Differences between Rastafarian Groups - Book Report/Review Example

Ethnographic Analysis and Presentation Ethnographic Analysis and Presentation Lewis, in the text Soul rebels: The Rastafari engages in a comparative analysis which closely examines the differences between different Rastafarian groups. He indicates that although they are under one religion, Rastafari, they have differences that are brought about by a couple of factors. Lewis undertakes an interesting journey that leads to intelligent discoveries of these factors that bring about variations within Rastafari culture. These variances were caused by differences in the individual or the self-beliefs, geographical location, social and economic status. There are different classes that emerge from these factors’ influence that in turn influence the belief give rise to the different Rastafari groups. The text Soul rebels: The Rastafari has its setting in a fishing community in Jamaica, Kingston suburbs, the United States and Ethiopia. In Jamaica, Lewis explores suburbs of Kingston and a fishing village. He also explores regions in the United States where the Rastafarians live in a significant population. A significant part of his research is also based in a market town in Ethiopia, in the horn of Africa. He documents his first-hand experiences from different Rastafarian communities in his text Soul rebels: The Rastafari and this paper will highpoint some of the major concerns of the text in a summary. Rastafarianism movement dates back to five decades and beyond among Jamaican natives, especially the blacks. Among other factors, there is a profound ritual of the use of marijuana, aggressive violent, rejection of capitalism and male chauvinism. This cultural establishment of the Rastafarians has caused a conflict with other cultures of the society. However, there is a desire to achieve egalitarianism by the Rastafarians. From the factors mentioned above, there is a perception of the Rastafarian as a deviant cult which has led to their persecution. One major confrontation from the government, especially the western, arises from the use of Marijuana. Their culture has commonly been referred to as the ganja-smoking Rastafari culture. Dreadlocks is another feature of Rastafarians that contributes to their ill treatments. Most individuals and authorities associate dreadlocks with violence, marijuana smoking among other bad behavior. The Rastafarian culture, on the contrary, interprets the practice of growing dreadlocks as a way warding off ancient Rastafarian practices, the indigenous, typically, religious practice which includes witchcraft. They are indeed spiritual, bible rooted, determined to stand up against the vices of society and the conformist way of life. The author works towards describing the Rastafari culture as very philosophical, political and very religious. Rastafarian movement has, however, employed efforts to advance in politics in the western world despite the conflict that lies beneath between the two ideological groups. This has been facilitated by the idea that religious divide should however not be a barrier between the Rastafari and the western world. Consequently, challenges often surface as capitalism is an objective of the western world. The Rastafari still holds on to their traditional religious views. The progressive world aims at capitalism causing a splitting between the Rastafarian movement and the ones who are inclined to political issues. Ethiopia, as the Rastafari perceive it, is their homeland. Moreover, at the onset of the Rastafari movement, some had yet a movement within the movement that sought for them to go back to Africa, on Ethiopian government granted land. Rastafarian religion also integrates Traditional African beliefs with Christianity although it borrows not everything from Christianity. Their perception of Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, as their messiah is an evidence of their nonconformity to essentially the entire teachings of Christianity. The Rastafarians have criticized colonialism, imperialism and capitalism. It is strongly opposed to the capitalistic culture of the western. Their view of the western culture is termed as Babylon. Lewis, on the role of reggae music during the Rastafarian movement, highlights the transmission of ideas, the affirmation of values and the expression of expectations in response to inequity as the key role. With its rapid popularization globally, reggae enhanced the expansion of the Rastafarianism message. Bob Marley, one of the most prominent reggae artists, has been known to be a great ambassador of the Rastafari religion message. He conveniently passed the message through his legendary music. The rise of reggae, however, brought a divide as it was not supposed to be commercialized nor secularized, whatsoever. Therefore, the Rastafari conservatists secluded themselves from the rising secular Rastafarians. To them, this was a violation of their religious values. Evidently, as rumor has it that Peter tosh was killed by his fellow Rastafarians regarding wealth, the rich reggae Rastafarians are harshly shunned by the poorer Rastafarians for their accumulation of wealth (Lewis 1993:31). Rastafari is a male dominated religion. Borrowed from the Christian account of Eve, a woman since then has been seen as one who can lead a man astray. A woman within the Rastafarian religion, therefore, is viewed as a temptation; a distraction in a man’s path. Childbirth and the menstrual cycle, which are biological processes, are associated with the perception of women being impure. A comparative exercise between the two texts, Soul rebels: The Rastafari and the excerpt chapter from the text Ethos. Society for Psychological Anthropology has led to the establishment of the following similarities. We have already read how the Rastafari movement came to be. It was as a result of a crisis; oppression and inequity. From these injustices arose the Rastafari movement. The Rastafarians situation is repeated in the Yucatan’s case. Nature has its way of ensuring continuity in the society. It is incredible how a crisis can be overturned to be an establishment of people’s way of life for their benefit. For instance, in the Yucatan context, we have seen how administrative discourse of communal cooperation, the Catholic custom of supportive salvation, other quotidian activities of relationality, and new pressures to communal resources urged them to think of themselves as members of a community (Kray, 2001, p. 420). There is also the case of society vs the individual in both settings. The Rastafarians are willing to go as far as punishing an individual who accumulates wealth. It is also the case with the transition of the Yucatecans in the 1990’s based on the egocentric and social grounds. People have turned to the preference of wage work, entrepreneurship and professional pursuits which require individuals to be highly competitive. Consequently, as the author observes, possibilities of individuals leading an economically autonomous lives challenge the being of village cooperation in the contemporary Yucatan society. Educated individual in different areas of specializations has promoted economic autonomy in Yucatan. An improvement in the system of education in the 1990s has enhanced access of education to more young people. As a result they have met qualifications for office and store employments in their neighboring countries. Moreover, those that have managed to access secondary and higher education have gained the professionalism in areas such as accounting, nursing, teaching and positions in factories management. Economic autonomy is also evident within the trade in the tourism sector. The traders sell their freshly prepared snacks and embroidery, sculptural and crafts products. Making these sales to the tourists is made by individuals mostly as opposed to cooperation (Kray, 2001, p. 400). The Rastafari movement sees them to their liberation. There emerged victory in unity that would later be upheld with value by later Yucatan generations. There was a devastating period overcome by an ethic of cooperation between the community members. The cooperation went on to be felt even in internal politics as the community continued to pursue protection of their lands as well as village-wide fiestas (Kray, 2001, p.399). The vehicle responsible for both movements is none other than the religion. For the Yucatecans, Religion, during this particular time in the American, defines many people’s fashions of living that is breaking away from the conventional way within the society and adopting this new lifestyle influenced by the church. The Rastafari’s are also staunch in their faith. Rastafarians have a spirit of communal cooperation. This is also evident in Among the Yucatecans. For instance, regarding the notion of being holistic, the liberal reforms that made communal lands alienable, the trial with plantation farming and debt peonage, and the Caste War extremely disrupted all community life in central Yucatan (Kray, 2001, p. 399) References Lewis, W. F., & Gregg, J. Y. (1993). Soul rebels: The Rastafari. Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press. Kray, C. A. (January 01, 2001). The Pentecostal re-formation of self: Opting for orthodoxy in Yucatán. Ethos. Society for Psychological Anthropology. Read More