Mutabaruka challenges Rastafari’s concept of “Zion”
Rastafari dub poet, and talk show host Mutabaruka, has called into question the Rastafari movement’s contemporary concept of “Zion”.
“Rasta must stop talk bout when a Rasta dead him gone a Zion. It’s foolishness. And the only reason you say that is because you’re thinking in a [Judeo-Christian] mindset. But because you’re a Rasta, instead of you say “Heaven” you replace it with “Zion”,” said Mutabaruka.
The prominent and sometimes controversial media personality pointed out that in the past Rastafari did not believe in death, let alone a Zion for “dead Rastas”.
“Remember a long time ago, a whole heap of elder Rastas would say they can’t die. They won’t die. And if you die it’s because you are wicked. Yes, they used to say that,” he said.
“I’ve been a Rasta for some 50 years now. And I’ve seen a lot of those same Rastas come and go. Even Peter Tosh used to say he can’t die. To the point, his wife started to think she can’t die. But as we know, he is gone,” he added,
furthering his argument that this new belief in Zion is unbecoming of Rastafari when the movement did not as much as acknowledge death in its earlier days.
Mutabaruka argues that the Rastas are getting caught in the very Judeo-Christian mindset that their predecessors were trying to distance themselves from.
“We need to really evaluate these interpretations that we have, and how Judeo-Christianity has played a part in pacifying our thinking, and pacifying our consciousness, our awareness,” he reasoned.
