Mansions of Rastafari
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mansions of Rastafari are branches of the Rastafari movement. Mansions include the Bobo Ashanti, the Nyabinghi, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and others. The term is taken from the Biblical verse in John 14:2, "In my Father's house are many mansions."
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[edit] Bobo Ashanti
Known as the Priestly Order of Rastafari, the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress, Church of True Divine Salvation for Bobo Rasta, or Bobo Shanti, was founded in the mid-twentieth century by Charles Edwards, known as King Emmanuel, and considered by many to be the Black Christ-in-flesh. Most of its members, called "Bobos" or "Bobo dreads", live in Bull Bay, in a small utopian community called Bobo Hill in 10 Miles Bull Bay. Bobos greet each other using the formal address "My Lord" and are most notable for their wearing of turbans and long flowing robes as well as brooms they carry with them, which signify cleanliness. The brooms and other crafts are also sold in Kingston as a way to provide funds for the community. The Bobos have established a strong relationship with the local community outside of Bobo Hill and often invite people to their services. Membership of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress is increasingly growing globally, as their members are seen in Africa, Europe, and throughout the caribbean.
King Emmanuel is called "Dada" by his followers, who see him as part of a holy Trinity, together with Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, in which Selassie is seen as King/God (Jah), Garvey as prophet, and Emmanuel as high priest after the priesthood order of Melchizedec. Almost all sacred songs and tributes to their ancient trinity of prophet, priest, and king ends with the phrase "Holy Emmanuel I Selassie I Jah Rastafari."
Bobos say that "Africa" is the name that the European colonizers gave to Ethiopia, or "Jerusalem". Many see black supremacy ideas as essential to the faith, and in the Bobo (and Rastafarian) conception, the true Ethiopian Israelites are black men and women, who are Royal Ethiopians from creation birth, scattered during the African diaspora.
Not only do Bobos believe in black supremacy, meaning black is original and therefore supreme, they also consider black women as mothers of creation. Women cover their legs, arms, and head in practice of the Queen Omega principles. Nearly all the men within the community are seen as prophets or priests, whose functions are to “reason” and conduct churchical and parliamental services, respectively.
Many reggae artists have emerged from the Bobo Shanti, including The Abyssinians, Sizzla, Capleton, Anthony B, Perfect, Turbulence, and Ras Shiloh. Many claim to be Bobo Shanti, however many of the artists have not made the Bobo declaration, therefore being unable to legitimatley call themselves 'Bobo'. (Check interview with Jah Cure, BBC radio 1xtra)
[edit] Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Twelve Tribes of Israel is a Rastafari group founded in Kingston, Jamaica, and now functioning worldwide. Its founder, Vernon Carrington, was known as Prophet Gad, and taught ones to read the Bible 'A Chapter A Day'.
Twelve Tribes of Israel Rastafari organization accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, along with Selassie I. Due to the stigma associated with slavery and the false use of the name Jesus by colonialist not practicing what they preached, some prefer to use the ancient names of Christ - Yeshua or Yehoshua or JAH SHUA (aka Jah is Salvation) in Hebrew - Yesus Kristos in Amharic..
Haile Selassie I is seen as a divinely anointed king in the lineage of King David and Solomon. While he is considered a type/representation of Christ in Kingly Character, he is not Jesus Christ himself, but a representative of the everlasting Davidic covenant, which is to be fulfilled by Jesus Christ when he returns as Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
The twelve tribes symbology is based on Jacob/Israel's 12 sons, and correspond to the months of the ancient Israelite calendar, beginning with April and Reuben. Some people further relate this to metaphysical signs. Thus Bob Marley came from the Tribe of Joseph, the eleventh of the biblical Jacob's twelve children. Ijahman Levi is the third child. Another well known reggae group of this sect is Israel Vibration.
Bob Marley, a natty dread, by quoting a biblical text about Joseph on the album cover of Rastaman Vibration, was acknowledging his own support for this sect. Dennis Brown, Freddie McGregor, and many other roots reggae artists were associated with the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Due to their inclusiveness of all races and acceptance of the Holy Bible, though not the oldest, TTI is considered the largest of all Rastafari houses.
[edit] Niyabinghi
The Niyabinghi Theocracy Government was named for a legendary Amazon queen of the same name, who was said to have possessed a Ugandan woman named Muhumusa in the 19th century. Muhumusa inspired a movement, rebelling against African colonial authorities. Though she was captured in 1913, alleged possessions by "Nyahbinghi" (traditional spelling) continued, mostly afflicting women.
The Niyabinghi resistance inspired a number of Jamaican Rastas, who incorporated what are known as niyabinghi chants (also binghi) into their celebrations ("grounations"). The rhythms of these chants were eventually an influence of popular ska, rocksteady and reggae music. Three kinds of drums (called "harps") are used in niyabinghi: bass, also known as the "Pope Smasher" or "Vatican Basher", reflecting a Rasta association between Catholicism and Babylon, the middle-pitched funde and akete. The akete (also known as the "repeater") plays an improvised syncopation, the funde plays a regular one-two beat and the bass drum strikes loudly on the first beat, and softly on the third beat (of four). When groups of players get together, only one akete player may play at any one time. The other drums keep regular rhythms while the akete players solo in the form of a conversation. Count Ossie was the first to record niyabinghi, and he helped to establish and maintain Rastafari culture.
Niyabinghi drumming is not exclusive to the Niyabinghi order, and is common to all Rastafarians. Its rhythms are the basis of Reggae music, through the influential ska band, the Skatalites. It is said that their drummer revolutionized Jamican music by combining the various Niyabinghi parts into a 'complete' "drum kit," which combined with jazz to create an entirely new form of music, known as ska. Niyabinghi rhythms were largely a creation of Count Ossie, who incorporated influences from traditional Jamaican Kumina drumming (especially the form of the drums themselves) with songs and rhythms learned from the recordings of Nigerian musician Babatunde Olatunji.
Binghi chanting typically includes recitation of the Psalms, but may also include variations of well-known Christian hymns. Though Count Ossie is clearly the most influential Binghi drummer, practically inventing the genre in its present state, the recordings of Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus, as well as the Rastafari Elders, have contributed to the popularity of the music.
Though Niyabinghi music operates as a form of Rasta religious music outside of Reggae, musicians such as Bob Marley and even non-Rastas such Prince Buster and Jimmy Cliff (both Muslim) used the idiom in some songs. Recently, dancehall sensation Sizzla, American roots-Reggae artists such as Groundation and Jah Levi, and Hip hop have used Niyabinghi drums extensively in their recordings. Though sometimes claimed to be a direct continuation of an African cultural form, Niyabinghi drumming is best seen as the voice of a people rediscovering their African roots.
Combining Jamaican traditions with newly acquired African ones, Count Ossie and others synthesized his country's African traditions and reinvigorated them with the influences of Nigerian master-drummer Babatunde Olatunji, as a comparison of Count Ossie's Tales of Mozambique and Olatunji's earlier Drums of Passion will reveal. Indeed, it is that combination of inherited traditions and conscious rediscovery of lost African traditions that makes Niyabinghi drumming—and Rasta—so powerful.
Niyabinghi are considered the strictest mansion of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica preaching the ideals of a global theocracy to be headed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, whom they proclaim to be the promised Messiah and incarnation of the Supreme Deity.
