Free Rastafarians And Producers Of Ethiopian Cuisine: Research Proposal Example

Rastafarian connections to Ras Tafari and Cultural History of Producers of Ethiopian Cuisine

Rastafarian connections to Ras Tafari and Cultural History of Producers of Ethiopian Cuisine

Introduction

There are many misconceptions about the Rastafarian movement caused by a lack of understanding of its true beliefs and ideologies. Most people who do not understand the Rastafarian culture only perceive it as people who wear dreadlocks, smoke marijuana, listen to reggae music, and love wearing green, gold and red. The Rastafarian movement however has deeper foundations. This movement was founded on the belief that Ras Tafari (Haile Selassie) is a deity in the 1930s by Jamaicans (Barnett, 2012). This movement has been in existence to the present day. My proposed research will be aimed at investigating early Rastafarian connections to Ras Tafari, and how time may have weakened them impeding further growth of the movement.

Brief Literature Background

Connections of Rastafarians to Ras Tafari
During the era of European colonization, many Africans were taken to lands far away from their homeland, Africa. They were then suppressed in the foreign lands. The places of suppression are what the Rastafarians called Babylon (Jah.com, 2015). The island of Jamaica is the origin of the Rastafarian movement which began in the 1930s. Marcus Garvey, a political leader at the time, told his followers (later Rastafarians) that they would witness the crowning of a black king from Africa, and he would be their redeemer. This later came to be perceived as a prophecy because a short while later, Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia. To Rastafarians believed that the spirit of God lived in him (Edmonds, 2013). They believed he was a Black Messiah and they called him Jah Rastafari. They believed he would be the savior of blacks from the oppression of whites and that he would reunite them with Africa. In the mid 1930s in Jamaica, Leonardo P. Howell spread the divinity of Haile Selassie and united many Rastafarians (Cashmore, 2013). Blacks from the West Indies were later given the land of Sheshamane in Ethiopia in 1948 by Haile Selassie and many Rastas settled there. Followers of this movement grew in numbers and they are estimated at one million in 1997 worldwide (Globalexchange.org, 2015). However, today they are relatively few at about 265,000 signifying a decline of this movement.

Cultural history of producers of Ethiopian cuisine

The cultural history of producers of Ethiopian cuisine is a long one. The spicy wots (spicy meat dishes), injera (flat bread), and t’ej (their honey wine) they prepare go a long way down the history lane. The initial producers of this cuisine which we now associate with Ethiopia are members of a culture known as Aksum which was famous at around 300 A.D (Kloman, 2011). This culture expired at around 800 A.D (Kloman, 2011).
Agriculture in that region began in the highlands of where modern day Sudan and Eritrea are located. It then spread to into the plateau, where Ethiopia is today. The Aksum culture grew teff (the grain used to make injera) in the first millennium A.D., according to archeological evidence (Kloman, 2011). They possibly grew it even in the first millennium B.C. The discovery of Aksumite mitads by Richard Wielding estimated to have been used earlier than 600 A.D. is valuable evidence of the preparation of injera by the early culture (Kloman, 2011). The mitads are similar to the ones used today in injera preparation.
According to evidence found inscribed on Aksumite stones found by A.J. Drewes, a Dutch scholar, Aksum kings drank t’ej and beer during the third century A.D (Kloman, 2011). Drewes’ work explains that what ancient Aksumites ate can be found on ancient inscriptions.
Political instability between the ninth and thirteenth centuries disturbed the Ethiopian cuisine. However after power was seized by Yekuno Amlak in 1270, a stable dynasty was established for 700 years (Kloman, 2011). During Amlak’s time honey was drank from horns. A vital document edited over the centuries was created during this period of opulence containing details of the Ethiopian cuisine known today.
During the 16th century European visitors to Ethiopia documented the cultural aspects they witnessed (Kloman, 2011). Spicy stews were served atop of injera. Imported black pepper from India was valued greatly. Red pepper used to prepare berbere today and other spices were brought by European visitors in later centuries (Kloman, 2011). Even if Aksumites made injera, spicy wots and alichas which are a major part of Ethiopian cuisine today required the addition of ginger, red pepper, and other western spices (Kloman, 2011).

References

Barnett, M. (2012). Rastafari in the new millennium. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press.
Cashmore, E. (2013). Rastaman (Routledge Revivals). Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.
Edmonds, E. (2013). Rastafari. New York: Oxford University Press.
Globalexchange.org,. (2015). Jamaica: The Rastafarian Movement | Global Exchange. Retrieved 3 March 2015, from http://www.globalexchange.org/country/jamaica/rasta
Jah.com,. (2015). Rastafari Movement. Jah.com Retrieved 3 March 2015, from http://www.jah.com/rastafari-movement/
Kloman, H. (2011). Culinary Milestones: An Appetizing History. Ethiopian Food ♦ Mesob Across America. Retrieved 10 March 2015, from https://ethiopianfood.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/culinary-milestones-an-appetizing-history/