July 23rd - The Emperors Birthday

Last night I took a walk down memory lane to July 23rd, 1978. I was working security at the Santa Barbara County Bowl for a Bob Marley and the Wailers concert.
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This was also Haile Selassie's birthday and here is a link to an audio of that concert.
http://youtu.be/-WC4QEhn5UU
For those who know only a little about Haile Selassie, I am including a good documentary link.
http://youtu.be/DPNemhWssbI
This was a day that literally changed my life and why I now make Jamaica my home.

Hope you enjoy!
Peace and Guidance

This is the thing that I've never been able to grasp about Rastafarianism. I know the story about Haile Selassie, but I've never understood why they revere him. I've never felt comfortable enough to actually ask a Rasta about it, as it's something they take very seriously. I just don't understand why.

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/07/...aile-selassie/

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TAH

This is the thing that I've never been able to grasp about Rastafarianism. I know the story about Haile Selassie, but I've never understood why they revere him. I've never felt comfortable enough to actually ask a Rasta about it, as it's something they take very seriously. I just don't understand why.

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Of course, like anything to do with religion, it is a little complicated but here is a place where you can start to learn if you are interested.

Peace and Guidance

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TAH

This is the thing that I've never been able to grasp about Rastafarianism. I know the story about Haile Selassie, but I've never understood why they revere him. I've never felt comfortable enough to actually ask a Rasta about it, as it's something they take very seriously. I just don't understand why.

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Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie I as God because Marcus Garvey's prophecy - "Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer" - was swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia, he was then regarded by Rastafarians as the God of the Black race.

Haile Selassie is viewed as the King of Kings from the believed lineage that he is a descendant of King Solomon and Makeda (Queen of Sheba). Many Rastafarians believe, that from this lineage, he is the returning Messiah from the Book of Revelation. It can get very complicated. It is said Emperor Selassie himself did not believe he was the Messiah, but when asked if he would tell the Rasta Elders he was not the savior while in Jamaica, he stated "who am I to disturb their belief?"

I have found Catch a Fire by Timothy White (RIP) to be an outstanding read to help understand Jamaican History, Rastafari and the life of The Honorable Robert Nesta Marley. It is a tough read and I have read it more than 5 times but well worth the time and effort, Amazon has it. Hope this helps without offending anyone.

King of Kings - Judy Mowatt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEltS...BC7961F0A83EE0

An excellent book "Emperor" by Ryszard Kapuscinski [English, Amazon $ 4.99].

I did not realize I shared a birthday with Haile Selassie!

There is wealth of encoded information on the Ethiopian flag of Selassie's time. The flag is called the "Lion of Judah"

The second illustration was the Imperial Standard of H.I.M. Even more esoteric meaning

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Very true captaind, the flags are very telling, provided you know the history. In addition, we will most likely go to our graves without the knowledge of where the Lion of Judah (as rendered in the flags) ring is. Was "The Honorable" buried with it or is it the possession of Rita, David (Ziggy), or given back to the Ethiopian Monarchy, leaders of the Twelve Tribes would like to know, as would I.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Packrat

Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie I as God because Marcus Garvey's prophecy - "Look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the Redeemer" - was swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie as Emperor of Ethiopia, he was then regarded by Rastafarians as the God of the Black race.

Haile Selassie is viewed as the King of Kings from the believed lineage that he is a descendant of King Solomon and Makeda (Queen of Sheba). Rastafarian belief, that from this lineage, he is the returning Messiah from the Book of Revelation. It can get very complicated. It is said Emperor Selassie himself did not believe he was the Messiah, but when asked if he would tell the Rasta Elders he was not the savior while in Jamaica, he stated "who am I to disturb their belief?"

I have found Catch a Fire by Timothy White (RIP) to be an outstanding read to help understand Jamaican History, Rastafarian religion and the life of The Honorable Robert Nesta Marley. It is a tough read and I have read it more than 5 times but well worth the time and effort, Amazon has it. Hope this helps without offending anyone.

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I should have clarified; I understand all of what you wrote, I've read quite a lot about it over the years. I just... I don't know. I don't want to offend anyone, so I'll just leave it at that. I'm not a religious person, so that is probably contributing to my questioning of their choices.