Dr. Lewis "Akil" Petersen
Good afternoon. I'd like to thank Dr. Sprauve and Professor Gene Emmanuel and all the other organizers of the program for inviting me to speak on the topic of Rastafari and Culture.
Without a doubt Rastafarian is a culture, meaning that Rastafari represents a totality of Gods and mannerisms. The philosophy and action behind of it. There are many people who would regard Rastafari as otherwise. I am saying: wayward, without objectives. I am saying: wayward without any purpose. Like people just hanging 'round.
What I am here to say today is that Rastafari is indeed culture. And what I'd really like to emphasize in my presentation is what I consider to be the contribution to and or influence of Rastafari on our culture. I know we are supposed to be, I think, emphasizing V.I. Culture and I am gonna try my best. But, you see, because Rastafari are found everywhere and our philosophy is common, you will find that our influence and contributions are basically the same. Especially in the Caribbean region.
So, I'm going to speak really within that type of context. And I think a brief historical perspective is in order.
Because I don't want to assume too much that you know about Rastafari.
Now, Rastafari comes out of a background such that our philosophy is based on basically the opinions of heroes, such as the honorable Marcus Garvey, and the Bible on the other hand. And we not only want to speak of [these], because Marcus Garvey has predecessors too, also influencing him, including our own native born Edward Wilmot Blyden. We're speaking of other heroes such as Hubert Harrison, Rothschild Francis, who were all Freedom Fighters in their time and who, I might add, were not necessarily respected for their contributions in their times.
It is easy for us to look back in this time and say how great they were, what contributions they made and even have holidays to observe their birthdays, etc. But, believe me, in their times they didn't get the respect which we give them now, and the majority of their contemporaries were never on their side.
So, I was saying that one of the pillars of our philosophy is the opinions and philosophy of the honorable Marcus Garvey. Marcus Garvey, in brief, was Jamaican born, but importantly to us, he was a Pan Africanist, meaning that his philosophy was total, and there were no boundaries as far as where African peoples lived and the unity that we should have among ourselves. We came out of a history whereby we were forced, stolen from a land called Africa. We were put into Slavery. And not just mere physical slavery. We went through a whole mental process whereby we were really stripped of what was ours, a process whereby we were made ashamed to identify with Africa after a few years, or to even associate ourselves with anything African, meaning the shape of our nose, lips, etc., and the texture of our hair. Many people would say to me that there's no need to discuss things like that. That is Slavery! That is the Past.
Now, I and the Rastafarians fully disagree with this discourse. What we are experiencing today is basically the legacy which that has left with us, meaning that there are still many among us who are ashamed of their natural features which come along with being African people, who are ashamed to identify with the African continent, much less to call themselves African people.
So, heroes such as Garvey, Edward Wilmot Blyden, etc. were those who advocated that we should be proud of who we are, and there was nothing disgraceful about being associated with Africa. Rastafarians now have picked up from where they left off.
Garvey was one who made many prophecies, included: that we as African people should look into Africa where a Black king would be crowned. He would be our King, which would lead us eventually . . . , literally to our home in Africa. Now, Garvey was one who always told us that we should not be looking at life through the spectacles of Europe, or anywhere else. We were people who were African people, and we should look to God and to life through our own spectacles. Therefore Rastafarians should be proud of who we are, we should see life from our own unique perspective, and in our favor.
So, with that type of background, that type of foundation, what I'd like to speak about in the next few minutes are what I call some of the contributions and/or influences of Rastafari Culture on the culture which we have here called V.I. culture or even on a broader scale, as I said before, Caribbean culture.
Now, Rastafarians, like their predecessors, advocate Pan-Africanism, afrocentric thinking. Pan Africanism, like we said before, is simply philosophy which says that all African people are one. Because that is basically what we have in the Virgin Islands. Our culture, our people in the Virgin Islands represent nothing more than an extension of the African Culture. That's what we represent. And Rastafarian Culture advocates Pan Africanism. And the way that is manifested is like in the following example: (And this comes to mind every time!)
When I was growing up here in the Virgin Islands--and it still happens, to maybe a different degree, I think-- we used to refer to our contemporaries, our schoolmates from other islands with some very derogatory words. Our contemporaries, our fellow students from Antigua, St. Kitts, Trinidad, etc. we would call them islo, islan'man, gyarrot and many other terms. As if we ourselves were not from an island! That's very ironic; it's very crazy.
Now, what I offer to you as a contribution of Rastafarianism is that we as Pan Africanists wiped out that philosophy altogether. People who embrace the philosophy of Rastafari, when I was going to school at that time--I'm talking about '74-'75, those type of years. People who embraced that philosophy of Rastafari, Pan Africanism wiped out that stupendous about "you are this and you are that, you are islan' man. I from a islan' too!" And therefore, what began to happen, is that we began to see ourselves as one people. Now, from listening, I still think I hear some of that kind of talk. But I submit to you that have been a great deal diminished because of primarily the contributions of Pan African thinking people and especially Rastafarians. Because in the Caribbean region I propose that Rastafari as a body, as a movement, represent the greatest cultural force . . . in the region. In the Caribbean region. That is a very key
. . . an essential contribution of our philosophy, and it is manifested in many, many, many different ways. We find as a result African children, or young Black children now being able to readily and proudly identify with Africa, as opposed to before time. Before, you find that many of them, young and old, would say they have nothing to do with Africa.
They are not Africans, etc., etc. And that is changing. Changing because of what we have had to say and what we have contributed. You see it manifested in a lot of clothing nowadays. A lot of young and not so young dressed in African clothing as we call it. I just call it clothing, but dressed in African clothing, as a result again of our contribution. You find also that many of our people are changing their names, because, again, of an African philosophy which has been contributed [to] to a great degree by Rastafarian philosophy and culture.
I remember going to school during the same years that I quoted to you, and during that time there was a real--what should I say to you--a real urge for everybody to have a new name, an African name. Some people went about it whereby they bought books and got a name, the meaning of which they knew. Other people were so desperate and so fast about it. They made up a name. And most of these people were again--at least, they felt they were--Rastafari or, what you might call sympathizers with the Rastafari faith. Closely associated and very strongly influenced by Rastafari philosophy. Again, another major contribution of Rastafari philosophy!
Now, Rastafari people have always been a people of foresight, a very basic and grassroots people, and that reminds me of a passage in the Bible which says that "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Marcus Garvey and all our predecessors are also people of great vision, and when I speak of vision, many things come to mind, but I bring only one example.
Agriculture . . . that is my field. Now, I as a Rastafarian, and all Rastafarians, know and regard Agriculture as the basis of any society. Serious! I am sure you have never studied any civilization which has developed without first being an agrarian civilization, building from that base. I say that to say that here in the Virgin Islands the people as a body, as a group, who have had that foresight to know that Agriculture must be in place . . . are again? Rastafarians! And that is manifested in their work. I'm talking about groups such as in Bordeaux and elsewhere who have been fighting for years to maintain at least some portion of the land just for the purpose of getting ourselves established rightly and agriculturally.
In a few hours I have a workshop to give--an agricultural workshop. I am sure, as usual, most of the people who will attend will be of Rastafarian persuasion. I am saying to you again, we are people of foresight, a very basic and grassroots people, and we are that people who are going to take that type of lead that we need to be [able] to get to that point where we would like to get.
Along with those contributions, you know, since we all are a culture, like I said before, with our own way of doing things, our own system of worship, holidays of our own, also forms of language. And the language which we use has been greatly, has greatly influenced our everyday language. I'll use two expressions. One of these expressions is "ital." Ital as we use it simply means food which is of vital, pure and natural nature. You hear a lot of people talking about how they only eat ital food. One of our contributions again! Now, I don't want to say it's a contribution just because it's a different term. What I want to say is that ital food by our definition is pure and natural food. The contribution here is more than just introducing a new word. The contribution has to do with our health and physical situation. OK? So, as a result of this philosophy then we have people who should be in a healthier state of being because of this change in style.
Another contribution--and I can personally testify to this
--,many of us as young people just consider ourselves rebels. We're just against everything. As the Bible was presented to us, as Christianity was presented to us and taught to us, many of us couldn't accept it, because we considered it was coming to us from a very European and Western point of view. The manifestations, even the pictures in the churches and in the homes never looked like us.
We couldn't identify with them. I was one of those people.
Now, Rastafari philosophy came and Rastafari philosophy said: Take a second look, man! That Bible came out of you and your people. And that Bible speaks about you and your people. Interpretations became different. We started to see God in a different image and with biblical texts to substantiate such. Our very story about coming out of Africa and being enslaved for four hundred years was substantiated again by biblical texts when we began to relate ourselves to those texts. When we began to see relationships between Ethiopia or Africa and the Bible, things began to change for all of us. We began to take more pride in ourselves. We began to look at the Bible in a different way, picking it up almost every day, reading a chapter a day. And so for many of us then, the contribution was that we became more biblically literate. And many of us still read the Bible on a daily basis, because of these contributions again of Rastafarian Culture.
I said before that a lot of influence comes also in the way of dress. And the dress reflects Africa many times. And the dress also reflects a degree of modesty, because, as you see, around town many of the women who regard themselves as Africans dress . . . most modestly compared to many others. So, dress has been also greatly influenced. And needless to say about the contributions via the music!
The music reflects Pan Africanism; it reflects afrocentric thinking once again. And also this particular song I'm going to use as an example. Since we originate and come out of the Caribbean islands . . . because we are everywhere and our philosophy is common. You don't recall a Rastafarian by the name of Black Stallin sung a ballad called Caribbean Unity? That type of influence! That type of song, again, is a part of our contribution. Because that is the way hat we think, OK? No more gyarrot and islan' people and that type of talk! That is gone! That is in the Past, Rastafari say.
The next thing before I kind of leave, is to kind of project how I feel these influences would impact on the culture of the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean in the future. OK? Because we are right now in the making of the future, OK? We are in the development of the process. So, if things continue as it is and the way they're continuing right now, what you end up, what you're going to end up having is a new generation of adults who are Pan African in their philosophy, a group of people who will no longer put so much emphasis on the fact that their co-worker, etc. was born on a different island. You're going to be looking at a group of adults who have indeed African names for the most part. Because you know that a lot of young people, young children right now . . . have African names. Think about what would happen when he became adult. You end up with a generation of people with African names. It's something to think about, because you will no longer be referring to "Hugh" or "Lewis" . . . So, think about it, because it will happen, and right now, man, you're in the making of it!
There is a prophecy again which comes to mind as I discuss something like that. There is a prophecy which says that Ethiopia will stretch out her hands unto God. We are right now in the fulfillment, in the making of that prophecy. That's a prophecy that Rastafarians quote all the time. And we know what it means. You see, Ethiopia, as we know it today is not the Ethiopia that we knew yesterday. When the Bible speaks of Ethiopia, Ethiopia was far greater reaching, geographically speaking than Ethiopia is today. And when Ethiopia and Ethiopians are referred to in the Bible it refers to African people as we know African people today. That's fact. That is simply true.
So, I've presented to you what I consider to be the contributions of Rastafari within the culture as we know it at this time and also what I project to be our impact on generations of the future to come, OK? And, furthermore, Rastafari, as we began to say, is a culture with very, very deep roots. It is not a culture or a way of life to be taken for granted. Or something wayward, like we began to say. Without direction, objective, etc. We are a people with direction, indeed, objectives indeed and a people who have made serious and significant contributions to our V.I. Culture and Culture in general. And we'll continue to do so.
QUESTIONS:
1. How does the author define Rastafarianism?
2. Does the author refer to a specific group of people when he uses the adjective "wayward" and the phrase "people just hanging 'round?" Explain your understanding of these expressions in the present context!
3. How does the author state his objectives in this presentation?
4. Why is Marcus Garvey mentioned in the discussion of the historical background of Rastafari?
7. How do Blyden, Harrison and Francis relate to Rastafari in the Virgin Islands, according to Dr. Peterson?
6. Do Dr. Peterson's remarks suggest that such thinkers as Blyden, Francis and Harrison would have been admired and respected for their ideas had they lived in our times?
7. When Peterson says "That is slavery; That is the Past" is he himself rejecting aspects of Virgin Islands cultural history as, or is he making another statement?
8. According to the author what is the basic problem with the way we look at ourselves.
9. How do Garvey's teachings inspire present-day Rastafarians?
10. What does the author mean by Pan-Africanism?
11. How does Pan-Africanism relate to Rastafari beliefs?
12. At least one of the nicknames used by the author and his friends, as school-boys, to mock children from neighboring islands seems illogical and ridiculous today. Which one or ones fit this description? Explain!
13. How does Rastafarian philosophy contribute to greater harmony among West India peoples, according to the author? 14. Does the author appear to put as much value, less or more in island pride than African pride between Rastafari and the younger generation in the Virgin Islands?
15. Cite two signs noted by Dr. Petersen of changes in social habits by young people and adults alike in the Virgin Islands that appear to reflect more pride in Arfrica-ness.
16. What is the main difference between the commonly held view of the significance of Ethiopia today and the biblical version of this land?
17. Dr. Petersen quotes a biblical passage which tells of the importance of "vision" if the people are not to perish. What local undertaking does he cite to prove that Rastafari in the Virgin Islands have the necessary vision to avoid a catastrophe?
18. The author tells how in the past the youths looked at the Bible and found little they could relate to, but since Rastafarianism came on the scene much of the indifference and disinterest has been replaced by serious Bible study. How does one explain the breakthrough?
19. The author cites a case of calypso music contributing to greater cultural harmony in the West Indies. Who was the singer of the calypso in question?
20. What is the context in which Bordeaux is mentioned in this presentation; what is the significance of Bordeaux?
21. What influence has Rastafari had on the way some women dress, according to the author? Can Rastafari take complete credit for such an impact?
22. How did the Rastafarian singer Black Stalin contribute to a major philosophical objective of Rastafari?