Protest And Mysticism: The Rastafari Cult Of Jamaica

In Protest and Mysticism: The Rastafari Cult of Jamaica , Kitzinger expresses her varying opinions about the beliefs and customs of the Rastafarian religion, which she experiences first hand. She introduces the “politico-religious” (240) cult ,as the outcast of individuals who inhabit the “wastelands” (242) of Jamaica , and who believe that “the white world [is] the devil” and that the true “promised land” (243) is Africa. Rastas condemn their Jamacian citizenship because it is associated with a displacement of their people that was a plague of the western world. While the majority of the country practices Christianity, it is seen as a sin for brethren to participate in things of the white world, even though most of the cults teaching are based on interpretations from the Old Testament. Although they condemn Christians, the Rastas also believe that their religion is not an assimilated one, but one that a man must be born into. The Rasta man possess something “within himself” that consist of his “nature” and “art” , which of course, he has to be born with. Rastas were discriminated against by policemen not only for the possession of marijuana but also for the violence that was associated with their culture. Many of the earlier Rasta men held revolts when they were not given passage to Africa. Some cases even
Rastamen greeting …show more content…
She acknoweledged that there were individuals smoking but it did not make them act differently than normal , which almost helped them become more invested into their praise. Weed is such an important aspect of the culture because it is believed that there is a “mystical concept” (251) which invovles the nature and art of the Rasta man. This natural mystic is the building block of their faith in god and the art is the realtionship between them as men. They take pride in these feature because it portrays them as men and gives them self