ChevannesTHE INSTITUTE of Jamaica has long been a place of learning and Thursday afternoon was no different, as several students gathered to hear Professor Barry Chevannes, the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona, lecture on the Rastafarian movement.
While the lecture was titled 'The Rastafarian Movement in the 21st Century', much of the paper actually focused on the movement in the 20th century, with a great leaning toward why it has not been fully accepted by the community which spawned it.
With the exception of Calabar Primary and Junior High, the students in the lecture hall seemed to be very attentive, as some busily made notes. After being somewhat disruptive with their insistent giggling and murmurings, the students from Calabar finally made a mass exodus in the middle of the speech, in a less than quiet manner.
Other than this, the afternoon progressed rather smoothly.
Professor Chevannes lay the groundwork for his argument by discussing four phases of Rastafari. The first phase, according to Professor Chevannes, was the period during which Rastafarians began arguing that God is black. He spoke at length about this, illustrating the importance of seeing God in your own image, regardless of your race.
The second phase of the movement involved the gaining of prominence of idea of repatriation, while the third phase was the era of the dreadlocks. Professor Chevannes noted that this period in Rastafari history is much more aggressive. He pointed out that the dread in dreadlocks is the same as in dreadful, because of the uncompromising manner in which Rastafari then confronted society.
The fourth phase was the internationalisation of Rasta. Professor Chevannes pointed out that the movement is now so widespread that the only continent on which Rastas do not live is Antarctica. He noted that the reason for this internationalisation is Rasta's promotion of 'livety'. Professor Chevannes noted that the next phase of Rasta should be one wherein different rituals are developed to deal with issues such as death.
One of the major points of Professor Chevannes' delivery dealt with why, despite its international acceptance, Rastafari is not completely accepted in Jamaica. He stated that he would argue that it is because of the message which is inherent to Rastafari.
Professor Chevannes noted that Rastafari professed a message of 'livety', which is harmony among the man, God and the environment. It is due to the idea of 'livety' that Rastafari shuns the unnatural, wishing to refrain from the ingestion of things which will 'poison the strukcha'.
However, according to Professor Chevannes, the real reason for the lack of acceptance is that Rasta philosophy has scored an unforgiveable blow against Jamaican society. Professor Chevannes noted that Rasta has pointed to the 'disharmony of self' with which Jamaica exists. He argued that this disharmony is the displayed in the continued prominence of the 'bleaching' phenomenon.
He noted that people continued to give very lame excuses as to why they bleach. However, 'the self' (consciousness of who you are), knows the real truth.
At this point one student quietly acknowledged the statement by saying "I and I Rastafari."
Professor Chevannes noted that in defiance of the idea that blacks are without value, Rasta has re-defined the self -- and therefore self-acceptance -- by stating: "We are kings and queens of our own selves."
As a final point, Professor Chevannes noted that the reason often offered as to why Rasta has not been legitimised is the use of ganja. He noted, however, that if marijuana were decriminalised, this excuse would be removed.
