RASTAFARIAN

For many Rasta’s moving back to Ethiopia is their dream. Fortunately for some this dream has come true. In 1963 Emperor Haile Selassie I gave 500 hectares of land to any African that wished to return to Ethiopia. The land that was given is located in the small southern Ethiopian town of Shasemene. The small town of Shasemene has a population of 13,000. The people living in this town are 90% Christian and 10% Muslim. The town has many visitors because it is a cross roads of the three largest Ethiopian cities. Prostitution is very common in this town and many women make good money through this business. Other than prostitution there is little contact between the sexes. The town’s economic base is in trade and farming. The staple crops are maize, beans, potatoes, wheat, barley and injera (a local grain used in traditional Ethiopian breads).

Separate from this economy the Rasta’s have set up a commune that lies three miles outside of the main market of Shashemene. The town has grown from the original 12 Rasta’s to two hundred families. Almost all of the Rasta’s living in the town have come from Jamaica. For the most part the only ones who have not are Ethiopian woman who have intermarried with the Rasta’s. The Rasta’s who live here are members of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Twelve Tribes is the most organized form of Rastafari that there is. The origin of the group is in Jamaica and has branches in Brooklyn, NY. The Twelve Tribes tend to be more radical in their beliefs than other Rasta’s. They believe strongly in the return of all Rasta’s to Africa.

The Rasta’s compound is made up of houses that are made out of mud, straw, clay and loose concrete mix. The structure of these houses is very strong, but none of the houses are more than one story. This is because the Rasta’s of this area believe that building their houses over one story would be invading Gods area. The walls of these houses are also very porous because the Rasta’s say that is so they can breath while inside.

The Rasta’s that live in the compound at Shashemene are able to live without being controlled by any kind of state. Their economy is completely informal. This is able to work because the land is very fertile and they can grow almost all they need to survive. What they can’t grow they get from the trading at the market and other funding that comes from Jamaica and other organizations. Because of this the people of the compound are completely free and truly live with no other person governing their actions. There is no class order in the compound. Work projects are done by the most skilled person in that field, being in charge of the project.

Life for women in the Rasta compound at Shashemene is not great. In fact it is more oppressive than in other areas of Rastafari culture. Women are often severely beaten for taking too long to go to the market. The men often time how long it takes to go to the market and come back with out wasting time to talk or any other pleasure. If the woman does not return in this pre planed time they are often beaten.

This is grossly unfair for when men go to the market they spend much time lingering around, smoking Ganja, listening to the BBC to see what is happening in the world as well as discussing their view of world politics of other Rasta’s.

The daily life for a man living in the Twelve Tribe compound is much different than that of the women. The men spend most of their time involved in activities that are not related to work. They will spend much of their time smoking and discussing Rasta world views, as well painting pictures of Haile Selasie I. Most Rasta’s living on the compound do not do much work in the fields. Newcomers to the compound do most of the work that is done in the field. Most of these new comers do not stay long in the community because they are worked too hard by the older members. A Ethiopian women who lived in the compound for a while claims:

The newcomers, she claimed, are exploited and overworked through a process which the brethren call education. If they do remain it is because the brethren put fear in their hearts that the Twelve Tribes in Jamaica will shoot them should they leave. To return to Babylon is forbidden and sacrilegious

Most of the money that the members of the compound receive comes from the money that has been donated by people who live in Jamaica.

Different people that live in Shashemene perceive the Rasta’s differently. Some people reject the Rasta’s because their way of life is in conflict with the rest of the community, while others find the Rasta’s to be a harmless group that does nothing to hurt the community. However, there are very few among the villagers that feel that the Rasta’s do anything positive for the struggling town.

There are a few reasons that some people in the town do not like the Rasta’s. One of these is that even though the Rasta’s preach anti-violence, people in the village claim that they are very quick to pull out a knife when they disagree with each other. A second complaint about the Rasta’s is that they are lazy and sell cloth at the market that was given to them as charity. A third complaint about the Rasta’s is one that is universal throughout every place that Rasta live. This is the complaint about their use of Ganja.

A fourth complaint out Rasta’s is simply that their religious beliefs clash with those of other Muslim and Christian beliefs.

The Rasta’s that are currently living in Shashemene welcome any African that wants to come to live in their community to come. They say their community can handle any amount of people that want to come back to African. The Rasta’s believe that they will some day turn the town of Shashemene into the most important city in Africa. They claim that some day it will be a thriving African city that will be able to defeat the oppression of the “White Man”. As of now the Rasta’s have done little to nothing to improve Shashemene.