Book Review #1

Rastafari: Roots and Ideology

By: Barry Chevannes

Michelle Bolden
SBS 318
Professor M. Keith Claybrook
February 24, 2014

Rastafari: Roots and Ideology

Rastafari: Roots and Ideology was written by Jamaican- born sociologist, anthropologist, and
educator, Alston Barrington Barry Chevannes. Chevannes attended a number of colleges while
achieving his Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. He attended Boston College and Columbia University in
the United States and the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. Barry Chevannes taught Social
Anthropology at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. He continued to teach and raise
awareness of the African Caribbean culture until his untimely death in November of 2010 at the age of
70.
Rastafari: Roots and Ideology was written and published in 1994 by the Syracuse University
Press in Syracuse, New York. Ratafari is a 298 page, non- fiction book about the history of the
Rastafarian and Jamaican culture. Chevannes wrote the book using his knowledge and the stories of 30
other Jamaican and Rastafarians, whom he interviewed.
Chevannes wrote Rastafari: Roots and Ideology while living in Jamaica. He writes his novel in
first person, using the 'I' and 'me'.
He begins with Chapter 1 about the history of Jamaica and how Africans settled on the island
from being enslaved by the Europeans. It was stated in Chevannes' novel that over 10 million Africans
were forced across the Atlantic to America.... of those those who were brought, one-third reached the
Caribbean islands, with Jamaica receiving under 700,000. Africans weren't the first human beings to
be enslaved in Jamaica. The first enslaved people were the Native Indians. Eventually, the Native
people died off from illness and disease. In a novel that I've read Afro-Latin America 1800-2000 written
by George Reid Andrews, also backs up Chevannes statement of the Native Indians being the first
enslaved people to held captive in the Caribbean.
As I was reading through the novel, a number of key points in the book caught my attention.

One of the points was about the race and color of the people of Jamaica. People who were of mixed
race seems to get better treatment then those who were of dark complexion. Stated in Chevannes book,
people of color, being the offspring of the white male planters and black or colored female slaves,
were of free group or worked as house slaves. During slavery in the United States, this statement
would apply that if you are of light or fair complexion were considered better than the average darker
slave. House slaves generally ate and lived well and had better clothing. Slave owners wanted to have
good looking slaves serving their company. It was all about looks and appearance. I assume the
same applies to house slaves in the Caribbean.
Even after slavery, being light skinned or of fair complexion allowed you to have better
opportunities. Like Chevannes said marrying up (marrying a light skinned spouse) was a technique to
improve the color of their children. He also goes on to bring up the point that Blacks in Jamaica was
last on the social rank, though they make up the majority of the population on the island.
Another point that caught my attention is Chevannes' book was the difference in the Dreadlock
and the Bobo Dreads. Though both are of the Rastafari movement, each has a difference in their
culture.
The Bobo Ashanti (Bobo Dreads) wore their locks up and tied into a hat called a turban. The
Bobo Ashanti wore long black or white robes along with their turbans. The Bobos are deeply religious
and are very strict about their practice. Bobo Ashanti meditates and generally keeps to themselves.
Almost every Bobo male is either a priest or a prophet. Bobos source of income are making and selling
straw broom, which also the carry around to identify their cleanliness.
A woman of the Bobo male are considered a burden, therefore is beneath the level of man. This
reason is why they stay separate. Even a male child holds a higher status of that of a grown woman.
Women are not allowed to serve the priest, only the prophet. The woman must wear long sleeves and
cover her legs. Her only job is to clean and take care of the children. During her time of menstruation,
she is locked in a separate house away from the male for 18 days, sometimes more. From my

understanding of reading the Chevannes' book, during the time of menstruation, the woman is
considered unclean and impure.
Being a woman that I am, I do not agree with the role that take part in the Jamaican/ Rastafarian
culture. Even though I've read the book, I still don't have a full understanding of their way of life.
The Dreadlock was said to be created by a group called the Youth Black Faith in 1949. The
Dreadlocks lived in camps around areas of Jamaica. The dreadlocks believed in prayer. One of the
Dreadlocks religious belief is Reasoning. Reasoning is when the Rastafarians gather together and some
ganja (marijuana) and pray and reason to Jah (God). Chevannes mentioned in his writing that the
Dreadlocks follow a set of rules when performing Reasoning. One of the rules was denial to leave the
camp before the ganja had been smoked. Next, the ganja must be blessed before being passed to the left
(It is necessary in the Rastfarian culture that the ganja be passed to the left.) Another rule is that all of
the ganja must be smoked and emptied. And finally the Dreadlocks must have good behavior while at
camp.
The Rastafarian has a very strict rule never to carry the ganja on them. Ganja is illegal in
Jamaica. The ganja should only be smoke in the camps during Reasoning.
The Bobo Dread and the Dreadlocks both have few things in common, one is that of their diet.
Rastafarians stray away from meat, especially from pork. Meat is not apart of their diet. They mostly
eat food that are fruits and vegetables. The Bobo Dreads do not include sugar and mangoes in their diet,
even though it is not meat.
Another interesting point is the wearing dreadlocks. The Rastafarian believes in not grooming
or cutting their hair and also the stories of the bible. In the Book of Leviticus (21:5) it states "They shall
not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any
cuttings in the flesh. Rastafarians believed that any grooming instrument are created by the
Babylonians and that having dreads are natural. The longer the dreads of a Rasta the longer the time
they spent living the Rastafarian life. The dreads also indicates the wisdom and the knowledge of the

Rastafarian.
My final point that I want to address in the role of women in the Rastafarian culture. I've
mentioned the roles of the woman to the Bobo male. In all, the Rastafarian woman are considered
queens. Like the woman of the Bobo male, their duties are to birth and care for the children, cooking,
cleaning, and to support the male needs. The Rastafarian woman do not take part in Reasoning with the
male Rastafarian. Women are not to follow the Babylonian society and are encourage to be opposite of
that. The woman is not allowed to wear short skirts and make- up, nor should they straighten their hair.
These are the influence of the Babylonian (white) society.
Reading Rastafari: Roots and Ideology left me with the impression that there is more to the
Rastafarian culture other than dreadlock men smoking ganja. It open my mind to learn and get a better
understanding of the movement. I believed that Barry Chevannes did a great job in doing his research
and putting his work together in forming this book.
My issues with the book is that of the response from his informants. I had a difficult time
understanding exactly what they were talking about in some of the interviews. Even though the
informants are speaking English, it is the pronunciation and the wording that is being used made it
very unclear. Another issue were the leaders and creators of the Rastafarian culture. I did become a
little confused with some of the names that were given in the book and the roles that they played in the
movement.
But in all, this book is great for anyone who is interested in knowing about the Rastafarian
movement. It is also a good book to read and put an end to the stereotype about the movement for
anyone who has a negative mindset about the Rastafarian culture.

References

Chevannes, B. (1994). Rastafari: roots and ideology. New York: Syracuse University Press.

Andrews, G.R (2004). 1800. Afro-latin america 1800-2000 (pp. 14). Oxford University Press.

Prof. Barrington Chevannes. Barrington Chevannes. 26 Feb.2014

(tv.mona.uwi.edu/barrington-chevannes)