Ras Cultura Special. Introduction.

 Journalism: Lígia Cabús Bibliographic Consultancy: Ras Neilton The Rastafari movement or Rastafarianism was born from the conjunction of social, political, economic and cultural factors. These were events that marked a time of great changes in the consciousness of people around the world. In the first half of the 20th century, the 1900s, humanity seemed to be collectively experiencing a process of review and proof of true evolution. Great achievements were celebrated, such as technological advances; on the other hand, monumental mistakes were made; a paradox because, at that same moment, voices from all over the world made their protests heard demanding reparation for the great wounds opened by the arbitrariness of countless generations of the past. In this context, the most vehement cries came from the African continent, completely exhausted and chaotic as a result of the abuses committed by European colonization. In África, black movements emerged seeking to rescue ethnic and cultural self-esteem and Rastafarianism appeared as an ideological meeting point that offered strong symbols representing identity values. The philosophical-religious origin of the Rastafarian doctrine is double from a historical and geographical point of view. Around the 1930s, in two distant places, the same spirit of renewal was rising. Political-cultural mobilizations that shook Etiópia had a notable repercussion on Jamaica. At that time, Etiópia was a theocratic monarchy governed by the mythical dynasty of descendants of the biblical king Salomão, the result of his union with the no less legendary queen of Sabá (or Sheba). This one governed a vast region to the south of that country. These heirs maintained the lineage and the throne over millennia and on November 2, 1930, at the age of 38, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned as the new ruler of the Ethiopian empire.

MARCUS GARVEY

Years earlier, in Jamaica, Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), a militant for the black cause, had literally prophesied the emergence of a "Salvador", a Messiah whose mission would be to rescue the dignity of black communities. Garvey was the creator of Universal Negro Improvement Association, an entity that became a spokesperson for the dissatisfactions of the American black working class. Ras Tafari's coronation received extensive international media coverage. When the newspapers, featuring the king's photograph, reached Jamaica, Garvey declared that the moment had arrived. Ras Tafari was God's chosen one. Upon receiving from the Ethiopian clergy (one of the oldest in the Orthodox Christian Church) the crown, scepter, golden mantle and sacred sword of the Solomonid dynasty, the "Prince without Fear" came to be called Haile Selassie I - a name that means "Power of the Divine Trinity". In Kingston, the news that arrived about the new king's first acts had a special impact. Many citizens belonging to the poor classes and political activists saw the coronation as the fulfillment of one of leader Garvey's prophecies. He had stated years before: "Look at África! When a king is crowned the day of redemption will have arrived."

THE BLACK MESSIAH

The figure and story of Haile Selassie are at the basis of Christian-Rastafarian theology. In Etiópia, the heir to the throne of Davi tempts them, among other titles, those of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Due to his enormous charisma and strong leadership in favor of oppressed nations and ethnicities throughout the world, Selassie began to be considered as "Cristo", in its original meaning, Chrestos, that is, anointed, the Son of God, reincarnation of Jesus de Nazaré himself. His birth was associated with ancient prophecies. In fact, Marcus Garvey was not the first to prophesy the coming of a Salvador who would redeem the wronged. Theologians analyzed the facts and found connections between Ras Makonnen and predictions contained in the Catholic-Christian Bible, in the sacred books of the Jews and in the Apocryphal Gospels (texts contemporary with the four official gospels but disregarded by the Apostolic and Roman Catholic Church). For Rastafarians, the announced return of Jesus, or the Messiah, occurred on July 23, 1892, when Ras Tafari came into the world, the son of noble descendants of the House of Davi in African lands. His father, Ras Makonnen Wolde Michael was a region governor, a hereditary position. Young Tafari was raised as an Orthodox Christian (of the Eastern Orthodox Church). Studied at Etiópia and in France. He was well versed in the sacred scriptures of the most diverse currents of Christianity and Judaism. He knew rare works: the Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings), an African Jewish Bible whose original dates back a thousand years ago, and also the Livro de Enoch, the Livros de Moisés, the Livro do Éden, the 31 volumes of the traditional Hebrew Bible and the 21 canonical (official) books of the New Testament. As the future ruler of a territory, he was initiated into the arts of war and battle horsemanship. "Lig" - Count Tafari was also an Initiate in the mysteries of nature and was said to be able to talk to lions and leopards.

SOLOMON'S DYNASTY IN AFRICA

In Kebra Nagast, it is said that King Davi, the first Jewish ruler of the so-called Period of Kings in Jewish history, married Bathsheba, a descendant of black Jews. The couple produced the historic Salomão, who succeeded his father and fathered a son with Queen Sheba (the Queen of Sabá), empress of lands south of Ethiopia. As a legacy to the heir, Salomão entrusted the Queen with a diamond ring decorated with the figure of Leão de Judah. The boy was called Menelik, Bayna-Lehkem or, the "Son of the Wise", and it is said that he visited the lands of Israel where he met his father and with him was initiated into Judaism. This is how the Kingdom of Davi was established in Etiópia three thousand years ago and the Dynasty, as well as the diamond ring, went through the centuries until it became extinct with the death of haile Selassie. In addition to the titles of King of Kings (Negus Nagast) and Lord of Lords, the Ethiopian throne added many other attributes that reinforced the religious authority of the emperor; he was the Leão de Judah, the Chosen One of God, the Black Messiah.