Bobo Shanti

Bobo Shanti (Bobo Shanti Congress or Ethiopia Black International Congress)

• The Bobo Shanti movement was founded in 1958 in Jamaica, by Prince Emmanuel Charles Edwards, considered by many to be the black Christ.
• Prince Emmanuel, Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie are regarded as part of a holy trinity. Selassie is regarded as King or God, Garvey is perceived to be a prophet and Emmanuel a High Priest.
• The group can now be found in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Trinidad.
• Bobo Shanti wear brightly coloured turbans and long flowing robes.
• Women in Bobo Shanti must cover their arms and legs.
• Bobo Shanti members live apart from society. Their base is in Bull Bay, Jamaica.
• They do not accept the laws and principles of Jamaican society.
• Elements of their daily life reflect Old Testament Jewish Mosaic Law:
  • Honouring the Sabbath, from sundown on Friday.
  • During the Sabbath the use of salt and oil is avoided and no work can be carried out.
  • Special rules for menstruating women.
  • Special group greetings.
• In the Bobo Shanti community men conduct religious gatherings, and are referred to as Priests.
• Bobo Shanti fast twice a week and on the first day of every month.
• The word Bobo means black. Ashanti was the name of an African tribe from Kumasi in Ghana.
• Bobo Shanti fly their flag in a different way to other Rasta groups. They fly the Red, Gold and Green flag with Red at the top, while other groups fly it the other way up.
• The Bobo Shanti do smoke marijuana, but not in public, because it is a spiritual rite only to be carried out during periods of worship.
• The Bobo Shanti movement is concerned with fulfilling Marcus Garvey's 'Back to Africa' campaign, reuniting Africans with their homeland and abandoning contact with Western society. Some Bobo Shanti feel black people should be given monetary rewards for the slavery they have endured.