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| Montego River |
I’ve been hearing about this for a while and recently had
the privilege of visiting there. Arthur Newland greeted us in the Montego Bay River
Gardens and led us across the Montego River at the fording.
After crossing, we walked beside the river, then through the
trees, up a steep path which led us to an open, grassy area with a fire in the
centre. This fire is not used for cooking, but is a symbol of change.
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| Tebah playing drum at A-dZiko's book-reading at Fontana |
Along with other visitors, I was introduced to Rastafarians
busy making drums, Golden Ankh and Tebah, whom I had met at Adziko’s book
launch, when he played the drum before she read from “All Over Again”.
Firstman then told us some of the history of and symbols
used by the Rastafari. The movement began in the 1930’s after the coronation of
Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia. Leonard Howell was among a group of men
of African descent, who, from their study of certain passages in the Bible,
acknowledged Haile Selassie to be the Messiah. Howell’s followers came from
living conditions unsuitable for human beings, but they did not demand that the
British provide better conditions. Rather, they sought freedom of spirit and
had the intention of returning to Africa. In spite of this, they came into
conflict with the law. Howell organized wide-scale recruitment and became the
head of a communal society at Pinnacle, near Sligoville in St. Catherine, which
is even now, in 2014, under threat of being taken away.
_01.svg/220px-Ankh_(SVG)_01.svg.png) |
| The Ankh |
Although Bible passages are the source of much inspiration
for the Rastafarian movement, not all symbols of the Christian Church accepted.
The cross, being a symbol of death is not embraced. Firstman showed us their symbol, the Ankh, used
in ancient Egypt to signify life. The loop at the top represents the womb, and
the part below it the penis. The crossbar represents children. The trinity in various forms, such as
mother-father-child, heat-air-water, and sun-moon-stars, is another symbol. The
Rastafarian colours are red, gold and green, representing blood, the sun and
life respectively.
We were treated to delicious fresh fruit - pineapple,
papaya, banana and orange - served on a bamboo plate. Firstman told us that
Rastafarians are vegetarians, and showed us some of the vegetables they eat,
which are grown on land around the village. They also avoid salt.
Rastafarians take pride in their
life-style to maintain healthy bodies, minds and spirits, but, like all of us
at times, they succumb to illness. However they do not treat themselves with
Western medicine; rather they rely on the healer’s knowledge of medicinal plants and how to use them. The
healer of the village showed us the herb garden and told us about their healing
properties: Aloe Vera is used to
alleviate sunburn, and is made
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| Aloe Vera |
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| About the Labyrinth |
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| The Labyrinth |
For spiritual well-being and
meditation, there is the Labyrinth. It represents a partial journey towards our
core, step by step, breath by breath. We walked between the bamboo posts,
seeming to retrace our steps, but in fact being led to the centre. Although Marijuana
is used by Rastafarians for meditation and to bring about a feeling of
spirituality, it was not mentioned, as it is still against the law in Jamaica
to be in possession of it.
Our final stop was at the gift shop, where we could purchase
jewelry and other craft items handmade by the Rastafarians in the village.
Since people all over the world are interested in the
Rastafarian Movement, the opportunity given to visitors to go to the Rastafari
Indigenous Village is a welcome addition to slate of activities that tourists
can choose from.
