Cincinnati native Ras Yeremiah Tafari “caught fire” in 1977 when a friend gave him some Rastafarian papers to read.
“That was the first time that words spoke to me off of a piece of paper,” Tafari said.
Tafari officially became a Rasta man in 1979. The religion, which originated in Jamaica, is rooted in the belief that Ras Tafari Makonnen, who was king of Ethiopia in 1930, was a descendent of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The followers refer to themselves as “Rastafari,” but they are often called Rastafarians. Ethiopia is their Holy Land, and they believe in uniting all Africans.
“We knew Israel had a king, but the other half of the story wasn’t revealed until Bob Marley started singing about Ras Tafari [the Ethiopian emperor who Rastas believe was the incarnation of Christ],” Tafari said. “The fact that there was an Israelite king living in Africa really took us by storm, because we didn’t have any knowledge of that.”
Hugo Cabrera introduced the culture to Columbus when he opened Skankland, the first reggae club in the city, in 1987, according to Columbus Underground.
“There had been Rastafarians in Columbus since the early ’80s, but the bar really unified people and got things rolling on a larger scale,” said Cabrera’s daughter, Jennifer. Today, other venues in the city, such as Cornfed Red’s and Rosie O’Grady’s, have reggae nights every week, but Skankland was the first and only bar to play strictly reggae.
Columbus resident Anthony Edward Thomas said Bob Marley’s music first inspired him to study Rastafarianism several years ago. Mark Hunter, a Columbus resident who emigrated from Sierra Leone, began to identify with the doctrine seven years ago after he graduated from Oberlin College.
Although not all Rastafarians have dreadlocks, Tafari said they represent his promise to God. “To cut my hair is to break that covenant,” he said.
Rastafarians were initially rejected by mainstream Jamaicans, and that discrimination continued in the United States. Both Tafari and Hunter said that even their families did not support their identity.
“My grandma was ashamed when I stopped combing my hair,” Tafari said. “My family thought I had lost my mind.”
The Rastafarian tradition of smoking marijuana is often equated to the Christian communion sacrament of bread and wine. Quoting the Bible, Tafari said, “God created the herb-bearing seeds, and it was good.”
The United States government does not recognize Rastafarianism as a religion, but Tafari said it does not bother him. He said Rastafarians do not need a building to meet; they meet in small groups at houses and talk through e-mail and telephone. “We are a church whether they recognize us or not,” he said. “This is my culture. It’s the way I live my life every day.”
Hunter said the government will not acknowledge the religion largely because of its use of marijuana. “As long as you can demonize herb, you can demonize Rastafari,” he said.
Tafari, along with other Rastafarians from around Ohio, spoke in a panel discussion at the King Arts Complex on Friday in honor of Bob Marley’s birthday. Bob Marley is known for spreading the Rastafarian messages of peace, love and justice, and reggae is still the main vehicle of those ideas. “Even if people can’t read or write, they can still hear the music,” Tafari said.
Stephanie Webber can be reached at [email protected].
