The New Expansion of Rastafari : The Development of a Socio-religious Movement in Urban Tanzania

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Other Title
  • ラスタファーライの新たな潮流 : タンザニアン・ラスタの農場建設運動を中心に
  • ラスタファーライ ノ アラタ ナ チョウリュウ タンザニアン ラスタ ノ ノウジョウ ケンセツ ウンドウ オ チュウシン ニ

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Rastafari is a socio-religious movement founded by the Black Diaspora who were scattered to the "New World" by the slave trade. The movement originated in Ethiopianism and Pan-Africanism, especially in Marcus Garvey's Back to Africa movement. The basic doctrines of Rastafari are as follows: 1) Emperor Haile Sellassie is the Living God; 2) Ethiopia is the black man's "Zion", and the Western world is "Babylon"; 3) Repatriation is the only way of redemption for black men. Focusing on the development of Rastafari in Dar es Salaam, the capital city of Tanzania, this article aims to explore the new expansion of the movement in Africa. By investigating the growth and condition of the movement in Tanzania, I attempt to reconsider the prevailing discourses on the trans-Atlantic black movement, which tend to unduly concentrate on the experiences and circumstances of the Black Diaspora. This article contains three chapters sandwiched between an Introduction and Conclusion. In Chapter One, I introduce the history and the studies on Rastafari in Jamaica. In Chapter Two, I first inquire into the relationship between the growth of the movement and the socio-economic conditions of the urban poor. In Tanzania, Rastafari appeals to the marginalized stratum of the unemployed urban youth; most of them are migrants from rural areas. For them, the symbols and doctrines of the movement become the means of expression of their sentiments and the base of trans-ethnic solidarity in the city. However, the movement does not end up just as one of the "counter-cultures" on the street. The movement has attained further development because of spontaneous communities called "Rasta camps". Here, I introduce a community called the "Mbigiri Camp", which is organized mainly by Tanzanians. In 1995, the camp started the "Back to Shamba" movement, a Non-Governmental Organization, which actually functioned as a farming project for the urban youth. In March 1997, they finally got financial support from the government. The particulars of this project indicate the process by which Rastafari seeks social recognition, and negotiates with the government by linking national ideology and showcasing its authenticity as one of the "African Traditions". Chapter Three presents conclusion and the prospects of the movement in Tanzania. As seen above, Rastafari is now developing in its own way in Africa. The movement mirrors the dynamism of the explosive urbanization and multiple dimensions of the social activities of the urban youth. Furthermore, Rastafari indicates how the socio-religious movement will propagate or change through the worldwide development in the post-colonial era.

Journal

  • Religion and Society

    Religion and Society 5 (0), 3-19, 1999

    The Japanese Association for the Study of Religion and Society

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