What is Rastafari? Rastafari has been variously described as a religion, a culture and a social movement, among other designations. Rastafari prefer the term Livity, contending that Rastafari is a way of life informed by theocratic principals. A theocracy is a group of people that claims a Divinity as its leader. Elder Sam Brown once said that if you see Rastafari as King, you get a King's reward; if you see H.I.M. as God, your reward is divine; but if you see Rastafari as God and King, then you are doubly blessed . Many Rastafari , even those who have the respected status of Elder, decline to be called a leader , because they say that Jah (a short form of Jehovah) is the head of us all, the only leader. In the theocratic worldview, sacred and profane, church and state are inseperable because one moral foundation informs all behaviour. Still, within Rastafari as a whole there is a constant dialogue about the relatve weighting of the churchical and the statical, orthodox and secular influences respectively.

Rastafari assert that to know is to know, but to believe is to imply doubt. Therefore, Rastafari are encouraged to discover the Truth of Rastafari for themselves, through reasoning, meditation and the giving of thanks and praise in the form of chanting and drumming. Revealed knowledge is trusted more than mere belief. Correspondingly the term Rasafarianism is not a popular one, because ism implies schisms and divisions. Traditionally younger Rastafari studied with Elders, those more experienced in the faith. elders lived in yards (collective dwelling units  which included families) or camps (generally all-male enclaves in more isolated settings). Face-to-face small group reasoning sessions continue to be the classic way to know Rastafari.

Reasoning is a form of collective and visionary discourse in which individuals explore the implications of a particular insight, which could be based on subjects as diverse as a Bible passage or an event in the day's news. Everyone has an opportunity to speak for as long as necessary, and the reasoning is not completed until a general consensus has been achieved. Reasoning is a cooperative affair, not a competitive one. It is designed not to entertain but to elucidate. It gives ample room to the play of inspiration, while demanding a degree of disciplined concentration.

The Sacrament

for Rastafari, cannabis or holy herbs, commonly known in Jamaica as Ganja, is a sacred God-given  plant to be used for the healing of the nation. Its consumption is central to Rastafari spiritual practice. However using cannabis in more secular contexts - as tea, in tonics, in the bath , in food and medicine - should not be interpreted as any less sacred.

In keeping with knowing Jah!Rastafari as God directly for oneself, the ingestion of herbs encourages inspiration and insight through the process of sudden illumination. Socioligists would call this a visionary state characterized by the experience of oneness or interconnectedness. Rastafari insist it is a duty incumbent upon them to praise the Creator in this way, thus herbs is also known as incense. The use of herbs then is the sacrament known as communion which accompanies reasoning. Herbs may be consumed individually in a spliff of collectively in a water pipe or Chalice. For young aspirants the term Baptism is used to refer to initiation into the sacrament through the use of the Chalice.

Rastafari Practice

Livity refers to the daily life practice or Rastafari. some practices of livity are based upon the Code of the Nazarene and other Old Testament refernces, which prohibit the cutting of the hair, and prescribe the eating of certain foods based on Leviticus. Rastafari use the term Ital in the sense of natural or organic to embrace their livity practices. Within the Nyahbinghi context, ital livity then includes foodways that are close to organic as possible, and avoid the use of flesh, dairy products and artificial preparations.

Livity practices also include grooming and dress code. In general, dreadlocks, sometimes referred to as the Covenant, are regarded as holy and powerful. Rastafari often say that one should not grow locks until a firm commitment to the faith has been made., because in the putting on of the Covenant one makes a holy vow to Jah.

In addition to the dreadlocks as a powerful form of symbolism, Rastafari have also developed a distinctive style of communication based upon a form of parlance they call I-ance. This is based upon the concept that all life is connected, as in I and I or InI, an overstanding which could be related to the unitive experience of the sacrament . I is also a reference to the role that sight and sounds play in coming up in the faith. Hence the phrase wordsoundpower.Metaphors for seeing to mean comprehension abound in Rastafari, as does the image of the mystical eye itself. Therefore many syllables in words are replaced by the sound I. At the same time because the sounds of the words are considered to carry power the meaning of syllables is often taken literally and then changed to convey more appropriate sounds. For example oppression becomes downpression, and understaning becomesoverstanding. Nor is this strictly speaking a formulaic exercise. Rastafari delight in word plays as a communication style in itself and frequently in reasonings sessions individuals display their talents in this area.