Ras Tafari

   Haile Selassie

(1892–1975)

   Cult Focus.

   Haile Selassie was the Emperor of Ethiopia between 1930 and 1974 and during that period he did much to modernise the country. He was driven into exile by the Italians between 1934 and 1941, but, on his return, he revived the Ethiopian Patriarchate and he established relations with the Pope. He was finally deposed by a military coup in 1974 and he died while under house arrest. He has become a Messianic figure for the Rastafarian movement. This originated among the black population of Jamaica. It was inspired by Marcus Garvey’s ‘Back to Africa’ movement and by the magnificent enthronement ceremony of the Emperor. Haile Selassie (or Ras (Lord) Tafari) is regarded as the Messiah of all black people, the descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba and the fulfilment of all biblical prophecies. Although the Rastafarians reject traditional Christianity as a white aberration, they continue to use the Bible for proof texts and sing a selection of hymns from the moody and sankey hymn book.

   E.E. Cashmore, Rasta Man: The Rastafarian Movement in Britain (1983);

   L. Sandford, The Lion of Judah hath Prevailed (1972);

   Haile Selassie, My Life and Ethiopia’s Progress (1976).