April 21st marks the 53rd anniversary of Grounation Day, when His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, landed in Jamaica as part of his Caribbean tour that also took in Barbados, Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago. The event marked a watershed in the international profile of the livity known as Rastafari. (1)
Now a global phenomenon, Rastafari has its most direct roots in 1930s Jamaica around a confluence of Garveyite Ethiopianism from prophetic proselytizers like Robert Athlyi Rogers and Fitz Balintine Pettersburg (2) through to its founding fathers like Leonard Percival Howell (aka Gong-g’un Guru Maragh – Bro. Gong), Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert, Henry Archibald Dunkley and Robert Hinds, as well as Paul Erlington, Altamont Reid, Vernon Davis and Ferdinand Rickets. (3) Other foundational elements can be found on the continent of Afrika, such as the term ‘Rasta’ that has Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) origins (4) and Nyahbinghi, the name of its oldest mansion dating back, to, at least, eighteenth century east Afrika. (5)
The significance of Grounation Day in Jamaica shouldn’t be underestimated, especially coming just three years after what is known as ‘Bad Friday,’ or the Coral Gardens Massacre where the supposedly ‘independent’ administration under Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante (née Clarke) ordered the apprehension of all Rastas “dead or alive.” (6) It took the Jamaican government fifty-four years to apologise “without equivocation” for the “grave injustice” meted out by the state against the Rastafari community. (7) The apology also included some, albeit paltry, provision for the destruction of the Rasta commune at Pinnacle in 1954. (8)
The groundwork laid decades earlier by the nascent Rasta Movement and its engagement with the administration of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I, also needs to be acknowledged. This includes the establishment of the Ethiopian World Federation in 1937, the granting of 500 acres of land in Shashamane, 155 miles south of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa for repatriation in 1948 and the 1961 Jamaican Mission to Afrika (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone). (9)
When Over 100,000, more 5% of the then population were in attendance to greet the plane carrying His Imperial Majesty at Palisadoes Airport on April 21st 1966 (this would be equivalent to more than three million people descending on Heathrow or Gatwick, for example), it would be hard not to conclude that the Rastafari Movement was the major motivating force. Managing the situation proved to be beyond the capabilities of the state authorities so they had to call on the Rastafari community through leader Mortimo Planno to co-ordinate the Emperor’s descent from the plane and through the assembled masses. As a consequence, there was a Rasta presence at all of Haile Selassie’s subsequent engagements in Jamaica. (10)
However, within a couple years the Jamaican government once gain moved against the Black Power potential of the Rasta Movement, which by then was linking with the likes of revolutionary scholar Walter Rodney. (11) The growing influence of the Movement, especially among young people, across the region (and the world) caused other governments to follow suit. (12)
Nevertheless, Rastafari continued to build on the high-water mark of Grounation Day though the appeal of its various Mansions, that in some respects are quite divergent and of course reggae music. (13) Some of the variations includes those more rooted in biblical scripture (14) and others like Rasta icon Mutabaruka who call for a “new faculty of interpretation,” asserting:
“I refuse to keep validating my perception of the divinity of Haile Selassie through an Israelite god… We, as Rastafarians, can find the essence of our spirituality in an Ethiopia and Egypt void of Israelite interpretation.” (15)
Mutabaruka is arguably referencing the founding principles outlined by Leonard Percival Howell, who is the closest to what can be regarded as a founder of the Rastafari Movement. He used texts like Pettersburg’s The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy as inspiration for his text The Promised Key (c.1935) – a testament of faith. Two years earlier he advanced six principles of Rastafari: 1) Hatred for the White race; 2) The complete superiority of the Black race; 3) Revenge on Whites for their wickedness; 4) The negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica; 5) Preparation to go back to Africa and 6) Acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of Black people. (16)
Although principles one to four tend not to be emphasised, five and six have remained more of less constant. Indeed, two of the most recognisable Rasta chants are “Jah (The Creator) Ras Tafari (H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I) and “Repatriation is a must.” In terms of the latter maxim, Rastafari were pioneers in the post-Garvey era in agitating to ‘return home’, evidenced by the Shashamane development. Indeed, on 13th Mosiah 1968, twenty years after the land was granted, the Administrative Secretary General and Surveyor of the local Ethiopian administration, officially gave over a total of three hundred acres of land for twelve persons for settlement in Shashamane, namely: Solomon Wolfe; Gerald Brissett, Desmond Christie, Clifton Baugh, Carmen Clarke, Noel Dyer, Gladstone Robinson, Vincent Beckford, Zepha Malcolm, Landford Baugh, Uriah Brown and Willie Hillman. (17) Today there are an estimated eight hundred re-patriates in Shashamane from around twenty countries. Unfortunately, none of them, nor their children, even if born there can claim Ethiopian citizenship. (18)
As Rastafari has kept the repatriation fire burning for several generations, some credit must be due for its current ascendency on the Pan-Afrikan agenda. Today though, re-patriates are as likely to target Gambia or Ghana as Ethiopia. Ghana is a logical choice, given its role as the fountainhead of Pan-Afrikanism in the independence era, due to the pioneering work of first president Osgayefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah who, enthused by the legacy of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, called for a uniting of the continent. Dr. Nkrumah was also, alongside Emperor Haile Selassie, largely responsible for founding the Organisation of African Unity. (19)
Ghana’s current trajectory of outreach can be traced back to 1992 when it began to host the biennale PANAFEST/Emancipation Day celebration. This was followed at the turn of the millennium with the passing of the Right of Abode law, giving diasporean Afrikans, the right to stay in Ghana indefinitely. On the occasion of Ghana’s 50th independence anniversary in 2007, the Joseph Project was launched to also encourage “the descendants of enslaved Africans” to return. In December 2016, 34 ‘returnees’ became Ghanaians in a naturalization ceremony attended by then president John Mahama. “I have only restored to you what rightfully belongs to you and was painfully taken away,” president Mahama said after handing out the naturalization certificates. (20)
More recently, the current Akufo-Addo administration has declared 2019 as ‘The Year of Return’ launching a series of programs that seeks to encourage “people of African descent” to make the “birthright journey home for the global African family.” The Jamaican government officially endorsed ‘The Year of Return’ in January of this year. (21)
For its part, Gambia started its biennial Roots Homecoming Festival in 1994 under then President Yahya Jammeh and it has been referred to as a “call-to-action to people from all over the African Diaspora to discover, embrace and re-affirm their ancestral identity.” (22) Gambia is also proving itself a popular destination for the Pan-Afrikan community in the UK, such as increasing numbers of individuals and groups looking to establish initiatives there including the Manhood Academy, that holds its initiation ceremonies there. (23)
Another factor driving interest in repatriation for some is the incipient rise in naked white nationalism that is playing out in the Brexit/Trump dynamic, creating a more hazardous environment for Afrikan people. (24) To emphasise the point, one Ghanaian repatriate reflected:
“This is what it must feel like to be white in America. You’re able to walk around freely, nobody is going to do something to you just because you are black because everybody around you is black. In the US, police come around you and your heart skips a beat, here, there is a level of freedom from fear that can’t be purchased.” (25)
The more cynical may dismiss the move towards repatriation as Afro-romanticism, or even escapism. For example, broadcaster Dotun Adebayo who suggests “The Gambia is not really Africa.” (26) Yet there is a clear headed practical and economic dividend at play. As far back as 1961, the discussions between the Jamaican delegation and the Ethiopian government focused on the exchange of pre-existing skills to match with local resources to facilitate the development of the country. (27) Meanwhile, Ghana’s government anticipates that that activities around the ‘Year of Return’ will add $5 billion to the economy. (28)
The key issue for interested parties would be where to go for information and guidance. One person who’s taken up the task is young journalist and author Bro. Makonnen Sankofa who founded the Africa Repatriation Group UK (https://www.facebook.com/AfricaRepatriationGroupUK/), which is a network to connect people together for those want to repatriate to Africa. As a devout Rasta living in the UK he has also followed in the tradition of the likes of Ras Kwende Kwemara (Rastafari Livity: A basic Information Text) and Jah Blue (A Historical Report: The Rastafari Movement in England) among others, by publishing a book on the Movement The Rise of Rastafari, that will be launched at an event in Luton in May 2019.
(1) Kwende Anbessa-Ebanks (2004) Rastafari Livity: A basic Information Text. Kwemara Publications. p. 70
(2) Anbessa-Ebanks, p. 24-29; Robert Athlyi Rogers (1924) The Holy Piby. http://www.hh-bb.com/holy-piby.pdf.; Fitz Balintine Pettersburg (1926) The Royal Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy http://hh-bb.com/royal-parchment-scroll.pdf.
(3) Jah Ahkell (1999) Rasta: Emperor Haile Selassie and the Rastafarians. Reasearch Associates/School Times Publications. p. 9
(4) Ani (c 1240 B.C.) Papyrus of Ani; Egyptian Book of the Dead [Budge]. http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Books/Papyrus_Ani.html. https://web.archive.org/web/20140807110046/http://news.in.msn.com/national/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5592621
(5) Times Reporter (20/09/07) Nyabyinshi: The warrior virgin princess, her journey. https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/78269
(6) Horace Campbell (12/04/13) Coral Gardens 1963: The Rastafari and Jamaican Independence. http://www.horacecampbell.net/2013/04/coral-gardens-1963-rastafari-and.html
(7) Jamaica Observer (04/04/17) Gov’t to set up $10-m trust for survivors of 1963 Coral Gardens incident. http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Gov-t-to-set-up–10-m-trust-for-survivors-of-1963-Coral-Gardens-incident
(8) Ibid. Also see Leonard E Barrett (1988) The Rastafarians. Beacon Press. p. 86-7.
(9) Jah Blue (2002) A Historical Report: The Rastafari Movement in England. GWA Works. p. 158-181
(10) Annie Paul (20/04/11) Emperor Haile Selassie’s 1966 visit to Jamaica, Coral Gardens, Kerala and more…. https://anniepaul.net/2011/04/22/emperor-haile-selassies-1966-visit-to-jamaica-coral-gardens-kerala-etc/
(11) Juleus Ghunta (09/03/16) Why the JLP made Dr Rodney Persona non grata in 1968. https://anglesoflight1.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/why-the-jlp-made-dr-rodney-persona-non-grata-in-1968/
(12) Dave Santillo (08/01/15) A Rastafarian Stair-step Through History on the Caribbean Island of Dominica. https://puma-diaries.com/2015/01/08/a-rastafarian-stair-step-through-history-on-the-caribbean-island-of-dominica/
(13) Anbessa-Ebanks, p. 70-88
(14) Ibid
(15) Mutabaruka (2003) A New Faculty of Interpretation. http://www.rastafarispeaks.com/cgi-bin/forum/archive1/config.pl?md=read;id=35322
(16) Ahkell. p. 10.
(17) Blue. p. 144.
(18) Sally Hayden (06/02/16) A Murder in Ethiopia Shows the Rastafarian Promised Land Is Far From Heavenly. https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/vb8v8x/a-murder-in-ethiopia-shows-the-rastafarian-promised-land-is-far-from-heavenly
(19) Erin MacLeod (21/04/16) When Emperor Haile Selassie went to Jamaica on this day in 1966. https://africasacountry.com/2016/04/when-emperor-haile-selassie-went-to-jamaica-on-this-day-in-1966
(20) Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu (14/11/18) How Ghana made itself the African home for a return of the black diaspora. https://qz.com/africa/1460950/african-americans-caribbean-diasporas-return-to-africa-is-ghana/.
(21) Francis Akhalbey (21/01/19) Jamaica officially endorses the historic 2019 Year of Return in Ghana. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/jamaica-officially-endorses-the-historic-2019-year-of-return-in-ghana
(22) Theo Chambers (26/03/14) The Gambia invites the African Diaspora to a healing and reunification homecoming. https://prtravelwire.com/index.php/entry/the-gambia-invites-the-african-diaspora-to-a-healing-and-reunification-homecoming
(23) The Manhood Academy For Boys (21/01/19) Happy New Year. https://uploads.strikinglycdn.com/files/4b7fb62a-d8d1-450e-9f30-93df810413b7/HAPPY%20NEW%20YEAR.pdf
(24) Lizzie Dearden (13/12/18) Number of far-right referrals to counter-extremism programme Prevent rockets 36% in a year. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prevent-extremism-figures-far-right-terrorism-islamist-statistics-isis-referalls-a8681221.html
(25) Asiedu. Op. Cit.
(26) Dotun Adebayo (25/11/18) The Gambia is not really Africa. https://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/gambia-not-really-africa
(27) Blue. p. 162-167
(28) Asiedu. Op. Cit.
We ask the question:
Is repatriation still a must?
1) Has Rastafari influenced the current moves towards repatriation?
2) Does Rastafari need ‘a new faculty of interpretation’?
3) Is rising white nationalism a factor in repatriation?
4) Is repatriation escapism?
5) Would you consider repatriation?
6) If so would you know how to go about it?
Our Special Guests:
Bro. Makonnen Sankofa: is a devout Rasta and journalist and author of the book, The Rise of Rastafari which will be launched on May 18 at the Luton Black Books, Arts & Crafts Festival. Makonnen is also the founder of Africa Repatriation Group UK, which is a network to connect people together for those want to repatriate to Africa.
Sis. Winsome Duncan: is an author poet (‘Lyrical Healer’) and publisher. She has written over six books. Her publishing company Peaches Publications (http://www.peachespublications.co.uk/) has published a range of books including The Rise of Rastafari by Makonnen Sankofa and My First Trip to Gambia by 12 year-old Makaylah Williams (https://www.makaylahwilliams.com/), both of which will be launched in May 2019.