Page 154 - Berkshire Encyclopedia Of World History Vol I - Abraham to Coal

african-american and caribbean religions 39

But if you are in danger, then [say your prayers] on foot or
on horseback; and when you are secure, then remember Allah,
as He has taught you what you did not know. • Quran

and remains the unspoken, unspeakable “presence” in peans, Africans, and—to a lesser extent—by Asian peo-
Caribbean culture. It is“hiding” behind every verbal inflec- ple as well. A majority of these religions have either an
tion, every narrative twist of Caribbean cultural life. African or Christian base, but Caribbean peoples have
modified selected aspects of these traditions, added to
African-American religious institutions in the United them, and made them their own. While much attention
States and the Caribbean provide valuable insight into has been given to African influences, one cannot com-
the inner workings of African-American and Caribbean pletely understand religious developments in the region
societies and cultures. Moreover, it is appropriate for solely in terms of an African past. The African past is a
social scientists to devote their attention to religion piece—albeit a large piece—of a more complex whole.
because—as C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence Mamiya so Syncretism of Hinduism and Christianity abounds, and
effectively argued (1990, xi)—“religion, seriously consid- one can never underestimate the potential impact of
ered, is perhaps the best prism to cultural understanding, Islam.
not as a comparative index, but as a refractive element Rastafarianism is perhaps the most widely known of
through which one social cosmos may look meaningfully Caribbean religions. It is difficult to estimate the exact
at another and adjust its presuppositions accordingly.” number of Rastafarians, but the religion’s influence
Two erroneous assumptions have informed past stud- vastly exceeds its numbers in Jamaica, elsewhere in the
ies of African and African-American religions.The first is Caribbean, in Europe, Latin America, and the United
that the black experience of religion simply replicates States. The movement traces its history to a number of
white religious experience; the second is that it is totally indigenous preacher-leaders in the 1930s, most notably
dissimilar to it. Neither assumption is true because nei- Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley,
ther takes into account the complex interactions between Paul Earlington,Vernal Davis, Ferdinand Ricketts, and
African-based religions and other world religions. Cor- Robert Hinds. The influence of Marcus Garvey is also
rectly viewed,African-American religious experience can- apparent. Each of these leaders—working in isolation
not be separated from North American religion. It is of from the others—came to the conclusion that Haile
one fabric.African religious experience is part and parcel Selassie, then enthroned as Ethiopian emperor, was the
of North American religious experience just as Chris- “Lion of Judah” who would lead all peoples of African
tianity and Islam are now part and parcel of religious heritage back to the promised land of Africa. In the
experience on the continent of Africa. Nevertheless, exact Amharic (Ethiopian language), Ras Tafari means “head
genealogies of African and African-American religions are ruler” or “emperor.” It is one of the many formal titles
difficult to discern. belonging to Haile Selassie.
While Rastafarianism is by no means a homoge-
African Religions neous movement, Rastafarians share seven basic tenets:
in the Caribbean (1) black people were exiled to the West Indies because
The best-documented religions—such as HaitianVodun, of their moral transgressions; (2) the wicked white man
Rastafarianism, Cuban Santeria, and the Spiritual Bap- is inferior to black people; (3) the Caribbean situation
tists in Trinidad—serve as prime examples of creativity is hopeless; (4) Ethiopia is heaven; (5) Haile Selassie is
and change in this dynamic region, which has become a the living God; (6) the emperor of Ethiopia will arrange
fertile ground for the development of new religious for all expatriated persons of African descent to return
admixtures and syncretism. Almost everyone in the to their true homeland; and (7) black people will get
Caribbean is from someplace else, and Caribbean reli- revenge by compelling white people to serve them.
gions have been greatly affected by the presence of Euro- Among contemporary Rastafarians different subgroups