Last modified: 2013-12-21 by rob raeside
Keywords: rastafarian | ethiopia |
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Ras Tafar was the birth name of Emperor Haile Salessi I, the Emperor of
Ethiopia, and, in the tenants of the Rastafarian religion, God. That is to say,
the Rastafarians see Haile Salessi as the second coming of Christ, and,
therefore, the living embodiment of God on Earth. He is also known as "the Lion
of Judah" for this reason. In the Bob Marley song, "Get Up Stand Up," are the
lines "We know and we understand/ that mighty God is a living man." i.e., the
afore-mentioned Salessi.
Religious symbolism is often found in Rasta culture, specifically, the lion and
the six pointed star, and reggae itself is very religiously motivated music.
Walter Kawalec, III, 27 July 1998
I found however what may be typical Rastafarian and/or reggae musician [flag] usage of the Ethiopian tricolor with golden lion (patched on clothes): http://www.burningspear.net and the Ethiopian tricolor with silver lion (flag, stage background): http://www.burningspear.net.
by António Martins-Tuválkin, 17 June 2007
Also seen is an Ethiopian vertical tricolor with a golden lion (flag, stage background): http://www.burningspear.net. Most of the lion is solid black, except for the head, crown and vexilloid.
by
António Martins-Tuválkin, 17 June 2007
The flag is also seen as a plain tricolor (green up) patched on clothes and as
a flag in the crowd waving.
I suppose that these two variants of the Rasta/Panafrican flags are
meaningless variants of each other. Although most national
flags inspired in these, as well as the Ethiopian flag itself, favour red
in the upper (or hoist) side, its used in Rasta context may have the same
unofficial and "laid back" approach also found in
gay pride rainbow flag
use which allows for non-strict vertical orientation.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 17 June 2007
Last night I saw a sticker on a bumper that looked like it might be a flag so I
am asking if anyone can identify it. It is vertically divided red-yellow-green
with black letters across the center IRIE, with I in the red, RI in the yellow
and E in the green.
This sounds like you were driving behind a Rastafarian. This is a display of the
Ethiopian colors (used by Rastafarians in Jamaica) with the Jamaican slang word
"irie", meaning "feeling good".
Steve "Scooter" Kramer, 9 October 1998