November 2 1930 was a momentous day
in the history of the Rastafari movement.
On this day certain biblical prophecies, which brought us to the Holy Scriptures
through the teachings of the prophet Marcus Garvey, were fulfilled when he
preached that we should look to the east for the crowning of a black king.
Psalm 89 vs 3-4
“I have promised my servant David, a
descendant of yours will always be king; I will preserve your dynasty
forever.”
Micah 5 vs 2 – 5
“But out of you, I will bring a
ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times. When he comes, he will rule his people with
the strength that comes from the Lord and with the majesty of the Lord God
Himself. His people will live in safety
because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness and he will
bring peace.”
Ezekiel 37 v 25
“A king like my servant David will rule over
them forever."
The book of Revelation is also filled with
prophecies relating to the crowning of His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Revelation 5 vs 5
“Then
one of the elders said to me, ‘Don’t cry, Look!
The Lion from Judah’s tribe, the great descendant of David, has won the
victory and he can break the seven seals and open the scroll.”
Revelation 17 verse 14
“They will fight against the
Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called chosen, and faithful followers,
will defeat them, because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.”
Revelation 19 vs 16
“On his robe and on his thigh was written the
name: ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
So now, in 1930, the
whole world knew that His legitimate title was King of Kings, Lords of Lords
and Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah.
He was appointed the Divinity of all the Divines, the King of Kings. This was just one “little Black man” who
stood alone by himself in the midst of a radically racist and nuclear armed
Euro-American dominated world! No other
leader ever in the history of the world has had this much adoration and respect
bestowed upon himself.
All of these kings
and monarchs were to bow before HIM. All
of them recognized His heritage of having a direct lineage to King Solomon’s
father King David, and therefore to Jesus as well, and gave Him His due respect
and all of them bowed before His Majesty Haile Selassie I as he was crowned:
“King of Kings,
Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Rightful Ruler of Earth,
Elect of God and Light of the World, Honory Citizen of the Earth, Chief
Commander of the Order of the Star of Ethiopia, Grand Cordon of the Order of
Solomon, Grand Chief of the Order of the Golden Lion, Order of The Elephant, Knight Grand
Cross of Royal Victorian, The Order of Bath, The Most Holy Annunciation, Order
of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau, Order of the White Lion, Order of
Independence, Chain of Honor, Order of Pius IX, Order of Muhommed, Grand
Order of the Hashemites, Order of the Redeemer, Order of Leopold, National
Order of Chile, Chad, Benin, Mali, Madagascar, Mauritiana, Guinea, Poland,
Upper Volta, Yugoslavia, Belgrade, Hungary and Togo, Order of the Leopard,
Order of the Lion”
On this same day an ostentatious
break in tradition was displayed to the world by the new Ethiopian Emperor His
Imperial Majesty (HIM) Haile Selassie I. In opposition to the collective
tradition among kings and queens at the time His Majesty insisted on a double
coronation.
It is this double coronation which
saw the birth of the Rastafari woman at the exact same time as the rising of
the Rastafari movement. This break in tradition revealed His Majesty’s desire
for women to come forth in their full glory thus encouraging brethren to follow
this example of sharing their glory with their chosen queen.
Immediately after paying homage to
Emperor Haile Selassie I, the representatives of the 72 nations then also paid
homage to Empress Menen, symbolising the African woman coming into her queen-ship
under the illumination of her Emperor and King in an international arena at a
time when almost all of Africa was being colonized, except for Ethiopia.
Psalms 21 verse 11 – 12
“They will make plans, and plot
against him, but they will not succeed. He will shoot his arrows at them and
make them turn and run.”
Revelation 17 verse 14
“They will fight against the
Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called chosen, and faithful followers,
will defeat them, because he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.”
Psalm 72 verse 11
“All kings will bow down before him; all nations will
serve him.”
The representative of the King of
England, the Duke of Gloucester, not only returned to the Emperor HIM Haile
Selassie I, a sceptre that his country had stolen from Ethiopia centuries
before, but also bestowed upon Queen Omega, the Empress Menen a gold and ivory
sceptre with the shaft being in the form
of a spray of lilies in bloom.
Genesis 49:10)
“Judah will hold the
royal sceptre, And his descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute And bow in
obedience before him”
Psalm 45 vs 9
“Kings’ daughters were
among thy honourable women; upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of
Ophir.”
Much of the Rastafari Livity
(lifestyle) is not only about our communion with our Creator but mostly about
how we treat one another and how we conduct ourselves in public. Through Empress Menen’s teachings Rastafari
women are enlightened through the same teachings which appear in the Bible in
respect of how women should present themselves in terms of behaviour and of
what is appropriate and what is not appropriate behaviour, attire and so on.
Her Majesty’s lessons are concerned with social order and the manner in
which we conduct ourselves in society.
It is also to learn the worth of womanhood. Her lessons demand absolute Love, Purity,
Honesty and Truthfulness which mostly all adds up to being Humble in the face
of our Creator.
Empress Menen had a profound effect
on the Rastafari movement and during her reign Rastafari women had a female
model to emulate causing our brethren to recognise Her Majesty in their
Rastafari Sistren and defended her with respect.
One of the most admirable lessons
which we have learnt from Her Majesty is the lesson of sacrifice. Empress Menen vowed to give up her crown if
Ethiopia was victorious in freeing itself of colonial occupation by the
Italians. After His Majesty Haile
Selassie I returned victorious to his country Her Majesty kept her promise
thereby setting an example of sacrifice to Rastafari women.
The identity of the Rastafari woman
is empowered by her spiritual connection to the Omega-Goddess energies and
ultimately to the feminine divine. By honouring Empress Menen Rastafari women
around the world automatically raise their status to a higher level by ensuring
that the royal queenly crown worn by her royal daughters is worn with glory and
honour. Rastafari women consciously
strive towards collective well-being and aim to raise their voices against war
and devastation as requested by the Empress.
The character and attitude of Empress Menen is expressed in her divine
teachings which are to be carried out by all JAH ladies across the world.
Always putting prayer first and being conscious of JAH within ourselves,
others and the natural world by obeying the Holy Laws and Commandments despite
the trials and tribulations which happen in life is of paramount importance to
the Rastafari woman.
Empress Menen encourages JAH ladies to always be dutiful, loyal,
hardworking, respectful, loving and kind in all her roles in life as a
daughter, mother, sister, wife, queen, healer, spiritual guide or any social
leadership role she may be called to provide servitude in.
In our faith the man is the head of the household and a JAH lady is
required to fully support and stand by her Kingman, defending and protecting
their property and by being knowledgeable, skilful and wise enough to take on
his roles or work in his absence, to assist and strengthen him in all tasks and
struggles. She must be an avid entrepreneur always creating business
opportunities for family and community.
Rastafari women are humble in spirit and nature and she is a woman of
knowledge yet of few words in the courts of the Brethren. She is capable of reasoning and speaking
wisdom but she is better known for showing her spirit through encouragement and
kind actions than for her words. She is compassionate for those in need and
never neglects to find solutions to provide for the poor.
Family life is central to the Rastafari movement and the Rastafari woman
is a caring, disciplinary and protective mother, keeping children and
grandchildren close to home and raising them to be of goodwill, submissive to
God, their parents and education. Bible
instruction starts at an early stage where we teach our children that a chapter
a day keeps the devil away. She is always a good example to young girls and
adult women by always showing a mature attitude and work ethic by helping them
to live better lives in whatever way possible.
Rastafari women are mindful of their health and appearance, clean,
modestly attired, and keenly observe fasting and vegetarian principles. Married
women are required to cover their heads in public in accordance with the
biblical scriptures as a sign of respect to JAH, her King and herself.
Rastafari women constantly collaborate with other like-minded women and
care-providers, and commit to doing good works for the elderly and the youth,
never giving up on goals and aspirations or new ideas which will bring good to
the lives of all.
After the passing of Empress Menen
the role of the Rastafari woman faded more and more into the background of the
movement and knowledge of Her Majesty became buried save for the memories of
the faithful elders.
I and I often get asked why we don’t
see many Rastafari women around and firstly one must bear in mind that many
women have had to cut their locks in order to find work and many women
especially if married do cover their heads in public. Possibly the most
important reason is because many of our brothers have so many problems with the
law and end up having to leave their queens and children alone and this often
results in the woman leaving the Rastafari movement in order to survive and to
avoid the dauting distress caused to so many Rastafari families living in fear
of being arrested for Cannabis related crimes.
Within recent years however, there
has been a revival of interest in the Rastafari woman. Empress Menen has been resuscitated
and is breathing new life into her daughters. So in the month of March we are
rejoicing as we celebrate not only her birthday on the 25th but also
her journey and the lessons she has to teach us. We also celebrate the lives of
all women who made it possible for us today to stand up for truth and
righteousness from the Queen Omega perspective thereby contributing to charging
the heart of the Rastafari movement with the feminine divine.
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