Relocating a Sacred Space: From Mount Zion to the New Jerusalem in the Mystic Poetry of Rastafari

Abstract

Biblical scriptures, holy chants and prayers, stories of conquest and destruction, pilgrimages and diaspora narratives have provided a range of perspectives related to the city of Jerusalem. Different cultures and faiths have interpreted its symbolic value and claimed belonging, conquest, ownership, and possession. Amongst these are the Rastafari, members of a spiritual movement that originated in Jamaica, who claim Davidic roots and aim for repatriation to their Promised Land, the New Jerusalem. In their vision, the sacred space of the city of Jerusalem has been relocated to Ethiopia, the land where the Ark of the Covenant has been supposedly moved to, along with the throne of Solomon. The scope of this article is to contextualise how the dynamics of Rastafari mystical poetry have redefined a physical and metaphysical space and the significance of this space as expressed through the biblical archetype of Zion/Jerusalem. The contribution focuses on the comparative textual analysis of multimedia repertoires related to the symbolic and geographical (re)location of the sacred space of Zion/Jerusalem, highlighting how the interpretation of sacred texts and historical events has impacted the spiritual geography and cross-cultural Rastafari iconography at a global level.

Keywords:

• Rastafari poetics
• Mount Zion
• New Jerusalem
• relocation
• sacred spaces

Notes

1 Unless otherwise specified, all references to the Bible are to the King James Version, (1611) 2011, Peabody: Hendrickson.

2 Since the fourth century BCE, Zion has denoted the southwestern part of Jerusalem, where the tomb of David was relocated. For Christians, it also includes the upper room where the Last Supper was held, outside the medieval walls. Furthermore, the Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition is on Mount Zion, outside the walls of ancient Jerusalem, with the consequent devotion to Our Lady of Zion.

3 The African Bible, 1999, Nairobi: Paulines Publications.

4 The African Bible, 1999, Nairobi: Paulines Publications.

5 In English: “Bid farewell to the banks of the Jordan / Of Sion the landed towers / O my homeland so beautiful and lost / O remembrance so dear and fatal” (translated by the author).

6 More precisely, the Ark of the Covenant is claimed to be kept in a chapel of the church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, northern Ethiopia. In the Holy of Holies of every Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church there is a replica of the Ark, called Tabot.

7 See, for example, Garvey’s fervent call for an “Africa for the Africans, those at home and those abroad”, pronounced during his closing speech at the second UNIA convention in New York, in 1921 (Garvey 1968, 135), and the Black Star Line initiative, promoted by Garvey and the UNIA from 1919 to 1922.

8 Revelation 19:16: “On his robe and on his thigh, he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords”; Revelation 5:5: “Then one of the elders said to me, ‘Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals’.”

9 Amongst the doctrines standing out in the Rastafari belief system, G. E. Simpson mentions “The Jamaican situation is a hopeless Hell; Ethiopia is Heaven” and “The invincible Emperor of Abyssinia will soon arrange for expatriated persons of African descent to return to the Homeland” (1970, 209).

10 With regards to the Shashamane Land Grant and the movement of repatriation to Ethiopia, see Bonacci (2015a).

11 “One Love: Discovering Rastafari!” (2008), Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, United States: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/one-love-discovering-rastafari-13518558/; “Exodus! History, Culture & Music of the Rastafari in Ethiopia” (2011, 2012), Alliance Ethio-Française, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; “Rastafari: Unconquerable!” (2013), Institute of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica: https://insidejourneys.com/at-the-institute-of-jamaica-rastafari-unconquerable/; “Ras Tafari: The Majesty & the Movement” (2014), National Museum of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: https://www.rascostafari.com/untitled; “The Global Rastafari Heart” (2022), Tafari Gallery, Fairfield House, Bath, UK: https://www.fairfieldhousebath.co.uk/museum-gallery.

12 With regards to the influence of Ras Daniel Heartman’s iconography, see Ama (2007).

13 For a description of Rastafari cinematographic arts, see Aylmer (1998).

14 Digital versions of these publications are now available thanks to the development of the Written Rastafari Archives Project of the Caribbean Studies Association, which contains an extensive collection of literary materials produced between 1971 and 2012. These include newsletters, magazines, newspapers, booklets, letters, and other assorted literature printed and published by various Rastafari mansions, organisations, groups, and individuals located in Jamaica, Trinidad, the UK, and the USA. See https://www.gale.com/intl/c/the-rastafari-collection-.

15 Except for the Jabari dictionary, in which “Zion is defined as the Holy Place of Rastafari; Ethiopia, the home of Rastas” (Reynolds 2006, 140), the entries “Mount Zion” and “Zion” have not been found in other dictionaries and glossaries available to the researcher (Adams 1991; Allsopp 1996; Cassidy and Le Page 1967; Chang 2014; Pollard 2000; White 2006).

16 The words “Ithiopia” (Ethiopia), “Afrikan” (African), “Jah” (God), and “hola” (holy) are part of the Rastafari lexicon. For a detailed description of this topic, see Pollard (2000).

17 Amongst others, The Heptones in 1976, Culture in 1978, Rupert Grant in 1979, Freddie McGregor in 1982, Johnny Clarke in 1983, and Dennis Brown in 1986.

18 This information was provided by the songwriter to the researcher during an interview in Shashemene, Ethiopia in July 2012, and confirmed by Rastafari community members in Kingston, Jamaica in November 2012.

19 In a poem called “From I to de I”, the Jamaican poet and performer Mutabaruka addresses the need for a physical return to Zion, referencing the use of “By the Rivers of Babylon” by early Rastafari communities: “Many years so many tears / Tribulation sufferation / Still no manifestation of repatriation / Many years too long / Singing the same song / By the Rivers of Babylon” (in Faristzaddi 1987, 28).