IN September 1974 Soviet Union-backed forces in Ethiopia staged a coup that overthrew the East African country’s Government and captured Emperor Haile Selassie I, who had been monarch since 1930.

Members of Jamaica’s massive Rastafarian (Rasta) community, many of whom considered Selassie I to be God, followed developments there assiduously. The emperor had made a rapturous State visit to Jamaica in April 1966.

“Wi listened to the radio, JBC [Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation], RJR [Radio Jamaica] or read The Gleaner. Wi get news regularly, ’cause Babylon wah tell Rastaman seh dem God dead. Dem wanted to discourage Rasta,” Sangie Davis, a member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, recalled.

The once-maligned Rastafarian movement, which respected sociologists believe originated in west Kingston during the 1930s, waded into the mainstream 50 years ago. Many middle-class youth embraced its Afrocentric message, especially the Twelve Tribes of Israel which was founded in Trench Town in 1968.

Among its ranks were Jerry Small, son of former Supreme Court Judge Ronald Small; Ivan Coore, son of Finance Minister David Coore; Peter Phillips (future Government minister and Opposition leader); Olympian Rupert Hoilette; footballer Alan “Skill” Cole; and reggae star Bob Marley.

The Nyahbinghi, led by Mortimo Planno, and Bobo Shanti, founded by Charles “Prince Emmanuel” Edwards, were the other main Rasta houses. While they differed from the Twelve Tribes in doctrine, all held Selassie I in high esteem and believed strongly in repatriation to Africa.

Michael Manley used the growing acceptance of Rastafari in his appeal to Jamaican youth. He was Opposition leader in 1970 when he visited Ethiopia. The consummate showman, Manley showed off an ivory-tipped rod he claimed Selassie I gave him, while campaigning for prime minister in 1971.

Despite increased popularity among the youth and academics there was still widespread discrimination against Rastas in Jamaica 50 years ago. There were multiple arrests by the police, some members of the faith had their locks cut, while their children were prevented from attending some schools.

Music played a major role in expanding the Rastas’ popularity in 1974. Marley’s Natty Dread album was released by Island Records in October and had critics in Jamaica and overseas raving.

Rocking Time, another solid album by Burning Spear, was released by Studio One, while songs like Johnny Clarke’s None Shall Escape The Judgement were ghetto anthems.

Those sounds resonated with residents of a Rasta commune called Dread Heights, located in the August Town community in St Andrew. One of its residents was Peter Phillips, who graduated from The University of the West Indies in 1970.

He was at his alma mater, Jamaica College, in April 1966 when Selassie I visited the school. In a 2022 interview with the Jamaica Observer Phillips said that moment was pivotal to the Rasta movement in Jamaica.

“One of the things the visit did was tell us to learn more. And after learning more we made contact with Rastafarians in Jamaica, and then there was a wider set of reasoning when we went to university with exposure to African history and meetings with Rastafarians in places like August Town,” Phillips explained.

Within one year of the coup in Ethiopia there were reports of Selassie I being killed by rebels in Ethiopia. Many Rastas scoffed at talk that the emperor was dead, Marley leading the way with the defiant single Jah Live.

Fifty years later, Rastafari is part of the Jamaican mainstream. They figure prominently in ads promoting the tourism sector; once ridiculed, their ital (unsalted) cuisine is globally accepted; and Marley, who died in 1981 at age 36, has one of the best-selling catalogues in popular music.

Sangie Davis, who co-wrote Marley’s Wake Up And Live and wrote Girlie Girlie by Sophia George, is an elder in the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

DAVIS… dem wanted to discourage Rasta