Groundings in Granville:
Report on the Nyabinghi session as witnessed on November 5, 2004
BARTLETT MORGAN
PREFACE
When I had journeyed to the Granville/Pitfour area of St. James on November 5th, my aim then was to make observations and report on them for the purposes of a class assignment. While there, my general mental reaction was that there was very little new or different to record. I made the random jotting and interviewed a few of the brethren there motivated purely by the generics inherent in academic work of this nature – a field trip. While there, I couldn’t help but feel there was very little to do or fruitfully engage the brethren on. Perhaps the only true interest was sparked by the opportunity to, capitalise on the free marijuana being offered to the all too willing members of the crowd.
My plan was fairly simple and straightforward, make a few observations and then apply the standard “according to so and so, the practise of xyz as observed is blah blah blah.” However, later on, questions of the worth of this style of presentation to me in the way of intellectual development prompted me to re-assess my method and approach to the report.
Essentially, it is of little value to merely report on an event such as the Nyabinghi session in isolation. Rather, I believe that such events should be viewed as clues or guiding signs into a larger, more complete understanding of the organisation in terms of its purpose, how, if any at all, this purpose has shifted over the period of its existence and more importantly, my reaction to all this. This reaction speaks to more than just my student status, but as an individual as well as a member of the society in which this phenomenon has its roots. I believe that I should also seek to determine the implications of the event as a clue to the workings of the organisation and how this augers for the future of the organisation and its perceived role. In other words, the report as I will present it will attempt more that answer the obvious questions of ‘what, who and when’ but also the ‘how’s’ and more importantly ‘why.’
Introduction
What is Rasta? The central thesis or main claim of this paper is really to highlight just that - “what is Rasta today as exemplified by the events witnessed at the Nyabinghi?” The observations made at the Nyabinghi session was merely of a single, isolated showing of the culture of Rastafari and thus, reported by itself cannot even begin to constitute a complete or functional understanding of the group and even why they did what they did at the camp that night. Rather the approach as I have already stated, is what really could we gleam from that one ‘peep show’ which could serve to effectively guide our discourse into the phenomena of Rastafari as represented by the Nyabinghi brethren who had gathered in Granville, St. James. Restated, this paper is about three things: what happened (report of the event itself); why did it (background to the Nyabinghi: their psychological outlook, history, social context and their perceived purpose) and; the implications of this (where do we see this leading).
Who, What, Where, When:
Description of the Event
At the gate of the venue, one is greeted with a sign. It is painted in Red, Gold and Green and has the symbols which apparently are significant to them. What is interesting is that, the single sign reveals almost symbolically, a wealth of insight into what is in retrospect, the core belief systems of the movement as espoused above. For example, one of the slogans on the sign says “Downstruck the Pope in Vatican City.” Yet another states “Repatriation is a must.” Others offer guidelines as to the preferred dress and decorum of individuals entering the premises (see appendix 1). Here, in just one sign is represented to the observer, a collection of most of the base symbols and guidelines about who these people are.
The colours chosen as I would later learn, each have a specific meaning. The gender specific instructions prohibiting women at the heights of their menstrual cycles from entering which in modern feminist thought constitutes a potent cause for criticisms of gender discrimination, speak to the strictness of the Rastafarians in observing cleanliness in the temple; the guideline suggesting that raucous behaviour and immodest dress (for both genders) would not be tolerated referring possibly to the humble nature of the Nya people;
Proceeding further into the venue, there are a collection of sleeper tents with small groups of brethren conversing and smoking the celebrated ‘holy herb’ – marijuana. The impression is conveyed that there is little cause for concern about the possibility of incarceration. As one proceeds further up the path into the venue, there is a fairly large bonfire, approximately five feet across in diameter.
The size of the gathering gets progressively larger as one moves further up the path and persons there convene around and in the main meeting area – a circular, wall less building (see figure 1). Apparently, this is the temple.
The building architecture is simple and is designed with three, equidistant entrance points to it. The centre of the building is home to what appears to be an altar. On this altar there are multiple pictures of HIM Haile Selassie I and Empress Menen; a collection of what appears to be holy books which include a Bible. There are also rods and interestingly, a television set.
The latter of the items is interesting to me because admittedly a held stereotype of the observer was that Rastafarians were essentially anti-technology as part of their greater resistance to things western and by virtue of this, creations of the oppressors. When questioned about the potential significance of the television set, a member of the faith informs me that it is has been in use throughout the course of the celebrations especially during the day time to show films deemed to be of relevance to the movement.
Midway between the altar at the centre of the building and its periphery is probably the only item which disrupts the otherwise perfect sense of alignment and unity conveyed by the structure of the building (see figure 1). It is a small fire which is referred to as the Everlasting flame. An elder seated inside the building informs me that it is kept alight for the entire duration of the celebrations which is some 3 weeks. Hence the title Everlasting flame. Though the fire will not literally last forever, it will last the duration of the celebration. A symbolism I ascribe here is that as long as the oppressive system exists then Rastafari will continue to wield the fire as their tool against it.
Another use of fire in the ceremony is a Bonfire which stands midway the entrance and the main ceremony area. I am told that this is the fire of purification. A more obvious conclusion to be drawn here is that all who wish to enter must be pure. Pure to do what is still left open. Would it be to take part in the ceremony, to be a Rastafarian or some other accomplishment?
Being true to literature on the matter , the main course of the night appears to be drumming and singing. The solitary break from this rhythm came when a reasoning session – grounding was staged to facilitate the student observers present. The drummers are all cloistered together and the drums are of varying sizes. There is an extremely large drum which I am told is the bass drum. It delivers a beat that resonates to your core – literally. In fact, Rastafarian mythology speaks to an incident where a president of the United States of America had shots sent to his heart symbolically via the powerful beating of the drums which he was made to experience by Rastafarians whom he visited with during a trip he had made to Jamaica. In their perspective, the United states government is one of the governments representative of the neo-colonist oppressors of which they fight against. To further illustrate this, one member of the faith, during a reasoning session put on primarily for the benefit of the visiting students, described the current president George Bush as the anti-christ. The other drums are identified by Chevannes as the Akete and Funde. Both are much smaller than the Bass. The Drummers I am told, are not all Nyabinghi but some of them are actually from other houses.
There is a constant beat which the same basic beat that many popular reggae/dancehall artistes use as the foundation for their compositions. This rhythm serves as the basis for a variety of hymns. The hymns themselves are very basic with only a few lines each and in some instances, each line is merely a variation of the previous. To this end, the songs can be considered short, easy to remember transmissions of their philosophy to listeners. An example:
“ I and I a hail Jah
I and I a hail Jah
I and I a hail Jah Rastafari
I and I a hail Rastafari
Hail Rastafari
I and I a hail Fari
Hail Fari,
Inna Mount Zion I”
The aesthetic of the Nyahbinghi brethren is probably the single most overt of their identifying characteristics. That being said, it should not be assumed that Nyahbinghi brethren possess a definite common ‘look’. One source defines aesthetic as the “an underlying principle, a set of principles, or a view often manifested by outward appearances or style of behaviour. ” The clothing of the brethren was as varied as the various interpretations of Rastafarianism itself as evidenced by the multiple ‘houses’ present today. The only physical marker that I was clearly able to identify as being Nyahbinghi was the free flowing locks sported by all the believers.
A sort of continuum was noticed as it relates to dress and age. The elder brethren, by conventional standards, appeared to be more radical in their dress. Some were barefooted and some dressed in garments made from natural fibres. Their fashion was similar to that observed at Revivalist sessions. At the other end, the younger members of the faith are more conventional in their dress; their only identifying marker being the Red, Gold and Green patterned into their clothes.
Reaction and Interaction
Acknowledgement of the students and other non Rastafarian was made both directly and by way of conversations among themselves wherein they would refer to ‘the guests’. Maybe it is a misinterpretation of the general mannerism of the Nyahbinghi but they came across as being uncomfortably accommodating – which is to say, it never seemed to be their natural behaviour. Members for the most part were extremely approachable. For the benefit of the students, a reasoning session or groundation was held.
“oonuh a study Rasta? Study we?! Bun dat! Oonuh fi puh dung paper an pen an help bun out the beast.” One couldn’t help but overhear the words of one female rastafarian or empress seated between a slew of sleeper tents midway the entrance and the main fire. That statement added to the impression that some of the brethren were somewhat wary of outsiders. That being said, the students participated in all the offerings freely (singing, smoking, reasoning).
Why of the Nyabinghi (Discussion)
“Rastafarian psychology involves expressions of self-confidence, affirmation of one’s Blackness and personhood, a rejection of Eurocentric understandings of black people and their cultures, and a longing for liberation and ultimate redemption of the black peoples of the world (especially the oppressed.)” – Clinton Hutton and Nathaniel Samuel Murrell.
The quote above goes a long way in accurately describing what was observed. Action is the necessary follow through from thought and thought is surely determined by the psychological makeup of the person or entity (in this case, the psychology is collective as is evidenced by movements such as Rastafarianism). The different elements which Hutton and Murrell describe can surely serve as an informal guide to this discourse in our quest to understand ‘why’ they did what they did – the action – as a result of their collective Rastafarian psychological composition – itself determined by circumstances which it is surely reacting to.
In their analysis, Hutton and Murrell as well as Chevannes identify the periods of Jamaican history leading up to the 1930’s and the formation of Rastafarianism as having contributed significantly to the Rastafarian outlook . Essentially Rastafari and by extension, the Nyahbinghi being the face most easily associated with Rastafari, developed their outlook in response to the perceived inequities and ‘downpression’ associated with elements of the British Colonialism. Basically, the response of the Nyabingi was to confront the source of discontent directly – kill it. Of such, the philosophy of ‘death to the white man’ arose. If ones source of oppression is dead then they are free. This death for the white could not be achieved by literal means; the route chosen was more symbolic than anything else. To this end, as the movement developed, it also created a variety of symbolic confrontational strategies. These strategies represented in some degree, borrowings and even mixtures of the different elements which formed the core of the Rastafarian outlook. These sources include the spiritual and ceremonial underpinnings of the revivalist movement; the ideology of the Free Baptist; the Pan-African ideals of Marcus Garvey. It is the collective response which was formed from these influences which have formed the core of the belief system and outlook of the Nyahbinghi which then created the symbolic forms of confrontation which were evidenced that night. Other elements of the culure which
Probably the best example of this is the completely redefined aesthetic which the Rastafarians showcased. An example of this was a Nya man who was dressed in a dress from a crocus looking material, barefooted, sporting thickly knotted locks. Even in this day and age of liberal thought, this is undoubtedly a far cry from Jamaica’s societal standards for male dress.Despite this however, he is quite comfortable in his choice of clothing as exemplified by his confident movement throughout and outside the venue.
As mentioned by Hutton and Murrel, among their key markers was a rejection of Eurocentric views of black people and their culture. By way of rejecting this way of life, they have gone to lengths to create their own alternative. The example of the Nya mans dress is an illustration of their alternative concept of aesthetics. This rejection extends to even areas such as language. The Nyahbinghi consider themselves first and foremost Africans and of such, they have taken steps to learn the language of their Ethiopian forefathers – Amharic. Apart from that, the language as used by them is colourful when considered to be a form of the Jamaican. In the reasoning of Pollard this constitutes a new distinguishable dialect away from the more common Jamaican creole (JC) and standard Jamaican English (SJE). This language in its very grammatical structure and lexical entries goes against the mold of the standard English whose usage is psychologically placed by the majority of the populace as being acceptable.
Throughout the ceremony, members suggested through their speeches, songs, dress and messages transcribed throughout the venue that they want to be free. The ultimate freedom for them is home in Ethiopia (Africa). Repatriation has been in former years a literal plea of the group though with time, the call for repatriation for some has been modified to a call for mental repatriation as signalled by the songs of Bob Marley for example when he sang:
“emancipate yourselves from mental slavery
None but ourselves can free our minds.”
This general idea of repatriation falls in line with their philosophical concept of liberation and redemption of black people the world over.
In their quest for liberation of black peoples, I believe comes part of the answer to my questioning of their willingness to accommodate outsiders such as the students. They want to educate them, make them more aware! This education, I believe, was not merely about the customs and traditions of the Nya people – we already have Chevannes, Forsythe, Nettleford and others like them for that. Rather, I believe that a greater part of what the Nyahbinghi that night, and in general today are trying to do is to make the oppressed peoples aware of their plight, and the steps they need to take to emancipate themselves.
I think this was best highlighted by the transmission of their philosophy through their songs, the messages transcribed on placards inside the temple and their general willingness to ‘reason’ with the I’s.
I do believe that a general question which could arise from observing the brethren is where is this all headed. What, if any at all, is the future of this movement projected to be. First of all, the a question to be addressed in this arena is about the obvious sense of confusion which is purveyed by the Rastafarian movement in general. This seeming confusion has nothing to do with the core of Rastafarian beliefs which are quite sound but with the impression conveyed to outsiders. I do not believe it to be an understatement that ‘no two rasta’s believe the same thing.’ Each house is different and on a purely face level it can be seen where this could serve to mislead the average citizen without the comfort of a university education (which in itself is no guarantee of understanding much less sympathy with their cause) about what Rastafari is trying to accomplish. Marshall McLuhan said ‘the media is the message.’ Applying this to the Rastafarians, we see where despite the possible validity of their message, ‘noise’ in channels of communication with the audience can lead to miscommunication. This again is a potential barrier to the cause.
On the other hand of the coin, albeit in a purely abstract manner, this supposed confusion in the movement could inadvertently be a positive. In their ‘battle’ with the oppressive forces, if the oppressors don’t know exactly who or how to strike then they will have a harder time fighting against Rastafari.
Probably in a manner more symbolic than even they themselves realised, beside a picture of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I and Empress Menen was a television set. In my view this points to the willingness of the Nya to adapt and change. In writing this very report I came across a nyahbinghi.org which had a wealth of seemingly well researched information on the organisation.
I posit that the mere fact that we were allowed the opportunity to ‘peep’ into a ceremony act which can be said to constitute the inner workings of the movement, speaks significantly to a change in the very psyche of the Nyabinghi Rastafarian movement. It is a well known fact that only decades earlier, the movement was extremely secretive in its approach to such meetings. In their earlier years of existence, Chevannes points to variety of factors which may have promoted this disposition such as intermingling of real Rastas with criminal elements who were suspicious of outsiders who the suspected could be members of Americas secret services.
Conclusion
The Nyabinghi phenomena as witnessed in this culminatory session represents a collective response of the Jamaican people to oppression. The fight that the Rastafarians fight is not there own, their struggle since inception in the late 1930’s has much more than any other movement, encompassed most of the different elements or battlefields on which wars were being raged between oppressed and oppressor, colonizer and colonized. Both Chevannes and Nettleford have made reference to this sort of dialectic . Nettleford refers to these different battlegrounds as ‘spaces.’ These ‘spaces’ may be cultural, physical, economical To this end, the battle that we see the Nyabinghi men fighting in their language, dress, rituals and general way of life, is for control of the many spaces present in our society. Or in the words of Chevannes ‘… a spiritual battle for control of the central prize, the I, the self.’
The group by evidence of history, appears to be wiling to regroup and refocus its thrust from time to time – a skill required of any group with a long term outlook. It cannot despite the nature of its practises be categorized as being a peasant religion as it has taken on modernity by the horns. An example of this refocusing can be seen in the (partial) shift from calls for physical repatriation to ones of mental repatriation. On another level, we see the Nyabhingi, a group once hinged on secrecy now opening up its practises to the wider public.
So then to finally answer the question what is Rastafari, the answer could be that it is an organisation which sought (inadvertently) to coalesce the multiple individual responses of the mass of the oppressed into a solitary reference point – Rastafarian ideology. In its quest to maintain its relevance while still battling the beast, it has seen the need and has responded to the call for rethinking of its approaches.
Implications of this
- my reaction
- rasta in society
- future of movement
On the the nyahbinghi.org website
Bibliography
Barrett, Leonard. Rastafari: Sounds of Cultural Dissonance. Boston: Beacon Press. 1977.
Chevannes, Barry. Rastafari: Roots and Ideology 1st ed. Syracuse: U Syracuse. 1994.
Chevannes, Barry. Eds. Rastafari and other Afro-Caribbean World Views. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers U. 19
Dictionary.com
Forsythe, Dennis. Rastafari: the Healing of the Nation. Kingston: Zaika Publications, 1983.
Nettleford, Rex. Inward Stretch, Outward Reach: A voice from the Caribbean. London: McMillian. 1993.
Pollard, Velma. “Dread Talk: The speech of Rastafarians in Jamaica.” Caribbean Quarterly. 26.4 (1980)
Smith, M.G., Rex Nettleford and Roy Augier. Report on the Rastafarians in Kingston Jamaica. Kingston: U College of the West Indies. Kingston. 1960
Appendix 1.
Instructions on Sign at the Entrance to the Granville camp.
• No alcoholic beverages
• No flesh cooking
• No menstruation in females
• No bare heads by females
• No sexual intercourse
• No cigarette smoking
• No wearing of pants by women
• No drugs of any kind
• No obscene language
• No contagious diseases
- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone 
- Jeezas
