Ganja is also seen by Rastafarians as the herb of life mentioned in the Bible. Rastafarians use of ganja is justified by the following Psalms 104:14 that says, "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth." Rastafarians also say it was found growing at the grave of King Solomon in the Bible.

Rastafarian consume it through smoking and eating (not recomended). The smoking of Ganja is a part of a religious ritual. When there is a large "reasoning" gathering of Rastafarians, a Chalice, which is a large smoking pipe, may be passed around and smoked. This is similar to the passing around of a communion cup by some Christian denominations. These gatherings are also called Nyahbinghi (also the name of a Rastafarian sect: Theocratic Priesthood and Livity Order of Nyahbinghi).

True Rastafarians do not smoke cigarettes as it is seen as un-natural and dangerous to one's health. Marijuana is not the only plant or herb used by Rastafarians. They use a wide variety of herbs, plants for medicinal and dietary purposes, however, ganja is the most popular.

10 Ft. Ganja Plant

If nothing else, 10 Ft. Ganja Plant should win the award for name of the year. Several members of the group (they are a group, by the way) play with John Brown's Body, so you know you'll get quality live-instrument roots with a '70s throwback vibe here. In fact, the material on Hillside Airstrip is so vintage in sound, you'd swear it was recorded in 1975 or so. "Long Time Ago," for example, sounds like early Israel Vibration, while "Jah Will Go On" has an African Head Charge feel, and "Soul Love" is bona fide rock steady. The best track here, though, has to be "Walkey Walk Tall," which features the band's expert instrumentation and a falsetto chorus that I know I personally will be humming for years to come. Oddly, this song also appears on 10 Ft. Ganja Plant's debut album, 10 Ft. Ganja Plant Presents. All in all, the Hillside Airstrip has the quality sound you'd expect, but the group still seems to be searching for an identity. The album is held back by the abundance of sounds -- '70s roots, modern roots, rock steady, modern dub, vintage instrumentals -- so much so that I can't pinpoint a specific 10 Ft. Ganja Plant style.

Haile Selassie I

Haile Selassie I was born Tafari Makonnen on July 23, 1892, in the village of Ejersa Goro, in the Harar province of Ethiopia, as Lij (literally "child", usually bestowed upon nobility). His father was Ras Makonnen Woldemikael Gudessa, the governor of Harar, and his mother was Weyziro (Lady) Yeshimebet Ali Abajifar. He inherited his imperial blood through his paternal grandmother, Princess Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II, and as such, claimed to be a direct descendant of Makeda, the queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of ancient Israel. Emperor Haile Selassie I had an elder half-brother, Dejazmach Yilma Makonnen, who preceded him as governor of Harar, but died not long after taking office. Tafari became Dejazmach at age thirteen. Shortly thereafter, his father Ras Makonnen died at Kulibi. Although it seems that his father had wanted him to inherit his position of governor of Harar, Emperor Menelik found it imprudent to appoint such a young boy to such an important position. Dejazmach Tafari's older half-brother, Dejazmach Yilma Makonnen was made governor of Harar instead. Governor of Harar
Tafari was given the titular governorship of Sellale, although he did not administer the district directly. In 1907, he was appointed governor over part of the province of Sidamo. Following the death of his brother Dejazmach Yilma, Harar was granted to Menelik's loyal general, Dejazmach Balcha Saffo. However, the Dejazmach's time in Harar was not successful, and so during the last illness of Menelik II, and the brief tenure in power of Empress Taitu Bitul, Tafari Makonnen was made governor of Harar, and entered the city 11 April 1911. On 3 August of that year, he married Menen Asfaw of Ambassel, the niece of the heir to the throne, Lij Iyasu.

King and Emperor

Empress Zewditu crowned him as negus ("king", in Amharic) in 1928, under pressure from the progressive party, following a failed attempt to remove him from power by the conservative elements. The crowning of Tafari Makonnen was very controversial, as he occupied the same immediate territory as the Empress, rather than going off to one of the regional areas traditionally known as Kingdoms within the Empire. Two monarchs, even with one being the vassal and the other the Emperor (in this case Empress), had never occupied the same location as their seat in Ethiopian history. Attempts to redress this "insult" to the dignity of the Empress' crown were attempted by conservatives including Dejazmach Balcha and others. The rebellion of Ras Gugsa Wele, husband of the Empress, was also in this spirit. He marched from his governorate at Gondar towards Addis Ababa but was defeated and killed at the Battle of Anchiem on March 31, 1930. News of Ras Gugsa's defeat and death had hardly spread through Addis Ababa, when the Empress died suddenly on April 2, 1930. Although it was long rumored that the Empress was poisoned upon the defeat of her husband, or alternately, that she collapsed upon hearing of his death and died herself, it has since been documented that the Empress had succumbed to an intense flu-like fever and complications from diabetes.

Following the Empress Zewditu's sudden death, Tafari Makonnen was made Emperor and proclaimed Neguse Negest ze-'Ityopp'ya ("King of Kings of Ethiopia"). He was crowned on November 2 as Emperor Haile Selassie I at Addis Ababa's Cathedral of St. George, in front of representatives from 12 countries. (Haile Selassie had been the baptismal name given to Tafari at his christening as an infant meaning "Power of the Holy Trinity.") The representatives included Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (son of British King George V, and brother to Kings Edward VIII, and George VI), Marshal Franchet d'Esperey of France, and the Prince of Udine representing Italy.

Upon his coronation as emperor and in keeping with the traditions of the Solomonic dynasty that had reigned in highland Ethiopia since 1297, Haile Selassie's throne name and title were joined to the imperial motto, so that all court documents and seals bore the inscription: "The Lion of the Tribe of Judah has conquered! Haile Selassie I, Elect of God King of Kings of Ethiopia". The use of this formula dates to the dynasty's Solomonic origins, all monarchs being required to trace their lineage back to Menelik I, who in the Ethiopian tradition was the offspring of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

By Empress Menen, the Emperor had six children: Princess Tenagnework, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, Princess Tsehai, Princess Zenebework, Prince Makonnen and Prince Sahle Selassie.

Marcus Garvey

Marcus Garvey è vissuto all'incirca negli stessi anni di Ras Tafari, nascendo nel 1887, e si puo' dire senza eccedere in soggettivismo che è stato il fondatore della cultura Rasta. E' nato a S.Ann bay in jamaica, dove ha vissuto i suoi primi anni di vita ma molto presto lascia la scuola e comincia a lavorare come apprendista tipografo a CHingston. nel 1907 inizia a viaggiare e ad interessarsi delle condizioni dei neri in altri paesi Caraibici e dell'America Latina. Nel 1912 è a Londra dove approfondisce le sue conoscenze della cultura e della civilizzazione africana. Torna in Jamaica nel 1914 e fonda la prima lega delle Comunità Africane, con lo scopo di promuovere una migliore formazione per i giovani afro-jamaicani. Nel 1916 si trasferisce negli Stati Uniti e nel 1917, ad Haarlem New Yorch, fonda l'Universal Negro Improvement Association ( UNIA) che , in dieci anni di attività, raccolse più di 2 milioni di iscritti. Ad essa si aggiunse un settimanale a diffusione internazionale, il Negro World, ed una compagnia di navigazione, la Blacch Star Line, oltre ad un numero imprecisato di imprese in qualche modo collegate al suo programma per l'emancipazione nera. Nel 1920 l'UNIA era già diventata la più grande organizzazione pan-africana che la storia abbia mai conosciuto. Ma nel 1923 Garvey venne processato, condannato e imprigionato per frode fiscale, ma di questo processo non è sicura la legittimità. Nel 1927 grazie all'appoggio che l'UNIA aveva dato al suo nuovo presidente americano, la sua pena venne commutata in deportazione; Garvey ritornò così in Jamaica da dove cominciò ad organizzare le varie sedi del suo movimento. Nel 1935 trasferì il suo quartier generale a Londra, ma la crisi della sua leadership era ormai irreversibile. Garvey morì nel 1940 senza essere riuscito a riportare l'UNIA alla sua originale solidità ma il suo ricordo è ancora vivo tra i Rasta ed è riconosciuto e rispettato da tutta la Jamaica tanto che il governo gli conferì lo status di Eroe Nazionale.