MEMBERS of the Haile Selassie I Theocracy, Reign Ivine Order of the Nyahbinghi, a secluded Rastafarian community located in Wisroc, Linden are preparing to celebrate their 20th Anniversary as the foundation of Rastafarianism in the mining town.
The celebration will be done to coincide with the 120th Birthday of Haile Selassie I, their King of Kings and Messiah.

The highpoint of the celebrations will be held in July, but the Theocracy, only a few days ago, concluded a four-day annual festival called Unity Binghi in observance of the 54th African Liberation Day.
The celebration, which was held at the Nyahbinghi Centre located at their private community, included nyahbinghi drumming, chanting, offering of praises, and sharing of herbal medicines and ital food.
Founder of the Linden Rastafarian Theocracy and Priest Ras Fyah Lion Boanerges recollected how he returned from Jamaica in 1997 after having a year of extensive study of the Rastafarian faith and started the movement in Wisroc.
His first task was to build the Tabernacle and then to commence the gathering of his followers. He was able to secure quite a bit of land, and today, 20 years later, the tabernacle now boasts about 50 families.

“I built a Tabernacle out of troolie leaf, and I gathered my followers through the word. And we know that iron sharpens iron; and a brethren told another brethren and also the drums call people,” Ras Fyah Lion said.
The Taberrnacle was opened on July 23, 1997 with the blessings of Elder Ras Boanargese of Jamaica.
Ras Fyah Lion explained that contrary to popular belief, the movement is not a cult. And while members have their own way of life, they are free to seek employment across Linden, and children are also free to go to school. As a matter of fact, it is a rule that children be educated; parents found doing otherwise are brought before the disciplinary committee.
EDUCATION’S COMPULSORY
“Haile Selassie I said that education is a basic ingredient for all youths,” Ras Fyah Lion said, “and it is a crime against humanity not to send your child to school.
“I have seen education as the basic primary objective of uplifting the people from mental slavery; to get rid of colonialisation thinking; to have their own African independent mind.
“We have an ancient council, and we have a council of elders that makes decisions. We have a disciplinary committee that when you override these things, we put you into seclusion, but not permanently.”

Members, he said, have sought employment in the medical field, and in the mining field. Women, however, must cover their heads and are isolated when they are menstruating. Alcohol, cigarettes, and ammunition are prohibited.
When asked how the community was able to establish such an extensive living arrangement to basically sustain itself, Ras Fyah Lion said that everyone puts in their lot and looks out for each other.
“Everyone collectively put in their 1:10; we give our tithes and free-will offerings from brethren and sisthren. Brethren overseas and brethren from in and around the Caribbean, they do send funds to facilitate and build what we have,” he said.
In addition to this, the members also engage in extensive farming, the produce of which is their stable diet since no one in the Theocracy eats meat.
And with the population growing, since members are having offspring who they bring unto the Theocracy to be baptised, Ras Fyah Lion believes that more needs to be done to feed the Movement.
“We must set up ourselves more economically strong to feed, clothe and house ourselves, and to harmonise this generation coming up,” he said
NINE FESTIVALS
Elder Ras Fyah Lion revealed that in any given year, the theocracy holds a maximum of nine festivals, and the aim of most is to fight off evil and to share the message of love and unity.
That message is most shared through the lighting of bonfires and Nyahbinghi drumming. “We beat the drums from 7 in the night to 7 in the next morning, because we believe that in the night when the evil conceptions are going on on earth, we have a bonfire, which we light to get rid of the evil,” Ras Fyah Lion said, adding:
“And we believe in the Bible, which says ‘Lead us by a cloud by day, and a fire by night.’ And we know the Nyahbinghi drums is what is used to transcend our messages from our Creator back then.
“And in the evening, when the world is at rest, we beat our drums to rise up the ancient spirits of our foreparents to make peace, love and purity come on the earth to return the earth to the former place.”
During the day, members would hold interactions amongst themselves, have bible discussions, and read selective speeches and utterances.
The Haile Selassie I Theocracy Rastafarians are not believers or supporters of Reggae music, but listen exclusively to Nyahbinghi spiritual music.
THE CHALLENGES
Being a Rastafarian community, the Elder revealed that sometimes they are being discriminated against, and are raided by the police unnecessarily. The raids, he believes, stem from the notion that Rastafarians are users of “ganja”, and it is for this reason he is calling on the present Administration to decriminalise the use of the herb, since Guyana has one of the harshest laws against the usage of “ganja”.
“We are asking this present government to at least look within Jamaica, our CARICOM brothers, seeing that Guyana is the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat… We are asking for them to look within the guidelines of European countries and America to see that they are trying to decriminalise the herb; to make it less criminal for black people,” he said, adding:
“This criminalisation has caused our Rasta population to dwindle; a lot of youths are scared to come amongst I and I, knowing that they will be targeted. So they end up not living the Rasta life fully, because of the three-year jail time.”
Ras Fire Lion reiterated that the Rastafarian faith does not encourage criminal behaviour, and is only about love and unity. “We are not thieves; we try to get rid of any thief around us. We put ‘fire-bun’ pon them and get rid of them,” he said.