One of the most striking aspects of Rastafari is how it has managed to stay alive. Without any real center of worship or organized grouping, it is amazing how it has survived in its oppressive (downpressive) environment of Jamaica. The Rastas have core beliefs of black-over-white that further exemplify this magnified state of prejudice. While the whites of society were doing their best to eliminate the Afro-Jamaicans' voice, these people used it as an opportunity to create a common purpose and system of belief. While this has happened in many different situations (our country is the result of religious intolerance in Europe) the Rastafari have accomplished it in a unique way.
While a very common way of life in Jamaica, Rastafarianism is practiced in smaller and lesser organized groups. People come together to smoke ganja and have intense but unstructured conversation about life and religion. There are specific rules for the way of life of Rastas, such as Ital living, and also a clear set of symbols that separate them from non-practicing persons. These concise rules compensate for the less structured worship in which most Rastas take part(exceptions being the most devout bobos in the mountains.)
The whites of the Caribbean have tried unsuccessfully to stamp out this sense of unity and "blasphemous" religion, but they have not eliminated the passion that drives the movement. The people have a deep faith in a common system of feeling exiled to their "Babylon." The oppression these worshipers suffered for so long has left a less literal but still powerful feeling of not belonging. The crowning of Hailie Selassie also encouraged their connection to the "Promised Land," and rejection of their surroundings. While many no longer plan to actually move to Africa, this idealogy has become a jumping-off point for the study of psalms and and religious practice through the Rastafari lens.
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