religion in America, and Sociology of Religion, he is the author of Rastafari: From Outcasts to Culture Bearers.