Rastafari and its Shamanist Origins.

Image: Some Caribbean islands including the lesser and Greater Antilles. Martinique,

Guadeloupe and French Sint Martin were called the French Antilles, with Sint Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatia comprising the Dutch Antilles. Frantz Fanon the Martiniquan Doctor, revolutionary, author, Marxist and Antillean. Carlos Cooks was an Antillean. Maurice Bishop though a Grenadian by parentage was born in Aruba and attended school for a period of time there. Athyli Rogers author of the Rastafari bible, the Holy Piby, was an Anguillan, though Anguilla is not an Antillean island, Anguillans and Sint Maarteners are related by blood ties and share a common heritage. Edward Wilmot Blyden the man whose world-renowned protégé Marcus Garvey, is heralded by most Pan-Africanists as the father of their ideology, is a virtual unknown in so-called black studies‖ literature. Most writers writing about the Pan-Caribbean Pan-African experience tend to focus on Jamaicans and Africans conveniently omitting the fact that the actual Pan-Caribbean, Pan-Africanist movement started in the smaller islands and not in Jamaica. The movement was begun by people like Edward Blyden and others even before him. George Padmore and C.L.R James are rarely ever written about but they are in fact intrinsic to any honest analysis of the Pan-Caribbean and Pan-Africanist movement in the world today. This book though not a Pan African nor a Pan Caribbean work yet gives due credence to the greats in the aforementioned since, without their efforts, a work such as this would indeed be lacking substance in certain areas.

In her book, The First Rasta Helen Lee claims, that Marcus Garvey was agitating for integration, how a supposedly informed individual could make such a claim, can mean only one thing, Lee who is obviously enamored with Howell; was pandering to certain sentiments and sensibilities of the type of readership that she caters to.
After his release from prison on trumped-up charges Marcus Garvey was deported to Jamaica in 1928, where he resumed his activities on behalf of Africans everywhere.
He was politically active in Jamaica where he ran for a seat on the city council while he was in prison, and he won by an overwhelming margin.

Lee’s attempt at diminishing the impact and influence of Marcus Garvey on the development of African civilization in the Diaspora is exposed in this work for what it is, a specious attempt at misinformation. The historical records clearly show that Garvey was deported back to Jamaica he later left for England, where he died in 1940. Creating the false notion that Garvey never returned to Jamaica but was somehow sent to England, is a deliberate and malicious attempt, by this white journalist, claiming to identify so greatly with the Rastafari, that even within the obvious suicidal behavior of Athlyi (―Roger Athlyi‖ writer of the Holy Piby i.e. the Rastafari bible). Lee attempted to make Athlyi some sort of hero. Athlyi killed himself plain and simple; no amount of misplaced pandering to misdirected sensibilities can change that.
The likes of Athlyi were not and have never been a great influence on black people globally Athlyi‘ marginal influence is limited to the few followers he had in his heyday, likewise Leonard Howell. Marcus Mosiah Garvey on the other hand influenced black intellectuals globally and he still does so today from politicians and preachers to university students to street hustlers Garveyism has had an enduring impact on the world that no human being can diminish nor deny.

The ideology that Garvey espoused, led to many African leaders, such as Kwame Nkrumah, and Jomo Kenyatta just to mention two very famous leaders, who openly called themselves Pan-Africanists after the ideology developed by Marcus Mosiah Garvey. The ideology called Garveyism led to these men formulating the methods and means that they would later utilize to bring about the independence of their respective countries. That they failed to follow in the Pan-African tradition after having achieved independence is no reflection on Garveyism at all, but rather it is a reflection on the men as human beings.

Today both the JLP and the PNP of Jamaica are vying for the right to call themselves the ideological successors of Marcus Garvey; fortunately for Garvey history will show that he was not a socialist. Garvey believed firmly in the democratic ideal, and capitalism, in fact, was his preferred economic model.
Both the JLP and PNP are socialistic in their rhetoric, in practice, they are decidedly autocratic, and absolutist in their governing styles bordering on oligarchies. The very fact that these parties are now vying for the right to call Marcus Garvey, the father of their political ideology, points to his universal acceptance that has in fact forced the political hierarchy in his homeland, to want to adopt him as the father of their various movements.

Pan-Africanists, the Rastafari, and students of the enlightened variety both white and black have long accepted and understood the universal truths espoused by Marcus Garvey; however, his separatist rhetoric has been and rightly should be avoided by most. The applicability of his political program, as pertains to the betterment, of the condition of the Africans in the Diaspora, should be championed by any truly enlightened Caribbean leader.
Caribbean people, do not need journalists, or academicians to define their reality; they can define their own reality.

On the point of the church’s role in the Caribbean; Lee attempts to portray the role of women, as substituting for the lack of men in said institutions. The Jesus image, as created by Roman Catholicism is portrayed by Lee, as a psychological prop; upon which black Caribbean Christian women, project all of their pent-up sexual emotions.
Lee in her attempt to describe the church services of some people, who may or may not be Christian, lumped Christianity with Pocomania, and other religious sects, like Obeah and Shango. In the spiritist practices above the adherents are said to become possessed by one of their many deities, demon spirits, who cause them to manifest a wide assortment of behavior, while persons who experience the real indwelling of the Holy Ghost are experiencing what was spoken of in Acts 2:38. Moreover, the chief spirit of most of the cults mentioned corresponds to the divine androgyne, of ancient paganism, which has been identified as a symbol of Satan. For instance Obatala the chief deity of the Yoruba is a spirit manifesting both male and female characteristics, not unlike many of the other so-called gods of the ancient and modern pagans examined in this book.
The Pentecostal movement is a fact worldwide; many people around the world grew up in the Pentecostal movement.

Lee erroneously claimed that speaking in tongues is akin to the possession, of the cults.
Speaking in tongues‖ has been observed all over the globe even among Europeans and Caucasians in America and Canada, accounts of such are to be found in newspaper articles and on video footage throughout the western hemisphere.
The attempt by some white writers to portray speaking in tongues as a black phenomena‖, limited to the uneducated and the ignorant is an example of their use of the mastery of the written word to portray events in favor of the worldview that they espouse. This is the case of writers like Helen Lee and Timothy White is a decidedly pro-Rastafari worldview (of the Bob Marleyite variety).

While these writers can champion whatever worldview they want to, their attempts at lumping the very real experience of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, in true Christians‖ with demon or spirit possession akin to the possession at a Voodoo ceremony, will be challenged in this work, as it is mere fantasy and conjecture on the part of two journalist‘s attempting to explain away something that is experienced by people globally regardless of color or creed on a daily basis, as a purely black phenomenon limited to a few backward peasants and women with a limited education nothing could be farther from the truth.

Since true Christianity is diametrically opposed to occultism, those of us who truly know what the Full Body Ministry, stands for can appreciate the paradox in the matter.
For one the truly Christian woman would consider such thoughts sacrilegious, and the so-called white Jesus image, even in Jamaican society is not revered by all, not in the early 20th century nor today.
There have been and still are in the region churches that emphatically teach an anti-Eurocentric doctrine, there are many church institutions regionally that do not encourage the veneration of any imagery period taken from Roman Catholicism, even the pagan Christmas is not venerated nor celebrated by Apostolic people in the Caribbean nor around the globe.
The weak attempt of a white woman to define the experience of the African in the Diaspora failed, as all such attempts must fail, by dint of the fact that; the African in the Diaspora is far more complicated, and sophisticated than anyone from outside said group, presuming to be able to precisely analyze an entire group of people will ever be able to fathom.

Leonard Howell one of the earliest Rastafari leaders/ prophets‖ was an ardent admirer of Hinduism, and Indian culture and philosophy in general.
The original Howellites could be heard chanting to Krishna the Hindu god.
Howell began in the early thirties encouraging his followers to revere Haile Sellassie as a messiah, during this time there were many Rastafari mendicants.
Some well-known leaders were Joseph Hinds, Archibald Dunkley, and Nathaniel Hibberts, though there were many leaders, these were some of the earliest and chief leaders, of some of the better known Rastafari sects. All the other more contemporary leaders rose to prominence in the nineteen sixties.

Haile Sellassie received certain Rastafari leaders during his Jamaican visit, some of whom were honored with imperial medals by the emperor. Mention also must be made here of Prince Emmanuel the founder of the Emmanualites so-called Bobo Shanties‖.
Vernon Carrington founder of the twelve tribes of Israel is a well-known Rastafari leader; both these men rose to prominence in the sixties.
Haile Selassie himself denounced the idea that he was divine; stating that he was a Christian, and worshipped Jesus, the Rastafari saw his denial as a sign of humility.
The idea of Haile Sellassie as a god later gained global prominence through the medium of Reggae music. Robert Nesta Marley, the half-caste from Kingston is its most ardent seed planter.

The philosophical packaging and ideology of Rastafari are similar in many aspects, to Hinduism, right down to their Vegan diet, anyone can discover this for themselves by studying the original theology of Rastafari, the person wishing to know the truth must first understand who Howell was, and why his doctrine appealed to the disenfranchised, and downtrodden of society. The first

Rastafari unlike today, were largely poor, and uneducated young black men and women the eldership consisted of war veterans, some former Garveyites, and many young unwed mothers.
Although Howell was not the only black Jamaican at that time teaching about a black messiah, he was one of them who succeeded where many failed in establishing a commune where his people could live and work largely undisturbed by outsiders.
The belief in a universal black messiah was widespread amongst African descendants in the Western hemisphere, even amongst African Americans, as they had their Wallace Fard and Elijah Poole aka Elijah Muhammad, (These men also claimed to be messiahs or Mahdi=Arabic for messiah).

Based on historical accounts then we can safely say that Leonard Howell was not a novelty in the early thirties when this type of teaching was widespread amongst black people globally.
What was novel about Howell though, was his ability to galvanize his followers few before him or after him have been able to do what he did, and it is for that reason that I have chosen to focus on him, he influenced present-day Rastafari thinking and living more so than any of the other leaders.
Even after Howell’s camp (Pinnacle) was broken up, many of his followers were able to galvanize large segments of the poorer classes behind their ideology.
Poverty lack of education and financial resources conditioned the masses of young people at that time to seek a way out of their situation.
When Howell came on the scene preaching black pride and hailing Haile Selassie as a god, offering a refuge from the ghetto that they inhabited Howell’s practice of Marijuana use offered a temporary escape from the bleak landscape at that time.
Howell became an instant savior to those people at that time he became their leader a voice for the voiceless and a father to the fatherless.
Howell renounced his British citizenship claiming Ethiopia as the Promised Land for blacks and Haile Selassie as their long-awaited king who would deliver them from European colonial tyranny and oppression.
Howell lived in an Indian-styled hilltop commune, called Pinnacle he called himself Gangunguru Marajh, he even had a harem in the manner of the Hindu kings that he so admired.

Howell was well-read and had traveled extensively when he lived in the city of New York; he ran a tea shop,‖he more than likely sold Marijuana in his tea shop.
Howell himself functioned as a healer; years later in Jamaica, he would use his knowledge to heal people, he took them to a hot springs bath that relaxed their minds and bodies healing them of many ailments in their physical bodies.
Howell was not simply talking hope he was bringing about results many of the women he attracted were young uneducated single mothers looking for a way out of poverty.
The situation today has not changed much the Village Ram mentality; of some in the Caribbean, has spawned a generation of young single-parent households headed by mostly, poor, young, uneducated women.
This situation has led to an increasingly alarming number of single, young women, turning to, drug lords for their financial sustenance.
While criminal enterprise has proven to be very lucrative. The truly wealthy criminals hold a monopoly position.
The young men and women that the dons employ are largely their pawns and are usually expendable when they no longer cooperate or are either incarcerated or incapacitated.

Howell was what the poor saw as a way of escape at that time he knew what they wanted him for and he wanted power and lordship thusly both parties were served they fed his illusions of grandeur and he literally fed them. In this scenario, each party corrupted the other, yet they both got what they wanted. Howell was genuine in his beliefs he was willing to die for his beliefs and his followers this is what endears a man to anyone.
, If a man is willing to die for his word, that stance will inadvertently bring about a certain measure of respect from others even one’s enemies.
Howell was a bonafide channeler he was an adept in elemental magic; (elemental magic is rituals where various elemental spirits are conjured in order to aid the adepts, there are earthbound spirits, fire spirits, water spirits, and air spirits), his son Blade in the book The First Rasta by Helen Lee corroborated this. Howell was adept at spirit channeling people felt a definite presence when he entered a room, that was his hallmark his bearing and presence.

Bob Marley would later emulate this man calling himself Tough Gong, meaning I am tougher than Gong. The original Gong was Leonard Howell, a Gong is a hallowed cymbal-like instrument used by almost all oriental religious systems of worship, to announce the proceeding or ending of a session, this instrument was also used to honor a particular deity‘s presence.
Howell was meticulous in his choice of names and euphemism‘s Bob Marley‘s use of the name was mostly braggadocios, and also a respectful acquiescence of the preeminence of Howell.
Howell used Cannabis as a means of gaining contact with the spirit world.
Howell understood that the average youth, of a western persuasion, would never easily grasp the intricacies involved in spirit contact through meditation, and tantricism, the smoking of Cannabis was an easier simpler method so this was employed.
In the late sixties, Howell and his followers were nominally wealthy people, because of, Cannabis cultivation. Rastafari culture holds as a core tenet that, Cannabis Sativa is a sacred i.e.(Holy) plant.

Cannabis was, introduced into the Caribbean, by Indian Sadhu‘s, and smoked sacramentally by Sadhu‘s. The Sadhus were brought to Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana in the 17th century by Europeans, primarily as indentured servants, for the purpose of cane cultivation.
They brought with them their religious beliefs and myriad gods; (Some accounts claim that the Spaniards introduced Cannabis into the Caribbean as early, as the 15th century, the Cannabis originated in both historical accounts in India).
These people some of whom were called Sadhu‘s, or holy men brought Cannabis Sativa to Jamaica their worship of their gods sometimes entailed the smoking of Cannabis, at certain points an elixir would also be drunk this potion contained a mixture of honey and Cannabis,(Behang/Bhang).
Hemp was grown in the Caribbean region as early as the 15th century and was done chiefly by the British in an attempt to break the Russian monopoly on the production of Hemp as an industrial product. The Hemp plant was used chiefly as an industrial product, the plant is indigenous to West and Central Asia.

The Sadhu smoking his sacrament to kali‖, Shiva is the chief demon prince worshipped by Sadhus.

The painting above the Sadhu is of Shiva and his consort Parvati. On the right, a Shiva devotee in Nepal is covered in the white/gray ash characteristic of Shiva.

© Copyrights R.M.N.D. 2007. By Wade A Bailey.

Figure: This map indicates a portion of Western Asia Ur of the Chaldea is shown.
The Euphrates and Tigris rivers respectively are visible as two blue parallel lines flowing into the Persian Gulf.

The complexed relationships evinced between these regions cannot be handled in this work as this will take the work in an unintended direction suffice it to say that this work is a synopsis of a much broader work.
Western Asia denotes a number of geographic regions chiefly Iran, Turkey, Syria, and a number of other regions Iraq is in South Western Asia. As recently as 1979, Iran was known as Persia.
The term Central Asia denotes portions of or the entire region of Turkistan, Turkistan is the historical term for a region in Central Asia comprised of Kazakhstan, portions of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the autonomous Chinese border territory of Xinxiang Uygur in the past it was called East Turkistan or Chinese Turkistan.
Authors note, The last piece of historical data shows why there is a Chinese Muslim population in China, this occurred as a result of conquest by the Turks during the expansion of their Ottoman empire. If you are a news junky you will recall that the Xinxiang province in China is a hotbed of Uyghur Muslim ―extremist activity‖, later in this work I will examine the aforementioned in-depth.
As I have shown, taking into account the information given about the civilizations shown above. They were all highly developed cultures in the past, and had frequent contact amongst themselves. It should come as no surprise to anyone that a common religion, was shared by the people, in the regions shown above.
Hemp is also grown as an industrial product in Russia, Poland, Japan, Hungary, and China.

Hemp is refined and developed into soap, it is used in paint, and the Hemp products Marijuana and Hashish are used as drugs.
Based on the above information we have learned that Cannabis served a variety of uses, in the past as well as today.
In modern society in most countries of the world, Cannabis is used, as a recreational drug, but its usefulness as medicine has rarely been examined or taken seriously by the medical community.
Many persons clamor for its legalization as a means of furthering their own subversive agendas.

The aim here is not to promote the smoking of any substance recreationally, or for self-medication. The intent here is to honestly, deal with the multi-functional role that Hemp products have played as a natural product, that has been developed and exploited by man, it is in man‘s abuse and misuse of the plant that has created the addictive behavior, evinced today, among many people, in all sectors of society.
I will now resume my examination of the Pinnacle settlement and the lifestyle of its leader and his followers. The Pinnacle settlement was associated with Indian plantation workers with locked hair; this was before any African descendants in Jamaica ever grew locks.

Certain Rastafari elders called locks Zagavi; the etymology of the word, Zagavi is in the Hindi language.
Many Rastafari cite Bible passages in order to support their way of life, the bible does not condone the smoking of any substance as a means of spiritual upliftment, or enlightenment.
The word of God clearly condemns the use of any substance excessively, and it clearly makes a distinction between the clean and the unclean.
The Holy Ghost makes it possible for a child of God to touch God’s throne through the means of prayer praise and worship.
Sadhu‘s socialized with Jamaicans of African descent therefore, the Rastafari assertion that locks came to their movement because of seeing pictures of Ethiopian warriors with locked hair is not completely accurate.

Image:Jomo Kenyatta with a dreadlocked Mau Mau warrior.
This photo is erroneously cited by some historians as an impetus for certain Jamican Rastafari to have grown locks; such an assertion is false since Rastafari in Jamaica wore dreadlocks before the 1950‘s when this photo began making the rounds in western media publications.
Leonard Howell was impressed with Gandhi and his philosophy of nonviolence within social protest.

Howell later co-opted the nonviolent strategy, which was not always successful, some of
Howell’s followers were in constant conflict with the police some of the conflicts were because of Marijuana cultivation, Howell‘s rhetoric was anti-establishment this also brought mass exposure to his movement and its ideology.

Pinnacle; or the remnants of the settlement of Howell and his people. Pinnacle was purchased by Howell and his wife Tynneth Howell from a mister Chang a businessman of Chinese extraction, for the sum of 1200 pounds. Today the Pinnacle site is one of controversy as the Rastafari people of Jamaica and the Howell family, are taking legal action, to have the Pinnacle settlement, declared a Rastafari cultural heritage site, recognized as such under international laws. Howell died in 1981 ―peacefully‖, in a hotel room in Kingston according to the account given by Helen Lee.

Above is a faded photo of Leonard and Tyneth Howell.

Flyer and Photos of Leonard Percival Howell a.k.a The Founder and Father of the Rastafari Movement.

As I indicated previously in this book the Rastafari movement does not have one
central founder, Rastafari came about as a result of a Caribbean wide mass acceptance of Ethiopianism, Garveyism, et al, the movement had various forerunners‖ in its formative years Howell happens to be one of the more famous of them.
All Rastafari believe in the divinity of Haile Selassie the Kebra Nagast is the main source used, in proving that Haile Selassie is a direct descendant of the house of David through the union of King Solomon and the queen of Sheba.

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THE GARDEN OF EDEN IN THE BIBLE.

Copyrights Wade A. Bailey : Above a detailed map of the area located on the continent of Alkebulan aka Africa, detailing the biblical area of the Garden Of Eden. In Genesis 2:10, 11, 12.13,14,15 it is stated that two rivers went out of Eden one of the rivers Gihon (the Blue Nile), compassed or surrounded Ethiopia.

A painting of Adam and Eve. Property of Dr Malachi York.

From the scriptural accounts, we can see that the Garden of Eden is to be found in the land of Ta-Merre i.e. Egypt [land of the Sun]. Many European scholars even some so called Christian scholars claim that the location of Eden is neither in Egypt nor even on the African continent citing a supposed mis-spelling in the King James Version of the Bible as pertains to the word Ethiopia in some accounts. They claim that in the original language the word was Kush which they attempt to link to Iran or Irak and even Turkey.

Sadly it is buffoons of the above mentioned ilk who are not true scholars but poseurs and miseducators who have for decade’s mis-written and falsely fashioned history and academic scholarship as per their racist pet theories and notions.
I will now provide factual evidence grounded in science and historically verifiable data as to the location of Eden.
There are two very preeminent and world renowned scholars of the ancient world namely Dr Cheik Anta Diop and Dr Joseph Ben Jochannan.
Both these scholars who functioned in their capacity are well travelled world lecturers and were both professors at major universities during the span of their careers.
I studied both of these men’ works to establish the scientific and archeological basis for the evidence I will bring forth.
If one were to conduct a study of the ancient world in pursuit of the location of the Garden of Eden one would have to start in anciency not in modernity.
The entire studied population of the earth is by now well aware that, the earliest man-like fossils were discovered in Africa by Louis Leakey and his wife. Based upon carbon dating and other scientific data we have empirical evidence that the human race originated on the so-called “African continent” which is in fact correctly called Alkebulan.
I will like to examine here certain bible passages taken from Genesis.
Genesis  chapter  2:10  “And a river went out of Eden to water the garden and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
From the above we can see that Eden was not a Garden but Eden was the name of a land mass precisely how large is not given, what it does state is that out of Eden flowed a river
That parted four ways and the following names are given for those four rivers.
Genesis 2:11 the name of the first is Pison“White Nile,” that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is Gold. Havilah is old Nubia from the word Nub which means gold. Some so-called modern scholars place Havilah in modern day Turkey.  How can one make such a claim seeing that Turkey was not known in ancient history or in modern times for being a land renowned for its vast gold  reserves.

The assertion that Iran or Iraq could have been the location for Havilah is also destroyed by the fact that although ancient Babylon was the site where today’s Iraq is located,
Babylon was in fact a satellite state of ancient Kemit misnomered Egypt by modern Euro-centric scholars. The fact that Nimrod mentioned in the bible as the great hunter before the lord was according to ancient as well as modern accounts none other than Osiris the Kemitian god of the underworld, we have evidence in history that attest to Nubian kings having conquered and subjugated the entire continent of Alkebulan so vast was their empire that there was an upper and a lower Egypt also the Nile river was identified as the Blue Nile and the White Nile, most Eurocentric scholars ignore these pertinent facts.
Babylon was a satellite state of Nubia by way of Kemit, and had vast Gold reserves is as a result of gold being brought to that region from our Kemit and Kush or Ethiopia which is rightfully called Punt.
These  evidences in ancient history points only to an African source, of much of the mineral wealth of the region.
Not only was the Nubian kingdom, which in fact penetrated even into Sudan on our modern map of Africa above Sudan just below the Blue Nile we have an area identified as Nubia.

Africans were already using the term Nubian in ancient times as a term of designation of a distinct, highly developed social, political,Religious and cultural ethnic group in the area in question. Before European contact. The Arab and Berber did not exist at the primacy of the development of Nubian civilization. Berbers according to the Encarta are themselves an Arabized people, how then can an assimilated primitive  culture  formed after the Nubian which were a supra-civilization,  be credited with having fathered the modern inhabitants of Nubia?  The utter absurdity in the matter defies common sense! Scholars still use terms such as Hamitic, Japhetic and Semitic as terms of designation for the various people groups on the planet.The terms are in fact derived from the bible they are the names of the three sons of Noah namely, Ham, Shem, and Japheth.  Ham fathered the African nations most notable of which are Kush (Ethiopia, Somalia and Eritrea), Mitsrayim (Egypt), and Phut=Punt (Nubia), Nimrod (Babylon) et al. Shem fathered certain notables such as Asshur (Assyria), Elam, Aram and Arphaxad, out of these came the so-called Semites along with their languages.

The Nubians who were a dark skinned thick-lipped people with wooly hair not unlike many of their surviving descendants today they are in fact the architects of what we call Egypt. These people founded the world’s first university at Timbuktu .It is to this region that all the European scholars traveled to become learned, in the ways of the “Medu Nechter” or the so-called Egyptian mystery system.  Onyx the other precious metal mentioned in the Genesis account was also greatly used in Kemit as a depiction of “Kephera” the so-called Scarab Beetle “Dung Beetle”, which is usually made from black Onyx and Gold.Also one important fact that must be taken into account in anciency the continent of Alkebulan was still joined to the other countries of the so called Middle East all of whom were satellites of the Nubians. One must bear in mind that there was no Aswan Dam. Io mention here  the names of the rivers mentioned in scripture in Genesis.The name of the third river is Hiddekelit states that it went towards the east of Assyria, and the fourth river is the Euphrates.All of the places mentioned were in ancient times still joined to the continent of Alkebulan Africa.Mesopotamia, [Greek- between two rivers], so named because of its strategic location between the Tigres and the Euphrates rivers.The land of Assyria takes its name from one of their ancient kings called Asshur.Ge:  10:11: Out of that, land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah,Ge:  10:12: And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city.Ge:  10:13: And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,Ge:  10:14: And Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim.

In ancient history, we will read that Ur of the Chaldea where Abraham came from was, in fact, the conquerors of the Assyrians who were a satellite of Ur. Let us examine Ur, one of the most important cities of ancient Mesopotamia located on the Western Bank of the lower falls of the Euphrates River. Some very illuminating finds were unearthed in (Tel Muqayyir) modern Iraq. From the data thus far gathered we can see a pattern of development since Ishtar was the deity worshiped by the Assyrians who were a satellite at many points in the history of the Babylonians who were as per their own records descendants of Nimrod. The same Nimrod of the Bible, whose mother Serimaris or Astarte was called the Queen of Heaven, or the mother of Heaven. Serimaris and Nimrod correlate to Isis and Horus of the Kemitians (Egyptians).Also according to archeological evidence, Babylon is one of the first ancient civilizations it is also the place, where the two rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates meet. The Babylonian king called Hammurabi wrote the Code of Hammurabi or Laws of Hammurabi.

This post will be continued .

Busta Rhymes’ Esoteric Symbolism and his Five Percenter Philosophy.

Above  album cover art for Busta Ryhmes’ latest record, ‘Extinction Level  2: The Wrath of God’, naturally it is replete with Five Percent Nation, symbolism , phraseology and ideology. I have written about the  philosophical underpinnings of rappers before, who adhere to teachings of The Nation of Gods and Earth’s.  The ‘Wrath of God, the albums name, is indicative of Rhymes’ , Five Percent ideology, which posits that the so called Asiatic black man is god and his proper name is Allah. The number seven is of significance since  the Five Percenter’s adhere to numerology and call this Supreme Mathematics, resultantly , since they claim to be gods, G being the seventh letter of the English alphabet is of primary significance in their arcana.

Here is what they call their flag or logo, it bears an eight pointed star, superimposed by an  Islamic crescent, the moon, the five pointed star and the number seven, above are the words In the name of Allah meaning them. They consider themselves and all black people to be Allah i.e. god. They are the poor righteous teachers, or the five percent whose duty it is to awaken, the global black population to their god hood. Killah priest who was an active member of Wutang Clan in its hey day, was a strong proponent of  Five Percenter teaching, presently he has  incorporated Hindu and Buddhist teaching and spirituality, into his ideology and album cover packaging for more info see his YouTube channel.

Above Jay Z in photo wearing a chain, with a pendant bearing the flag of the NGAE’s .

Above Rakim Allah, with the NGE’s flag on the back of his Dapper Dans made jacket, center Jay Z with the NGE flag as his chains medallion, far right RZA of Wutang Clan , with the NGE’s flag as his chains medallion.

Killah Priest in an animated pose, as Ogun the Yoruba god of War and Iron.

art in direct imitation of the poster at right of Dwight York aka Dr. Malachi Z York. As they say flattery is the best form of imitation. In another post I will go in depth on who Malachi York is and his profound influence on Hip-Hop in the 90’s till the present.Killah Priest and all of Wutang Clan are all proponents of esotericism , Kabalism and occultism in general, anyone familiar with their musical content, delivery and packaging will not be able to deny this.
Busta Rhymes, like most of the so called conscious rappers is a disciple of the NGE’s  Killah Priest and Wutang Clan in its entirety . Now I will resume my examination of Rhymes’ recent offering Extinction Level 2.

Rhymes addresses the current  global pandemic, throughout the record , stressing that he predicted 9/11, and that 9/11 was no accident . His belief that he is a god, is false according to the teaching of the Holy Bible. The NGE is a totally un-Islamic  just like their predecessor, the Nation of Islam (NOI). Islam is a monotheist religion, that stresses in the belief and worship of the one God , whom they call Allah. As per the teachings of Koranic Islam then, the doctrines and philosophiy espoused by Busta Rhymes are shirk, polytheism. I went into some depth on these matters previously in other post’s click the following links for more info, there will be future post’s on Jay Z and his mentor Jaz O and their ties to the Ansaru Allah temple, founded by none other than Dwight York aka Dr. Malachi Z York. Stay Tuned! PS Feel free to click on some ads, that allows me to generate income off the BLOG. Thanks for your support and thanks for following.

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Caribbean adopts plan to seek slavery reparations.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent (AP) — Leaders of Caribbean nations on Monday unanimously adopted a broad plan on seeking reparations from European nations for what they say are the lingering ill effects of the Atlantic slave trade on the region.

 

A British human rights law firm hired by the Caribbean Community grouping of nations announced that prime ministers had authorized a 10-point plan that would seek a formal apology and debt cancellation from former colonizers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands. The decision came at a closed-door meeting in St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

 

According to the Leigh Day law firm, the Caribbean Community also wants reparation payments to repair the persisting “psychological trauma” from the days of plantation slavery and calls for assistance to boost the region’s technological know-how since the Caribbean was denied participation in Europe’s industrialization and confined to producing and exporting raw materials such as sugar.

 

The plan further demands European aid in strengthening the region’s public health, educational and cultural institutions such as museums and research centers.

 

It is even pushing for the creation of a “repatriation program,” including legal and diplomatic assistance from European governments, to potentially resettle members of the Rastafarian spiritual movement in Africa. Repatriation to Africa has long been a central belief of Rastafari, a melding of Old Testament teachings and Pan-Africanism whose followers have long pushed for reparations.

 

Martyn Day of the law firm called the plan a “fair set of demands on the governments whose countries grew rich at the expense of those regions whose human wealth was stolen from them.”

 

Day said an upcoming meeting in London between Caribbean and European officials “will enable our clients to quickly gauge whether or not their concerns are being taken seriously.” It was not immediately clear when the meeting to potentially seek a negotiated settlement will take place.

 

The idea of the countries that benefited from slavery paying some form of reparations has been a decades-long quest but only recently has it gained serious momentum in the Caribbean.

 

Caricom, as the political grouping of 15 countries and dependencies is known, announced in July that it intended to seek reparations for slavery and the genocide of native peoples and created the Caribbean Reparations Commission to push the issue and present their recommendations to political leaders.

 

They then hired Leigh Day, which waged a successful fight for an award compensation of about $21.5 million for surviving Kenyans who were tortured by the British colonial government during the so-called Mau Mau rebellion of the 1950s and 1960s.

 

The commission’s chairman, Hilary Beckles, a scholar who has written several books on the history of Caribbean slavery, said he was “very pleased” that the political leaders adopted the plan.

 

In 2007, then British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed regret for the “unbearable suffering” caused by his country’s role in slavery but made no formal apology. In 2010, then French President Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged the “wounds of colonization” and pointed out France had canceled a 56 million euro debt owed by Haiti and approved an aid package.

 

The Caribbean Reparations Commission said Monday that far more needed to be done for the descendants of slaves on struggling islands, saying it sees the “persistent racial victimization of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today.”

 

Reblogged by Wade Bailey

 

Associated Press writer Duggie Joseph reported this story in Kingstown, St. Vincent, and David McFadden reported from Kingston, Jamaica.

 

Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Many claim that Rastafari was as a result of a “prophecy”   by Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Marcus Garvey the Jamaican-born 1930,s Black  Nationalist  and head of the U.N.I.A. was a vehement critic of Haile Selassie he maligned him for seeking British protection during the Italian aggression led  by Benito Mussolini against Ethiopia in the nineteen thirties .

Garvey never recognized the Rastafari as a serious Black Nationalist organization.

 

Marcus Mosiah Garvey the Jamaican-born leader of the U.N.I.A. the Universal Negro Improvement Association.  Garvey possessed a flair for the dramatic as is evinced in the choice of attire of him and his followers during their marches and rallies.

Garvey organized Africans on the continent and around the globe, around his Black Nationalist philosophy it is from the school of thought developed by this man, that many of the modern African intellectuals and Pan- Africanists gained their core ideology.

Although many earlier Garveyites later became Rastafari this was a personal choice not something inspired by a cohesive philosophy.

Garvey proclaimed many times in speeches that a prince would come out of Africa Ethiopia would soon stretch out her hands unto God quoting from psalms. In order to put into proper context what Garvey said I want to include some quotes pertinent to the alledged ‘prophecy”, by Marcus Garvey concerning Ethiopia. On November 8th 1930 Garvey published an article in his Jamaican newspaper the Black Man that read: “Last Sunday, a great ceremony took place at Addis Ababa, the capital of Abyssinia. It was the coronation of the new Emperor of Ethiopia — Ras Tafari. From reports and expectations, the scene was one of great splendor, and will long be remembered by those who were present. Several of the leading nations of Europe sent representatives to the coronation, there by paying their respects to a rising Negro nation that is destined to play a great part in the future history of the world.  Abyssinia is the land of the blacks and we are glad to learn that even though Europeans have been trying to impress the Abyssinians that they are not belonging to the Negro race, they have learned the retort that they are, and they are proud to be so.

Haile Sellassie has travelled to the West including America and is therefore no stranger to European and American hypocrisy and methods; he must be regarded as a kind of a modern Emperor, and from what we understand and know of him, he intends to introduce modern methods and systems into his country. Already he has started to recruit from different sections of the world competent men in different branches of science to help develop his country to the position that she should occupy among the other nations of the world.We do hope that Ras Tafari will live long to carry out his wonderful intentions. From what we have heard and what we do know, he is ready and willing to extend the hand of invitation to any Negro who desires to settle in his kingdom. We know of many who are gone to Abyssinia and who have given good report of the great possibilities there, which they are striving to take advantage of.

The Psalmist prophesied that Princes would come out of Egypt and Ethiopia would

stretch forth her hands unto God (Psalm 68:31). We have no doubt that the time is now come. Ethiopia is now really stretching forth her hands. This great kingdom of the East has been hidden for many centuries, but gradually she is rising to take a leading place in the world and it is for us of the Negro race to assist in every way to hold up the hand of Emperor Ras Tafari”. I included the entire article as a means of allowing the reader an understanding of the general context in which, Garvey spoke. After having read the article on numerous occasions it is plain to see that Garvey regarded Haile Sellassie as someone who symbolized black pride and nationalism at the time in question.

Rupert Lewis wrote a scholarly analysis on the Rastafarians which he entitled:  Marcus Garvey and the Early Rastafarians: Continuity and Discontinuity. In it he made certain interesting points and inferences, which are great for establishing a historically accurate documentary for the time period in question.  I will include some of the more dynamic and poignant, which as the reader will see bears up many points made in the present work.

I think the following from Lewis is poignant in understanding the viewpoints of Howell and Marcus Garvey; “The anticolonial content of Howell’s preaching was clear in

his message that black people’s only true king was Emperor Haile Selassie. But Garvey did not approve of Howell’s teaching and rejected his claims that Selassie was God”. Robert Hill in his book often quoted in this work wrote that; Garvey refused to allow Howell to sell the emperors picture in Edelweis Park, Jamaican headquarters of the UNIA. Lewis went on to state that Garvey was decidedly pro Christian and the doctrines that Howell taught were of a defiant anti-Christian character, which Lewis cited would have been in obvious conflict with Garvey’s publicly expressed Christianity. When Italy invaded Ethiopia Rastafari and certain Garveyites protested in Montego Bay on the western portion of Jamaica, similarly protesters took to the streets in St Kitts, Trinidad and other West Indian territories. Lewis wrote that; “The Garveyite newspaper Plain Talk was commended by Dr. Malaku Bayen, Haile Selassie’s personal representative in the United States, who was in charge of organizing the Ethiopian World Federation”. Early Rastafarian leaders Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, and many other Rastas were foundation members of the first local branch of the Ethiopian World Federation established in Jamaica.  However, Garvey was very hostile in his criticism of Haile Selassie. As early as October 1935, Garvey had argued that the Italo-Ethiopian war “affords only another example of what unpreparedness means to a people.”

The following damning editorial that appeared in Garveys New Jamaican on August 13th 1932 references specifically Cannabis smoking. “Ganja is a dangerous weed; it has been pronounced so by responsible authorities. The smoking of it does a great deal of harm or injury to the smoker; we understand it has the same effect on the subject as opium has. Every day we hear of cases of ganja sellers, being brought before the Court.

Fines, small and heavy, have been inflicted with the object of destroying the trade, but yet it grows. The other day a man was found in possession of ninety pounds of Ganja, this was enough deadly weed to destroy a thousand men. That our people are being destroyed by the use of ganja there is absolutely no doubt.

We have come in contact with young men and middle aged men who have become a menace to society through the smoking of ganja. Sometimes they perform in such a crazy manner as to frighten us. Aren’t we playing with the danger by not more severely putting it down? Most of the people who smoke ganja do so as a means of getting themselves in such a state or condition as to forget their troubles and worries — troubles and worries brought upon them by the bad conditions that exist in the country…. It would be good that more serious steps be taken to suppress this ganja habit. Between ganja and fanatical religion, we are developing a large population of half-crazy people who may not only injure themselves but injure us. Some will do it in the name of the “Lord” and others may do it under the influence of the evil weed”.

This position brought Garvey into conflict with those who advocated and practiced the ritual, sacramental use of ganja, as well as with those who traded in it. And who were those that practiced the ritual use of Marijuana in Jamaica at that time but Rastafari? Those who traded in Cannabis on a huge “commercial”, scale at that time in Jamaica were the wealthy, merchant and some in the planter class, there is evidence that persons in the highest echelons of government, including the police force and the army were all engaged in the trafficking of Cannabis.

The historical record with a view to what was written in newspaper periodicals by Marcus Garvey concerning Rastafari is nothing short of scathing denunciations and the like. That Rastafari today hail him as their prophet is their prerogative my duty is to present the facts with that thought in mind I will present a few more. Another article in the New Jamaican (Marcus Garvey’s newspaper), written by Garvey reported the following; “There is good and there is bad in religion. Some religions are foolish, and we have a

lot of them in Jamaica. We have religion here that is running the people crazy.

In different sections of our city, and for that matter, on the island, scheming and

wicked persons are promoting all kinds of fanatical religions, and they are finding fertile fields among the unfortunate and ignorant people.” Garvey referenced the Revivalist’s in the article, the Pocamaniacs and the Rastafari. Lewis in his analyses cites Barry Chevannes which is instructive to reiterate herein; “These elements, as Chevannes and others have pointed out, were all present in early Rastafari. That was a different phase of the movement, and as such, it is necessary to distinguish among the Howellites, the old

supporters of Bedward, the revivalists who became Rasta and initiated a campaign to recognize Haile Selassie as God, and the latter-day Rastafarian movement that

gained international currency with the music of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer. Garvey knew the Howellites, the Bedwardites, and the anticolonial milieu,

and with these Jamaicans he dialogued. It is the latter-day Rastafarians, however, who, through reggae, have canonized Garvey and become the most active force in Jamaica for perpetuating aspects of Garvey’s philosophy.

Burning Spear was one of the earliest and still is the most persistent of the “Garveyite” Reggae-Rasta lyricists”. I have not included some of the more scathing quotes from Garveyites concerning Leonard Howell, as some of them can be deemed as slander and libel particularly his alleged “Obeah”, practices, in their defense though and this was referenced in Robert Hill’s book (Dread History), Howell did claim to be a student of Hindu occultism.

The bible was held in high esteem, anyone familiar with scripture was honored by poor blacks of the time. Garvey was no exception he was shrewd, he knew how to, collectively mobilize people for mass action. Garvey never prophesied of the coronation of Haile Sellassie, a scriptural quote is not a prophesy.

The Rastafari took Garveys scriptural quotation of psalms 68: 31; “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God,” as direct prophetic fulfillment in the crowning of Haile Sellassie.

I will now deal with a very troubling development, in a certain type of literature that has been developed, but which will not remain unchallenged.

The type of literature I am alluding to is that which has been created by white writers and journalists, pandering to what they consider to be their humanist side, what it truly is; is

Arrogance and an economic niche that they have created for themselves, wherein they have been able to generate exorbitant sums of money pandering to the type of readership that they cater to.

Within this type of literature, there exists much hypocrisy, I will touch lightly on the subject, and it is with indignation that I write when I deal with their outright blatant attempt, to minimize, and diminish the accomplishments and contributions, that Marcus Garvey made to the Black man globally.  I am aware of quite a few people, whose lives changed for the better after reading Garveys work; the statements made by, this white Journalist will not go unchallenged in this work. An even worse type of literature purporting to be “Christian”, is being written on Rastafari by certain mainly North American evangelical’s and charismatics, that shows the ignorance and lack of investigation that went into preparing the material. I will examine here one such writer Paula A. Price, Ph.D. her book is entitled: “The Prophet’s Dictionary: The ultimate Guide to Supernatural Wisdom”. On page 181 she purports to be writing on Rastafari, quotes from her book will reveal the absolute lack of knowledge that this writer a Ph.D. holder no less, has pertinent to Rastafari. The writer does not cite any sources when writing about a subject, presumably she believes her own hype, that she is the “ultimate”, authority on supernatural wisdom. The following are her own words quoted from page 181 414: “dreadlocks – A long shaggy hairstyle worn by followers of Prince Ras Tafari of Jamaica. He was the foundation of the Rastafarian religion founded by Marcus Garvey. The hairstyle is worn in obeisance to his belief in himself as the incarnate messiah and as such his being the lion of the tribe of Judah. The loose, flowing hair is to emulate the mane of a lion who is venerated for its power, prowess, and hunting skill. The lion as the king of the jungle is the means by which this religion celebrates their cult”. When I read this woman’s elucidation on Rastafari I was eager to include it herein as an example that the readers could themselves compare with the account given by me in this book of the coronation of Haile Sellassie his titles and their spiritual and historical context, here is a perfect example of exactly the type of writer this work opposes and exposes as fraudulent pseudo-scholars. I went to the section in her book entitled: About The Author on page 601 of her book, I will briefly quote from her book what she is about. “Paula A. Price is vastly becoming the international voice on the subject of apostolic and prophetic ministry she is widely recognized as a modern day (apostle) with a potent anointing”. Rarely have I seen such ignorance and arrogance displayed in one setting as with this pseudo-apostle. Now I will begin to deconstruct her fallacious presentation of Rastafari. Tafari as this book has shown from documented evidence was the pre-coronation familial name of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Sellassie, Ras was a title designating him as a prince or a ruler of one or more provinces. Price claims that Sellassie was a Jamaican, (her lack of respect for the subject she claims to be writing about is glaringly illuminated in her referring to Haile Sellassie an Ethiopian emperor, as a Jamaican since when did the colonial system of Jamaica ever had an emperor?), who viewed himself as messiah. Nothing could be farther from the truth, when Price claims in her book that Haile Sellassie viewed himself as a messiah, that is not only outright ignorance it is a boldfaced lie! “The lion as king of the jungle”, these are the ranting’s of a barely concealed racist mentality, couched as “Christian”, writing of the type of garbage exposed above, gives any writing that is truly Apostolic a bad name, notwithstanding the god ordained precept that no woman can attain to the “office” of an Apostle, in the Full Body Ministry of Jesus The Messiah of the Ages, exposing Price as a fraud. Price and her ilk are part of the Christian Industrial Complex forged in charismaticism, with their pseudo-Christian belief in the “Trinity”, which is a concept that this book has shown, was born in witchcraft. I have taken pains to deconstruct lies and misperceptions pertaining to Caribbean people in general in this book and Rastafari in particular, as a means of presenting as balanced and objective a picture, as I possibly could. I know it is impossible to satisfy everyone, yet still I have attempted to present as much factually verifiable data, on all the subjects handled in this book including Rastafari. If a “writer”, is not possessed of even the most fundamental respect, for his or her subject then why bother to write about it. If one must descend to lies and subterfuge, why bother? Any honest writer with the barest of dignity will do well, to afford their subject with the same dignity that they would prefer for themselves had the roles been reversed. The so called West Indies have produced many great leaders with Marcus Mosiah Garvey not being the least of them, Caribbean people have been clamoring for true independence since, they learnt what ‘nation building” truly entail The term independence in this work does not only refer to political autonomy or a semi-independent political status, as is the case regionally. The term independence here refers to the ability of a nation to perpetuate its civilization throughout millennia using the means of the political process, the educational, as well as the religious institutions, cultural and technological wealth of its people. Independence herein also encompasses national identity as well as a constitution which guarantees the rights of all citizens by law, within said constitution the rights of the citizens and the sovereignty of their nation is sacrosanct, the democratic system being the one system in said constitution that will be utilized to safeguard and protect said rights. If the reality of true independence in the Caribbean context were to be examined however briefly and minutely in this work I will like to make mention of the ideological fathers of said movement in the region.

Image: The Jamaican-born Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the protégé of the Sint Thomas native Edward Wilmot Blyden.

Through the Freedom of Information Act, the widow of Garvey Amy Jacques Garvey was able to procure formerly confidential FBI documents and also the actual transcripts of the court proceedings that led to the illegal conviction of Marcus Garvey.

Marcus Garvey was influenced by his own admission by one Edward Wilmot Blyden.

Blyden was a native of the B.V.I.A who traveled to Africa as a missionary (Timothy White erroneously claimed that Blyden was a Liberian).

Many people will try to falsify history and reduce Garvey to a narrow paradigm , exclusive to Jamaica his significance transcends geographic boundaries, he was truly a world citizen, his teaching was universal the aspects of  “Garveyism” that are separatist and racist his concept of race “purity”, is rank racism and “nationalism”, I reject outright and condemn that aspect of his teaching the other aspects of Garveyism that are conducive to my wholesome development I can consume the rest I discard as unacceptable for my “consumption”.

Garvey was a product of the type of thinking being developed amongst African descendants in the West at that time.

The global universe of education produced Garvey, Blyden, George Padmore, C.L.R. James and later Malcolm X and Martin Luther King J.R.

Image: Edward Wilmot Blyden ideological father of Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

These men were not mere soapbox orators they literally shaped the world and influenced generations of the earth’s populace.

In Photo Marcus Garvey and his wife Amy Jacques Garvey.

 

Although men like C.L.R. James were Marxist’s they still shaped much of what is termed “Black Literature” today. For this reason I have stated apostolic people cannot honour anyone whether they are black or white simply on the basis of their status as a “pop icon”, pop culture is not limited to music. ‘Popular culture” denotes all accepted art forms that have made a significant impact in what is considered an acceptable or professional standard.

Often when one hears about Pan- Africanism, the name that usually comes to mind is Marcus Mosiah Garvey, yet Garvey was in fact a student of Edward Wilmot Blyden. Blyden was a Sint Thomas native who wanted to be a missionary; he later changed his course of thinking and dedicated himself to a lifelong struggle of African liberation. The Caribbean gave to the world many great intellectuals and thinkers I will like to mention a few here, Frantz Fanon (who was a doctor and fought himself literally to death in a war of liberation in Algeria), Cesaire, George Padmore who was advisor to Kwame Nkrumah the president of Ghana on African affairs, C.LR James, and many others. The program that the UNIA, the organization headed by Garvey is worthy of mention here, as it embodies a vision and insight far beyond its time and is even more progressive and relevant than any program enacted by any Western power on the planet today as pertains to the African in the Diaspora in their midst. Even the independent countries in the Caribbean and Africa cannot boast of the most basic application of anything even vaguely reminiscent of what Garvey’s UNIA advocated as a means of mass social uplift. Iam not mentioning this simply as a means of lauding the insight and vision of the UNIA, Iam attempting to show the relevance of such a program even for the African in the Diaspora today and how government can be used as a tool for social reformation, mass education and social uplift rather than the present dismal and apathetic state of affairs.

The aims of the Universal Negro Improvement Association were and still are:

1: To establish a universal confraternity among the race.

2: To promote the spirit of race pride and love.

3:  To reclaim the fallen of the race.

4:  To administer the imperialism of independent Africa.

5:  To establish Universities, Colleges and Secondary Schools to further education and culture of the boys and girls of the race.

6: To conduct worldwide commercial and industrial intercourse.

There were also local Jamaican objectives, which were ipsi facto Caribbean objectives.

 

1: To rescue the fallen women of the island from the pit of vice and infamy.

2: To do all that is possible to help the struggling masses to a higher state of moral appreciation.

3: To help generally in the development of the country.

 

The points and objectives mentioned above were not exclusive to Garvey or the UNIA but were and are part of the total objective of nation building in and of itself.

Men like Garvey and C.L.R James understood that in order for them to b effective leaders of the African in the Diaspora they would have to interpret these principles from out of his experience and reality, C.L.R James however and his peers , transcended the role of simply “Black Leaders”, James never presented himself as such he was a truly universal leader and it is this type of leader who is in fact the most effective, therefore while Garvey has his place men like James must also be given their place in history, this work tries to draw the oft difficult balance between the varying types of leaders without attempting to diminish one and to falsely promote another . Some of the men mentioned above enjoyed stellar success in their chosen areas of endeavor, George Padmore is worthy of mention here, in The Pan-African Connection Tony Martin wrote: “Padmore was born in Trinidad in 1902 and attended universities in the United States from 1924-1929. During this period he enjoyed meteoric success in the Communist Party of the USA. In 1933 he broke with Moscow and with Communism but not with Marxism. From 1957-1959 he served as advisor on African affairs to President Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. He died in the latter year. And in the words of his biographer, “It only remained for the Ghanaians to institutionalize him, which they quickly did”.  Tony Martin in his “The Pan African Connection”  wrote about another Caribbean man notably Frantz Fanon the Martinique born revolutionary: “but my most vivid recollection from that night was the frequency and reverence with which Carmichael quoted Fanon. The deference accorded to Fanon by this outstanding revolutionary of our time was the deference which some men pay to the quotations of Jesus Christ and others to Mao Tse Tung or Karl Marx”. Of course by mentioning Jesus Christ in the same sentence as Mao and Marx, in the same vein, as the aforementioned persons Martin cleverly attempts to reduce Jesus to a mere “leader”, which he most certainly was much more than a great leader, later in this work Jesus will be examined from a biblical perspective. Aimé Césair Fanon’s friend wrote that: “Fanon probably soared to such heights and was possessed of so wide a horizon because he was a West Indian, meaning that he started from so lowly and narrow a basis. Maybe it was necessary to be West Indian, that is to be so destitute, so depersonalized, in order to go forth with such ardour to the conquest of oneself and of plenitude; West Indian, this is to say, so mystified in the beginning as to finally be able to expose the most secret motives of mystification, and with such mastery, finally, West Indian to be capable of so forcefully escaping from impotency by action, and solitude by fraternity”. (From Césair’s Homage 1962).

I will like to elucidate on one Cyril Lionel James (1901-1989) as he was literally a giant and an internationally renowned and respected world scholar, political theorist, philosopher, literary, critic and Pan-Africanist. James was a world figure who advocated African self-government, and West Indian or Caribbean self-government. The reason for the expose on James is many fold one of the chiefest being he is not read in any major university in the Caribbean and he has been totally omitted from most historical studies in the region on Caribbean history how can one omit so crucial a man to the very development of “Caribbean History”, as a subject in cultural studies is yet a mystery. In this work he will be given his just due James was born in Trinidad his father was a schoolteacher his mother an educated woman. James worked as teacher for a time on Trinidad he completed a novel Minty Alley published in 1936 the book was about the life of the lower classes. In England he became an “enigmatic phenomena” he published several works worth mentioning here “The Case for West Indian Self-Government”, “World Revolution 1919-1936: The Rise and fall of the Comintern” (this was of course a Marxist work). He also authored “The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution”. His play “Toussaint L’Ouverture” London premiere starred his friend Paul Robeson who was influenced by James. James completed a noted major philosophical study entitled “Notes on Dialectics”; a literary critical study of Melville, Mariners Renegades, and Castaways; and several collaborative works on world politics. In 1962 in London James published; “Beyond a Boundary: an historical study of Cricket”. James influenced greatly such writers as Vincent Harding, Manning Marable, Edward Said, Stuart Hall, Walter Rodney, and Sylvia Winter. Scholars place him among the founders of cultural studies as well as “black studies” with the overwhelming evidence of this man’s greatness in America and especially England the country of Trinidad in particular is in fact contributing to its own demise by not highlighting this giant of the twentieth century, Caribbean educational institutions are a farce until they all collectively embrace and acknowledge this man who was in fact the intellectual dynamo that gave them voice it was because of his work that they now exist how can one ignore one’s “creator”?Stokely Carmichael was a Trinidad born revolutionary who was greatly influenced by Fanon and he most definitely would have read of and was well aware of James and his many contributions it is simply a crime that education is being conducted in the Caribbean without acknowledging the very persons that made it possible for “true education” to exist in the region or are we to think that the so called independent governments are yet forwarding a colonial agenda by deliberately miseducating their countries youth. The Caribbean Pan-Africanist has influenced global Pan-Africanism to an extent not yet appreciated nor understood by the academicians in the region. Marcus Garvey one of the most prolific of these thinkers and certainly the greatest organizer amongst them popularized what many were already writing about and agitating for Garvey in fact wrote about a “West Indian Federation”and laid down the blueprint for its attainment. What Garvey and many others articulated was simply Caribbean nationalism and African Nationalism across the board. The European has created his brand of nationalism in the European Union; all of Europe is in fact governments built out of the nationalist ideal a study of European history will attest to this fact. The British Labor party was conceived out of the Fabian Society in 1893.In 1906 the party was given its present name George Bernard Shaw and Annie Besant were two of the more famous members of the Fabian society. Anyone familiar with the literary works of Annie Besant might be surprised to find out that she is one of the persons who molded what we refer to as socialism. The Europeans themselves acknowledge that socialism is in fact a child of Marxism. Have they discarded the socialist model because Karl Marx helped write the Communist Manifesto? No they simply evolved Marxian theory to reflect their present reality out of such the British Labor Party of which Tony Blair was a very prominent member was born. Why have I brought this point to the fore? The Caribbean has for years sought to create a certain amount of cohesive hegemony. The Caricom is concrete proof of such the ineffectiveness of the Caricom is as a result of there being an absence of a Caribbean identity forged in nationalism, the cricket cup is a sport it is not a nationalistic symbol although if correctly used it can become a unifying symbolic event. The tendency of the leadership in the region to form their ideology based on Eurocentric values is an Achilles heel that will continue to cripple them. Pan-Africanism in the Caribbean context can be correctly termed Pan-Caribbeanism can a cohesive ideology be developed out of Pan-Africanism beneficial to a Federated Caribbean? I think this can be achieved no true Caribbean intellectual can claim to be a “Caribbean” intellectual without having been influenced by the likes of Garvey, Fanon, Aimee  Césair, Blyden and the many other thinkers to have sprung from the region.

Image: Some Caribbean islands including the lesser and Greater Antilles. Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Sint Martin were called the French Antilles, with Sint Maarten, Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatia comprising the Dutch Antilles. Frantz Fanon the Martiniquan Doctor, revolutionary, author, Marxist and Antillean. Carlos Cooks was an Antillean. Maurice Bishop though a Grenadian by parentage was born on Aruba and attended school for a period of time there. Athyli Rogers author of the “Rastafari bible”, the ‘Holy Piby, was an Anguillan, though Anguilla is not an Antillean island, Anguillans and Sint Maarteners are related by blood ties and share a common heritage. Edward Wilmot Blyden the man whose world renowned protégé Marcus Garvey, is heralded by most Pan-Africanist’s as the father of their ideology, is a virtual unknown in so called “black studies” literature. Most writers writing about the Pan-Caribbean Pan-African experience tend to focus on Jamaicans and Africans conveniently omitting the fact that the actual Pan-Caribbean, Pan-Africanist movement started in the smaller islands and not in Jamaica. The movement was begun by people like Edward Blyden and others even before him. George Padmore and C.L.R James are rarely ever written about but they are in fact intrinsic to any honest analysis of the Pan-Caribbean and Pan-Africanist movement in the world today. This book though not a Pan African nor a Pan Caribbean work, yet gives due credence to the greats in the aforementioned since, without their efforts a work such as this would indeed be lacking substance in certain areas.

 

There are many black Marxists and Communists some like Harry Belafonte are revered by people who call themselves Christian, how can you claim Christ and revere and honor someone who is diametrically opposed to all that you claim to stand for?

The mistake of black people identifying with anyone “popular” who looks like them is an example of a negative cultural characteristic that apostolic people must avoid.

I identify more with a Chinese or Japanese who is truly saved than with any black man or woman who is not, skin color is not the basis for my allegiance, another person’s allegiance to Jesus forms the basis of my allegiance to that person regardless of race, color, or creed.

Malcolm X’ impact transcends the so-called African American Malcolm X is revered by many Muslim youth from Morocco and throughout much of Muslim Africa, particularly in the Sudan and outside of the Muslim community. In Africa he is honored by many on the continent and throughout the Western hemisphere.

The significance of these people and their life’s work was mentioned in order to illustrate how these persons influenced and shaped the thinking of Caribbean people.

In her book The First Rasta Helen Lee claims, that Marcus Garvey was agitating for integration, how a supposedly informed individual could make such a claim, can mean only one thing, Lee who is obviously enamored with Howell; was pandering to certain sentiments and sensibilities of the type of readership that she caters to.

After his release from prison on trumped up charges Marcus Garvey was deported to Jamaica in 1928, where he resumed his activities on behalf of Africans everywhere.

He was politically active in Jamaica where he ran for a seat on the city council while he was in prison, he won by an overwhelming margin.

Lee’ attempt at diminishing the impact and influence of Marcus Garvey on the development of African civilization in the Diaspora is exposed in this work for what it is, a specious attempt at misinformation. The historical records clearly show that, Garvey was deported back to Jamaica he later left for England, where he died in 1940. By creating the false notion that Garvey never returned to Jamaica but was somehow sent to England, is a deliberate and malicious attempt, by this white journalist, claiming to identify so greatly with the Rastafari, that even within the obvious suicidal behavior of Athlyi (“Roger Athlyi” writer of the Holy Piby i.e. the Rastafari bible). Lee attempted to make Athlyi some sort of hero. Athlyi killed himself plain and simple; no amount of misplaced pandering to misdirected sensibilities can change that.

The likes of Athlyi was not and have never been a great influence on black people globally Athlyi’ marginal influence is limited to the few followers he had in his heyday, likewise Leonard Howell. Marcus Mosiah Garvey on the other hand influenced black intellectuals globally and he still does so today from politicians and preachers to university students to street hustlers Garveyism has had an enduring impact on the world that no human being can diminish nor deny.

The ideology that Garvey espoused, led to many African leaders, such as Kwame Nkrumah, and Jomo Kenyatta just to mention two very famous leaders, who openly called themselves Pan-Africanists after the ideology developed by Marcus Mosiah Garvey. The ideology called Garveyism, led to these men formulating the methods, and means that they would later utilize to bring about the independence of their respective countries.  That they failed to follow in the Pan-African tradition after having achieved independence is no reflection on Garveyism at all, but rather it is a reflection on the men as human beings.

Today both the JLP and the PNP of Jamaica are vying for the right to call themselves the ideological successors of Marcus Garvey; fortunately for Garvey history will show that he was not a socialist. Garvey believed firmly in the democratic ideal, and capitalism, in fact was his preferred economic model.

Both the JLP and PNP are socialistic in their rhetoric, in practice they are decidedly autocratic, and absolutist in their governing styles bordering on oligarchies.  The very fact that these parties are now vying for the right to call Marcus Garvey, the father of their political ideology, points to his universal acceptance that has in fact forced the political hierarchy in his homeland, to want to adopt him as father of their various movements.

Pan-Africanists, the Rastafari, students of the enlightened variety both white and black

have long accepted and understood the universal truths espoused by Marcus Garvey; however his separatist rhetoric, has been and rightly should be avoided by most. The applicability of his political program, as pertains to the betterment, of the condition of the African in the Diaspora, should be championed by any truly enlightened Caribbean leader.

Caribbean people, do not need journalists, or academicians to define their reality; they can define their own reality.

On the point of the church’ role in the Caribbean; Lee attempts to portray the role of women, as substituting for the lack of men in said institutions.  The Jesus image, as created by Roman Catholicism is portrayed by Lee, as a psychological prop; unto which black Caribbean Christian women, project all of their pent up sexual emotions.

Lee in her attempt to describe the church services of some people, who may or may not be Christian, lumped Christianity with Pocomania/Pukumina, and other religious sects, like Obeah and Shango. In the spiritist practices above the adherents are said to become possessed by one of their many “deities”, demon spirits, who cause them to manifest a wide assortment of behavior, while persons who experience the real indwelling of the Holy Ghost are experiencing what was spoken of in Acts 2:38. Moreover the chief spirit of most of the cults mentioned, correspond to the “divine androgyne”, of ancient paganism, which has been identified as a symbol of Satan. For instance Obatala the chief deity of the Yoruba’s is a spirit manifesting both male and female characteristics , not unlike many of the other so called gods of the ancient and modern pagans examined in this book.

The Pentecostal movement is a fact worldwide; many people around the world grew up in the Pentecostal movement.

Lee erroneously claimed that speaking in tongues is akin to the “possession,” of the cults.

“Speaking in tongues” has been observed all over the globe even among Europeans and Caucasians in America and Canada, accounts of such are to be found in newspaper articles and on video footage throughout the western hemisphere.

The attempt by some white writers to portray “speaking” in tongues as a “black phenomena”, limited to the uneducated and the ignorant is an example of their use of

their mastery of the written word to portray events in favor of the worldview that they espouse. This in the case of writers like Helen Lee and Timothy White is a decidedly pro-Rastafari worldview (of the Bob Marleyite variety).

While these writers can champion whatever worldview they want to ,their attempts at lumping the very real experience of the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, in “true Christians” with demon or spirit possession akin to the possession at a Voodoo ceremony, will be challenged in this work, as it is mere fantasy and conjecture on the part of two journalist’s attempting to explain away something that is experienced by people globally regardless of color or creed on a daily basis, as a purely “black” phenomena limited to a few backward peasants and women with a limited education nothing could be farther from the truth.

Since true Christianity is diametrically opposed to occultism, those of us who truly know what the “Full Body Ministry,” stands for can appreciate the paradox in the matter.

For one the truly Christian woman would consider such thoughts sacrilegious, and the so-called white Jesus image, even in Jamaican society is not revered by all, not in the early 20th century nor today.

There has been and still are in the region churches that emphatically teach an anti-Eurocentric doctrine, there are many church institutions regionally who do not encourage the veneration of any imagery period taken from Roman Catholicism, even the pagan Christmas is not venerated nor celebrated by Apostolic people in the Caribbean nor around the globe.

The weak attempt of a white woman to define the experience of the African in the Diaspora failed, as all such attempts must fail, by dint of the fact that; the African in the Diaspora is far more complicated, and sophisticated than any one from outside said group, presuming to be able to precisely analyze an entire group of people will ever be able to fathom.