Connecting the Dots: Rastafari, Reggae, Jews and Zionism

Posted on January 9, 2008
Filed Under Jews, Culture, Music, Africa |

Sometime more than a year ago, I wondered about the connection between reggae and Zionism. Occasionally you hear the word “Zion” being sung by artists like Bob Marley and even his son Damien Marley in some of their songs. I had no idea why but I did have a hunch that there was a complex story worth exploring.

The result of that post was the following…

I was prompted to watch Damien Marley’s video “Road To Zion” and somewhere along it, this popped in my face.

ZionStar

Yes, that’s right, the Star of David in the unforgettable reggae colors of red, yellow and green. So basically the “Zion” he was singing about wasn’t just any Zion, it was the Zion, the Jewish Zion, the Land of Israel and Jerusalem. Or so I believed.

I thought to myself “cool”, let’s dig deeper… and we sure did. Interesting comments were contributed.

Halalhippie from Denmark:

H.I.M Haile Selassie Ras Tafari was alledgedly descending from the Biblical king Solomon, thus the title “Lion of Juda”.

DrewCatt from Jamaica:

1. Rastafarianism does not bar its members from getting angry nor does it bar anger. It promotes livity, healthy living and peace. The two are different.

2. While it is afro-centric, it’s as fringe a religion as they come. You find any Jamaican parent and they’ll tell you that their greatest fear is that their child decides to become a Ras. It’s barely taken hold in its country of origin, much less in Africa.

3. There is NO set theology or beleif in Rastafarianism. Different rastas will follow different things. The only real thing they all have in common is the beleif that Emperor Haile Selassie is (or was) the living God.

There is some link to Judaism in that, most Rastas will follow their own version of Jewish law.

Raccoon from Israel:

The dreadlocks thing has a lot of connection to Judaism. Cohens (the priest caste of Judaism) are forbidden to cut their hair or to comb it. They found ways around it - but they are not supposed to “pass iron through their hair”

… Interestingly, it would appear that before the Diaspora, Jews used Cannabis as a sacred herb. To my ancestors it was known as “Kne Bosem” - translated loosely as “aromatic cane”, and was a regular part of worship.

DrewCatt from Jamaica:

Ok, some more info on the Rasta-Jew link. Rastafarians compare their exile from Africa with the Israelites exile to Babylon. There is also a comparison to the Israelites who were enslaved in Egypt before they went to the Promised Land.

Generally, Rastafarians believe that they are the original Lost Tribes of Israel that were once scattered by Babylon until the appearance of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I. It was the appearance of Selassie that was to signal the reinvigoration of the tribes of Israel (that, of course, didn’t happen).

Raccoon is close to the mark with the locks. There may be some links to judaism, but as for Jamaican rastas, the locks are a part of the Nazarite Vow (”They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard nor make any cuttings in their flesh”). Samson, of biblical fame, is believed to be a Nazarite with dreadlocks. Many Rastafarians believe that like Samson, their hair is their strength and also their weakness if it is cut off.

But then there was more. This! A cross. It conflicts with the Star of David. Or so it seemed, at least to me.

ZionCross

At first I didn’t understand its meaning or how Christianity and Judaism were both related to Rastafari. But now thanks to Jennifer Brea, I do.

Check out this post and find out the answer: The Kebra Negast. Pretty damn interesting I must say.

Comments

3 Responses to “Connecting the Dots: Rastafari, Reggae, Jews and Zionism”

  1. Howie on January 10th, 2008 1:45 am

    Rastas have a close link to one Jew for certain…that is Raccoon…

    Let me sing you my favorite Reggae Song (and your own beat)

    I smoke two joints in the morning
    I smoke two joints at night
    I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints
    And then I smoke two more

    Oy vey mahn

    And I have never met a Jew in my life that was a cool as a Ras…nobody beats a Ras for unmitigated cool

    Halie Saleste was God???

    Oy vey mahn

  2. DZA on January 10th, 2008 2:52 pm

    the star of david is actually an old as fuck symbol. lol execuse my vocabs .. the star of david, or the Hexagram is a pre-jewish symbol..
    I believe Moses (Mosa) was black .. maybe he was a rasta :p

    anyways.. listen to this people
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=sN01CT-v7as
    WOE TO THE DOWNPRESSORS

  3. Roman Kalik on January 10th, 2008 7:27 pm

    DZA, the earliest usages of a Hexagram as an important symbol were by Israelites and Hindus, so your while your claim of the ‘Star of David’ being pre-Jewish has some merit (Hinduism is quite ancient, as religions go), it developed in two distant and separate regions. Neither, you will note, was Africa.

    As for Moses (Moshe) being African… Quite unlikely, as he came to Cana’an (Israel) from a around modern-day Syria-Iraq, as location names haven’t changed *that* much over the passage of recorded history. Of course, I’m sure that you disregard Jewish texts (you know, those draconically preserved ancient texts kept in the same language used over 2000 years ago), as that sure makes your life simpler.

    By the way, nice post, Drima. Always nice to learn some more. Though I’d say that it’s worth looking into the history, traditions, and beliefs of Ethiopian Jews to get a fuller picture here. Ethiopian Jewish traditions do include tales of the Ark being put into their care when they left the Holy Land to avoid the Israel/Judea internal wars.

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