Rastafari and slavery

Rastafari and slavery

Rastafari was born out of exploitation and slavery. Picture: Dan Rizzuto ©

Rastafari is a religion born in Jamaica, a country whose society and culture for the last four centuries has been substantially formed by the slave trade.

One of the fundamental themes of Rastafari is that of repatriation; return to Africa, and particularly to Ethiopia - 'Zion' - the spiritual ideal of Rastafari.

Slavery is part of Rastafari in several ways:

• Rastafari is a religion born out of exploitation and slavery
  • Rastafari came into existence amongst the descendants of former enslaved Africans in Jamaica
• Rastafari is a religion of people living in oppression and 'exile' as the result of enslavement
  • The term 'Babylon' explicitly links the exile and slavery of Africans with the exile and slavery of the Jews in Babylon. ('Babylon' has now developed into a term for any form of oppression, or any oppressive mechanism in society)
  • Rastafari offers a Black Redeemer for the exiled enslaved
  • Rastafari provides a foundation for religious 'nationalism'
  • Rastafari provides a religious context for black people separated from their roots
  • Rastafari provides a vision of a 'promised land' for all black people
  • Rastafari is a rock of black pride in the face of 'expressions of white superiority'
• Rastafari, for some adherents, is a religion of resistance and struggle against all oppression
  • Resistance to historical slavery is now replaced by resistance to poverty, exploitation and racism
• Rastafari is partly a response to Christianity, the religion of the 'oppressors', and to being excluded from Christianity
• Major themes include
  • hope of repatriation to Africa - although nowadays this is seen as a spiritual repatriation rather than a literal one
  • defending the poor and oppressed
• Slavery is often used as a subject in reggae music
• The colours of the Rastafari flag reflect slavery; as the British reggae band Steel Pulse put it in the song Rally Round:

Oppression by slavery

Up to 700,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Jamaica. The slave-owners treated them as less than fully human, an inferior species of humankind; almost as a kind of domestic animal. Within the ranks of the enslaved, status was given by occupation, and by paleness of skin.

The owners didn't just treat the 'slaves' as inferior, they also taught them that Africa itself was an inferior place; a 'dark continent' filled with uncivilised languages, cultures and customs. In this they reflected the activity of the Christian churches in sending missionaries to Africa to bring civilisation and salvation to its inhabitants.

Religious repression

The slave-owners not only tried to prevent the enslaved practicing their African religions, but also barred them from practising Christianity.

Christianity not only had some notions of human equality that were uncomfortable for Christian slave-owners, but was 'clearly supposed to be reserved for whites' and not shared with their 'inferiors'. Not all Christians agreed with this and some non-conformist ministers did great work among the enslaved Africans, to the dismay of both the slave-owners and the Anglican Church.

The enslaved Africans nonetheless retained as much of their old faith as they could, in an undercover way.

Find out more

• Slavery
• Reggae and slavery