Historical and Ethnographic Study of Rastafarianism's Early Days

 The Rastafarians by Leonard Barrett Sr. 

Haile Selassie 

unknown; according to [1] and [2] an official portrait of which b/w copies were distributed by the Ethiopian government, Public domain,

via Wikimedia Commons  

Marcus Garvey from George Grantham Bain Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Common

The Rastafarians has been on my list for some time since it seems to be the definitive book about Rastafarians. I didn’t realize that the book was originally published in the late 60s and was the result of his research in the 50s and 60s. I waited until I was in Jamaica to read this as well. Furthermore, I didn’t know that Barrett was a professor at Temple University. I’ve tried to locate some of his other books, but they are hard to find. I was able to find some older research papers from journals, and I’m looking forward to reading more of his work. The Rastafarians was excellent. It’s part ethnography, part historical study of the movement, tracing events that occurred in Jamaica during the Rastafarian backlash in the 50s, prior to their ascendency with the rise in popularity of reggae music and Bob Marley’s stardom. Regardless, I loved reading about this history of this movement, learning about how these beliefs arose in Jamaica. It was really interesting to learn about the resistance to slavery and the Maroons, who battled the colonial presence. I can also see Rastas as a kind of off shoot of the Black power movements in America, finding strength in African roots, as well as advocating for changes to diet and habits (also similar to the Nation of Islam). Barrett’s research and participation in some of the Rasta gatherings was fascinating, especially when, at the time, they were more or less banned and looked down on in Jamaican society. The version I read was an updated version, but I still would have loved to read a more recent version to examine how the perceptions and views of Rastas in Jamaica have changed since the 1970s. I really enjoyed this book, and read Safiya Sinclair’s excellent How to Say Babylon shortly after this, which provided a more interesting view of Rastafarianism, and especially examines the kind of role that Rasta women have (or do not have). Highly recommend this book to learn more about the history of Rastafarianism and the system of its beliefs and practices.