Rasta Ways of Living

The Rasta Diet

The Rastafari diet is something that is often overlooked by many people who do not know a great deal about Rastafari. The Rasta has a very interesting belief in their thoughts about dead beings. The Rasta’s do not like being around any animal that is dead. This idea stems into their diet. The Rasta believes that it is wrong to eat animals that have died because then you are turning your body into a cemetery. This does not mean that a Rasta will not eat dairy products. Most Rasta’s have no problem with the consumption of milk because it does not come from a dead animal. Although most Rasta’s will not eat animal meat, many Rasta’s will eat fish. However the Rasta will not eat shellfish. This stems from more readings in the Bible. Some but not all Rasta will go as far as to not t eat fruit that has been altered from its original form. This means they would not eat fruit that has been pealed, cut, or smashed. There is also a large number of Rasta that will not eat any processed food.

Rasta Dialect

The dialect of the Rasta reflects their beliefs in many ways. “If you Really want to know how Rasta’s think, listen to them Talk”. Rasta’s take their speech very seriously. Rasta’s are often trying to make their speech sound very powerful and grateful. The Rasta’s speech reflects how they often think literally. Their speech uses a literal translation of words, just like their beliefs use a literal translation of biblical readings. Their speech reflects their protest against oppression, as well as their protest against authority. When the Rasta’s speech is analyzed, it shows how the Rasta’s are always trying to think positively.

The Rastafarian rhetoric changes the English language in a way that helps them make more sense of the world, as well as to protest against what the Rasta believe to be unjust. Rasta will often change word from a negative meaning to a positive meaning. The changing of the word understand to “overstand” is an example of this. To “overstand” means to fully and entirely have a grasp of a concept. This Rasta reasoning for this is that something that is under is worse than something that is over it, so they change “under” to “over”. A Rasta might say “I and I, must not just understand but overstand, seen”. A Rasta will almost never use a negative term. They will always replace it with something positive. This is a great reflection on how the Rasta always sees things positively.

Another interesting concept of the Rasta’s language is their concept of I and I. The letter “I” is in almost every part of their language. It is in the name of their Religion “Rastafari”, and it is part of their gods title Selassie I. The Rasta use the word to connect themselves to god, to show that that god is always part of them. A Rasta will never “I am going there” instead it would be “I and I am going there”. The Rasta does this to show that god is part of him, and that he is not separate from any other person. “I” is also used to replace letters of powerful words. This too is reflected in the word “you” not being part of the Rasta language. The Rasta believes that first there was just “I” and then the devil came and created “you”.

The Rasta’s Social Thought

The Rasta believes in peace and they are constantly trying to preach down violence. This preaching down of violence is often hard for Rasta’s to do because most Rasta live in poor areas where peace is often unattainable. The Rasta fear world wars, and especially Nuclear war. This want for world peace is heard often in the Rasta’s Reggae music.

One of the most important parts of Rasta thought is the protest against authority and structure. The Rasta’s refer to the authorities that rule the world as Babylon. Babylon is connected to the devil and is ruled by the oppressive “white man”. This rejection of authority can be seen in how Rastafari has no rules like many other religions do. There is not one thing that Rasta has to do to be a Rasta because that would defeat the whole purpose of being a Rasta. The Rasta’s reject the Pope very much. “Burn the Pope. Burn the Pope man….The Pope is a vampire, wants our blood. Selassie I is the head. The Pope is the devil”(Lewis pg 45). This quote of a Jamaican Rasta is an example of how the Rasta’s feel about organized religion and the Pope.

Rasta’s economic beliefs are anti-capitalism. The Rasta’s believe that Capitalism is part of Babylon. Rasta’s believe what is yours is also your neighbors. This does not mean that Rasta’s would approve of Communism. To a Rasta Communism would be too structured. They would also reject the idea of a leader telling them what to do. Most Rasta’s also do not believe in paying taxes. Because of this most Rasta’s do not take part in the formal economy. Instead they either live in a place where they can survive on what they can grow or they take part in the informal economy and survive through street vending. Some Rasta’s survive by selling Ganja, or other illegal substances.

One unfortunate part of Rastafari is their negative attitude toward females. Most Rasta’s believe that females are not equal to men. They believe that a good woman must always respect men and do what they ask. This is very contrary to much of their other beliefs about people being equal. Rasta men often beat their wives for being lazy. Rasta men believe that being naked is good because you are closer to god in your natural state. However Rasta’s believe that women should not show off their bodies. Rasta’s belief of sexual contact also differs from men to women. Rasta men often have many different partners, while it is wrong for Rasta women to give more than a hand shake to more than one man