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Who Can Find A True Rasta Woman? Most adult women know that clothes that we put on speak much louder than our voice. This is especially true in societies where women are consistently debased as sexualized objects whose existence is only for the titillation of males. As a Rasta woman I confirm that classic dressing style of the Rasta women from hair covering to the covering of the body, serves to protect women. It definitely deflects the eyes of intrusive, under-evolved males from our being. In my twenty year journey as a Rasta woman, I find that I yearn for greater privacy when I see my sisters casually walking mostly naked in the streets and towns of the U.S. If anyone is oppressed it would, in my judgment, be the woman whose body is constantly being evaluated because it is exposed on daily basis to the eyes of a very critical public. My covered hair protects me- my thoughts, my dreams and ideas. Surely, it at least, shuts out the demonic ideas of the children of our former enslavers. It is important to know that the Rasta women are one of the only women criticized for covering their hair. With the exception of women of the Islamic faith, all other covered women are giving a pass. This includes orthodox Jewish women and Catholic nuns. I have never seen where writers in women’s studies have singled out these women out as being part of an oppressive system. Might it be that because our foremothers were forced to stand on auction blocks, and the European grew used to having access to our most sacred state … they now privately desire that? Are they angry when black women do not make themselves available that way? Fire pon’ all downpressors. The author Maureen Rowe in her article, The Women in Rastafari, states that, “Rastafari doctrine regarding females is clearly based on the Bible and falls in line with the premise that Rastafari is a patriarchal [male ruled] movement.” Rowe goes on to point out that among other things the Rasta woman’s sacred observation of her menstrual cycle is evidence enough that Rastafari is male –dominated. I have had the privilege of spending time studying and living in Africa in the 1990s. At that point I had heard other sistren expressing the ideas shared by Rowe, however in my study, I slowly began to see that much of what Rasta women do has its antecedents in cultures of Africa. If we accept that intelligence and memory is not limited to the white race, then we must accept that African people brought to the Americas will necessarily have brought much of their worldview to whatever new traditions they form. There is no way that Rastafari could be strictly a Juedo-Christian, Bible based tradition. The Bible is just too recent a book to offer a full ‘overstanding’ of the practices of the Rasta woman. Africa is the home of the menstrual house- a place where women retreat to during that cycle. Numerous authors have established this. One of the most insightful articles was written 44 winter solstice 2014/15 Magazine / September 2012 by Kofi Agyekum, a native Ghanaian and an Akan. Akan people have been since their beginning a matrilineal and matriarchal people. He explains that the codes of behavior around menstruation are long-standing traditions and deeply embedded in the language. Thus, a study of the Akan language offers deep insight. He states that during her menstrual cycle, a wom an refrains from all her normal duties. Below are some linguistic phrases to consider: Onko gya ho - She does not go to the kitchen Onko nkonnwafie so – She does not go the stool room (room of ancestral remembrance) Onwe bosom so nam – She does not eat food from the shrine (place of worship) Onko mpanin mu – She does not go in the presence of elders Oabu ne nsa- She has broken her hands (she does not do any work. And she is not available for intimate relations with her spouse.) Agyekum explains that menstruating women are to be left alone as she is seen to be serving the spirit world. My point is that this particular Rasta tradition is of African origin. It represents memory and retention of a much older way of seeing the world. My advice as a researcher is that we study Africa with an open mind to find out why our ancient mothers instituted these cultural practices. In 2009, I met priestesses of the Akan tradition who are based in New York and Ghana, West Africa. They immediately told me that they were aware that Rasta women retained the menstrual codes of the Akans. And they praised Rasta women for being obedient to the Bosom (spirits of nature). Rasta Women live up! Do not let others define you in a derogatory manner! As a researcher who has looked at this subject for years I can now better see the wisdom in the teachings. I would love to share what I have learned if readers would like to learn more than can be shared in this article. The Rasta woman cannot be trivialized. She is a storm sent to purify humanity. She is one who remembers the ancient ways and practices them for purposes of harnessing power. When I meet a real Rasta woman, I immediately resonate with her because she is open-hearted, she is multi-talented, she is beautiful, she is resourceful, she is a “long-memoried” woman, and she stands in defense of the black family. Who can find a true Rasta woman? Her worth is far above Diamonds. For Further Reading See: • Agyekum, Kofi. “Menstruation as Verbal Taboo among Akan of Ghana.” Journal of Anthropological Research, vol. 58, No.3, Autumn 2002. • Rowe, Maureen. “Women in Rastafari.” Jahug, vol. 5. • Yawney, Carol. “Rastafari Sistren by the Rivers of Babylon.” Canadian Women’s Studies, vol. 5, No.2, 1983 Does Knowledge of Self Truly Make A Difference? Why Black History Must Not Be Restricted to Slavery Alone A Commentary by Wolette Selassie Haile Selassie: Edited by Nathaniel Mayes, III When the Old Testament was first translated from ancient Ethiopian sacred texts (called hieroglyphs today), Greek scribes and translators suppressed over 6,000 years of ancient Ethiopian history (“Cush” in Genesis 2:13) by one stroke of the pen, by failing to include, though known, a faithful account of the origins of KUSH (Ethiopia), thereby diminishing the black presence in the bible from the beginning of time as we know it. Classical scholars were familiar with the history of KUSH hundreds of years before the Old Testament was written. These include Homer, Herodotus, Strabo, Diodorus, and Josephus, to name a tiny few-- a drop in the bucket when counting the number of Greeks, Romans, Syrians, Jews, etc. who studied at the feet of ancient Kushite Masters (ancient Ethiopians) in the Nile Valley. It is only with the advent of Western colonialism within the last 400 years that the suppression of the historical origins and contributions made by Africans to civilization was made complete. Today, the vast majority of our formal, and informal, education about African history has primarily been restricted to a story of slavery in the western hemi- sphere. It is a tragic story of the destruction of a people and their struggles to move forward, to reassemble the broken pieces of their story in order to see the whole picture about who they are and where we really came from. But a people cannot grow from the vision of a shattered past. There is nothing mentally and spiritually enriching to be found for a people whose story is restricted to one of deprivation and survival. Because the past affects the present and the present is in the past. Therefore, our vision of history must be cultivated from one which extends beyond the depressing legacy of victimhood and dependence to the profound legacy of a people whose contributions to humanity once illuminated the whole world. We must go back to KUSH, the birthplace of modern man, the world’s first civilization, and home of the world’s first theocratic civilization Why Knowledge of Self Really Makes a Difference Self-knowledge is the purest form of knowledge. We all have a spiritual right and responsibility to learn who we are and where we came from. In the mystery school system of our ancestors in the Nile Valley, guidance of the student toward knowledge of self was the highest purpose which always produced high character, right action and good will for all humanity worthy of instruction. However, Africans worldwide have inherited the legacy of slavery (western colonialism). Most of our brothers and sisters, young and old, suffer from a profound lapse in our historical memory because this history has been suppressed. We have no understanding of our historical and spiritual history as creators of world civilizations (arts, sciences, religion, etc.). Most of us still suffer from amnesia and are clueless on what to do about it. We preach the importance of a good education, but what lasting benefit is there if it doesn’t include instruction on acquiring self-knowledge? Our people must be able to articulate our ancient history and share it with each other, especially the youth, in order to create a better vision of we are and where we came from. We all need to become aware of the bloodline of our ancient ancestors beyond slavery, extending all the way back to creation, to the beginning of our ancient historical and spiritual heritage from the land of KUSH (ancient Ethiopia. With the advent of western colonization, this knowledge (about ancient KUSH) was hidden from us, until now. Knowledge is to be shared and never hidden or suppressed. And it is prima rily because of our brothers and sisters in Jamaica and others in the Caribbean and Americas that the flame of conscious memory continues to shine on Ethiopia’s historical and spiritual legacies. I was quite fortunate to have a father who kept the flame burning while I was a very young child growing up in Mississippi -- through my travels to Jamaica some thirty-years later, I discovered the mystical brothers and sisters of Rastafari who confirmed my father’s teachings and I felt blessed to be around them. I returned to America seven years later greatly inspired with a mission to research and learn more. And I did. As we welcome the new year, it grants us all another opportunity to perfect ourselves for the good of our community worldwide to the waiting world. Magazine / September 2012 winter solstice 2014/15 45