Despite Bob Marley’s fantastic presence in CARICOM lands, his religion of Rastafari failed to achieve embrace among mainstream society in CARICOM countries. Why is this so?

Whatever movement or whichever personality caused the spread of the religion in the Caribbean, it was Marley who gave Rastafari a defined presence in the Caribbean. The religion had a long existence in the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica. When one speaks of Rastafari in the region, one simply means Jamaica. It was in Jamaica in the early 20th century that the religion made its presence felt.

There isn’t a human alive today that would deny it was Bob Marley who singlehandedly spread the influence of Rastafari in the Caribbean. Before him, reggae and Rastafari always had a close connection but his mega-stardom catapulted the religion into the eyes of the world. Marley relentlessly preached the gospel of Rastafari in music that was simply phenomenal. The music was penetrating but unfortunately Rastafari even when Marley had become a global icon did not penetrate Caribbean society.

What follows here is a class analysis of the failure of Rastafari to become a mainstream religion. A caveat is in order. There will be severe truncations because this is a mere newspaper column that cannot do justice to the subject. Today, Rastafari adherents are an extremely small sect in all Caribbean countries. In, Jamaica it tend to be more pronounced.

I can’t speak about other CARICOM nations but in Guyana, Rastafari worshipers are exclusively from the lower levels of the working class. Rastafari adherents could be found among labourers, vendors, animal drawn drivers, and the unemployed. These are working class people and not folks from the lumpen proletariat where there are elements of dubious legality as Marx described the lumpen proletariat. Rastafari worshipers in Guyana are peaceful people who frown on crime and other sociological aberrations. They are not to be confused with criminal elements that have similar hair styles.

The religion entered the veins of Jamaica society at a time when colonialism was rampant in the West Indies. A number of factors in Jamaican society militated against the spread of the movement. One was that it found acceptance among the peasantry and rural poor of Jamaica. Secondly, there was always a colour issue that doomed Rastafari from the inception. Rastafari was practiced mostly by dark-skinned Jamaicans.

The colonial administration, the Mulatto/Creole class (MCC) and mainstream political parties did not embrace Rastafari in all Caribbean countries. For the colonial administration, it was dangerous because it was inherently, anti-establishment and anti-imperialist. It was perceived as a sect not a religion and should not be encouraged because of the positive role the religion placed on a prohibitive drug – marijuana. The MCC’s views on Rastafari did not differ from the colonial administration but Jamaican class society in the colonial period would have had nothing but contempt for Rastafari folks because of colour and class and its Africanness.

Mainstream political parties in Jamaica never sought to embrace Rastafari for two reasons. Rastafari worshippers were too small to matter electorally and secondly, there were seen as a sect that was far removed from mainstream society. Rastafari on the other hand had equal contempt for modern, mainstream society with its practice of extravagant materialism.

The explosion of reggae with its embrace of Rastafari gave Rastafari a new meaning and an enhanced presence but still Jamaican society saw the religion as a cult, not be taken seriously. Ironically the Marley phenomenon did not change that. What Marley’s super stardom did in the Caribbean was to generate awareness of the role of White domination in the Caribbean and in Africa and the oppressive rule of the post-colonial state.

Marley denounced imperialism in Jamaica and Africa and the world at large using the teachings of Rastafari in his music. What Caribbean youths and the Caribbean proletariat did was to extract that message without embracing its Rastafari foundations. Thus the Walter Rodney riots in Jamaica were a political protest that was not infused by Rastafari values but simply anti-oppressive emotions.

On the other hand, the MCC in the Caribbean extracted from Marley’s music, its coruscating and phenomenal beauty without paying attention to its Rastafari roots. For example, Marley had girl friends from the MCC including Miss World who was from Jamaica but none of them touched the Rastafari religion.

Today, in all CARICOM countries Rastafari remains a tiny religion that failed to become a mainstream project because the MCC and the establishment politicians never sought a relationship with it. Ironically, it is White imperialist countries today that show more appreciation for the use of marijuana than Caribbean countries. Rastamaan vibration did not vibrate and Marley must be turning in his grave.