Rastaman definition. Who is a rastaman really

04.03.2020

Rastafarians, they rastafans– interesting guys. There are not so many of them on the streets of Moscow, but they look colorful and unusual for most passers-by. I talked with them: everyone looks at their movement differently. Much can be said about the origins of this creed and culture, but there are facts that are well known.

Who are rastamans

It is wrong to think that it is only youth subculture, where the monotonous rhythm comes first reggae and vivid image. And although in Russia rasta- culture appeared only in the early 90s, its origins are much deeper.

Do not look for a translation of the word "rastaman". It originated from the Ahmar language. Ras is translated as a prince, and Teferi is a name. Middle name of this emperor Ethiopia- Haile Silassie, which means "Power of the Trinity", and he is the first saint in this religion.

Although Rastafarianism was born Jamaica, it acquired the main features in Africa. It even had initially nationalistic features. Rastamans are followers of this teaching, a monotoistic African cult based on Bbible. Bob Marley was an unwitting promoter of Rasta. He molded the musical style of reggae from a variety of chants common in various Rastafarian sects.


Today, Rasta culture bears little resemblance to religious teachings. Main focus - on music andappearance: the visual component is an important part of belonging to a subculture. Here is what emerged from rasta in other youth movements:

  • reggae style influenced modern hip-hop;
  • dreadlocks- a special hairstyle that has found its application among extreme metal performers;
  • legends of the republic Jah stepped into punk rock;
  • tattoos, originally rastaman, can be done in any tattoo parlor.

Rastafans in Moscow

If you want to see real rastamans, then come to China town. Children often gather in the square, who attract attention with their appearance. massive knee dreadlocks, piercings, tattoos. In baggy, semi-sportswear and on a bicycle- these are their main features. In Russia not everyone knows about religious teachings. Young people are attracted by unusual clothes and music.


And there is a special store in the Kitay-gorod area "Rastashop" where they can buy everything they need. Therefore, the meeting place was chosen this square nearby. What is interesting in "Rastashop":

  • All for smoking(pipes, bongs, vaporizers);
  • bright clothes and accessories with symbols;
  • musical instruments, special combs much more.

Don't listen to scary stories about rastamans. These are cheerful, cheerful guys, as a rule, erudite and interesting.

Have you ever heard of rastamans? For sure, yes. However, most people are sure that rastamans are not quite adequate people who constantly smoke weed or are just fans of reggae. In reality, this is fundamentally not the case. Who is this rastaman really? A real Rastaman is a person who prefers the Rastafarian religion.. In fact, the Rastafari religion is a rather unexplored religion, but it contains many codes and rules that a real Rastaman must adhere to without fail.

Such a person should always speak only the truth, smoke ganja, refuse to drink alcohol, do not eat meat, do not smoke tobacco, and even in a critical situation do not go to the doctor, because God Jah will be able to cure him of any disease, if he likes. If it does not cure, then at least it will give him another incarnation.

How to recognize a rastaman?

The rastaman almost always has dreadlocks on his head, his clothes consist of red, yellow and green colors. If this person does not give up meat or, say, takes a pill, it will not be easy to call him a rastaman. Clearly answer the question "who is a rastaman?" various pictures and photographs will help, but in order to deeply imbue the inner world of these people, you need to re-read a lot of thematic articles, and even better, meet and chat with them personally.

About religion

The history of Rastafarianism began as far back as the 15th century BC in a large region, including expanses from Egypt to Ethiopia. Then the main philosophy of this religion was the spiritual unification of Africa.

Over time, the flow of Rastafarians not only did not disappear, but also began to gain new momentum. The current ideas about rastamans, of course, are somewhat different, but still have some similarities with the past centuries. If you meet a multi-colored person with dreadlocks and a “rasta” cap on his head, you can immediately see who he is. A Rastaman differs from many people in his genuine kindness, responsiveness and calmness. This is the advantage of such people. They do not tend to create conflict situations; representatives of Rastamanism do not accept violence and war in general.

Notable names

There are very popular and outstanding personalities among the Rastafarians, for example, Mortimer Planno, Russ MacPherson, Bunny Wailer and others. Not everyone knows these names, but perhaps everyone knows who the Rastafan Bob Marley is. This truly outstanding musician from Jamaica managed to win the hearts of millions of people around the world, and not just in Jamaica, thanks to his rich inner world and ideological commitment. Almost all of Bob Marley's songs are known to every rastaman, the chords of his songs sound everywhere.

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Similar queries:

Who are rastamans, rastaman is who, what is rastaman.

First, let's turn to the all-knowing Wikipedia.

Rastamans are followers of the religious movement Rastafarianism. The name of the subculture comes from the name of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Ras Tafari Makkonen, who after the coronation took the name of Haile Selassie.

It was him, later, that the Rastafari endowed with divine power and named him Jah (distorted from "Jehovah"). According to one of the legends, the Rastafarians believe that all earthly humanity originated in Ethiopia, it was on her land that there was paradise.

They also believe that the Bible was originally written in Amharic (the official language of Ethiopia) and later translated into Hebrew.

According to one interpretation of their Bible, the blacks were given by the god Jah into slavery to white people as a punishment for sins and, therefore, must live under the yoke of "Babylon", waiting for the coming of the messiah, who will return all blacks to their homeland in Ethiopia.

"Babylon" is an abstract concept of the modern pragmatic industrial world.

Spotting a rastaman is not difficult. As a rule, they wear bright red-yellow-green (it is these colors that make up the flag of Ethiopia) voluminous hats, from under which dreadlocks stick out - pigtails of hair whipped into tangles.

It is from them that Jah recognizes his followers and, in the case of the Apocalypse, will pull them out of the abyss. Rastamans also wear baggy clothes with the symbols of a revered culture - this is a cannabis leaf, put on appropriate jewelry (beads, bracelets).

Philosophy

Rastas immerse themselves in their thoughts to the sound of reggae music, a classic example of which is the work of Bob Marley. But the rastamans themselves play their own music, beating reggae rhythms on the drums.

Smoking marijuana is allowed as part of some divine ritual, bringing the rastaman in this state closer to the god Jah.

Commandments

Rastamans, like all believers, have their own rules, which they try to strictly follow, as the god Jah bequeathed to them:

  • respect the traditions of Rastafari and the traditions of other religious cultures;
  • honor humanity;
  • preach Rastafarianism;
  • philosophize;
  • smoking marijuana;
  • comprehend the meaning of life.

In addition to the commandments, there are also prohibitions among the followers of Rastafarianism. Taboos are imposed on smoking tobacco, drinking strong alcohol, gambling, all this is contrary to philosophical beliefs.

There are also gastronomic restrictions. So they are not allowed to eat pork, scaled fish, shellfish, salt and drink milk.

Rastaffari in Russia

Rastafarianism in Russia found followers in the mid-1990s and coincided with the fall of the Iron Curtain separating Soviet citizens from other world cultural, religious, and musical trends.

Post-Soviet Rastafarians have nothing in common with the true followers of Rastafarianism.

They smoke intoxicating mixtures, wear tricolor hats, indulge in laziness, listen to reggae, but they are not the original followers of the idea of ​​​​African superiority, because they have no idea about the history of the original subculture and its philosophy.


The Promise Key · Holy Peebee

My Life and Ethiopia's Progress
Tablets of black supremacy

Key persons Prominent persons Walter Rodney Peter Tosh
Ziggy Marley · Damien Marley
Augustus Pablo Chief Ra
Alexander Bedward See also: Dictionary Dreadlocks
Ganja · Reggae · Rastafans
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
List of articles on Rastafari

Rastamans in the world, followers of Rastafarianism are traditionally called.

Story

Be that as it may, in the Russian-speaking environment the word "rastaman" is firmly associated with this group (but not completely identical to it). The word can be used in a similar way in other languages ​​to simply refer to marijuana lovers without religious overtones.

Subculture in the CIS

The emergence of "rastamans" in the CIS occurred along with the formation of other youth subcultures against the backdrop of the collapse of the USSR. “Rastamans” can be singled out especially due to the fact that in the current CIS there is a noticeable increase in the volume of marijuana use (this conclusion can only be made subjectively, since the collection of statistics on this issue is very difficult). Many of the smokers are no longer “youth” and do not consider themselves to be “Rastafarians”, but they are ideologically brought together by the illegal status of the drug, since they experience the same difficulties associated with its acquisition.

Apparently, the issue of self-identification of former Soviet citizens who use cannabis was resolved on the basis of the cannabis brand as an attribute of Rastafarianism. The well-known concept in the USSR "drug addict" could not be accepted because of the inconsistency with the stereotypical image of such among the people: hemp consumers are not close to the topics of syringes, AIDS, withdrawal symptoms, etc. - therefore, there was a need for self-name.

One of the pioneers of the rastaman movement in Russia is the reggae musical group Ja Division, which appeared in the year. The reggae style, popularized by the Rastafarians and accompanying the cult of marijuana, was adopted by the Russian-speaking planokurs. The musical factor in the country, recently fenced off by an iron curtain from a significant part of world culture, played an extremely significant role, exerting a significant influence on the Russian-speaking youth of the 90s. Therefore, the choice of self-name could, among other things, be influenced by the distribution of records of Russian-speaking reggae bands, where, in particular, the leader of Ja Division Herbert Morales unequivocally points out the parallel of cannabis smoking with "rastamans". The well-known Russian rap artist Decl also declares belonging to the "philosophy of Rasta".

Now in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities there are fairly large Rastaman communities that hold cultural events (usually concerts or festivals), maintain websites, and publish media materials. Almost all Russian reggae bands consider themselves Rastafarians - at least they use characteristic symbols and revere Bob Marley (it should be noted that “black” Rastafarianism is an extremely diverse culture with many varieties and some orthodox Rastafarians have a negative attitude towards reggae music because for its commercialization, and some do not smoke marijuana; there are also rastafarian politicians, for example, New Zealand MP Nandor Tancosh).

Position

Rastamans usually advocate the legalization of marijuana, which is reflected in songs, paraphernalia (in a very large number of souvenir shops in the world there are goods with Rastaman symbols), political declarations (for example, participation in the annual "Hemp March").

A common place among "Russian" and "original" rastafarians is also a positive attitude towards Jah and a negative attitude towards the so-called. "Babylon" as a pragmatic socio-political system based on Western material culture.

Many rastamans also have a negative attitude towards taking opiates, amphetamines and hard alcohol, calling them "black" drugs, but positively towards taking psychedelics, which makes them related to the trance subculture.

Folklore

The subculture of post-Soviet rastamans has given rise to a special folklore, the development of which is facilitated by the characteristic psychoactive features of hemp-containing drugs - under their influence, the craving for reasoning, fantasy and creativity increases. The linguist and writer Dmitry Gaiduk gained quite wide popularity, who in the first half of the 90s began to collect and process the oral work of Ukrainian and Russian rastamans and in 1995 created the project Rastaman Folk Tales. Gaiduk's works have been repeatedly published, audio cassettes and CDs have been released, now he often travels to different cities and reads fairy tales to an audience as part of various subcultural events. According to Gaiduk, the number of adherents of the "hemp ideology" in modern Russia can be up to 4-5% of the population.

The subculture of the "Rastafarians" of the CIS countries and the traditions of using hemp (as well as other drugs) in the post-Soviet territory are periodically mentioned in their work by many modern figures of Russian-speaking culture - musicians, writers, filmmakers. For example, the song "Rastafans from the Outback" by Boris Grebenshchikov is widely known.

see also

Sources

Links

  • Rastaman folk tales, Rastafari.ru, Rasta.Samara.ws, Russian Reggae Rasta Roots, Jah.ru, RastaShop.ru, Rastamans in Siberia (was deleted by the hoster on the orders of the FSB, the new address is Rastasibirsk.ORG), RASTAMAN NovoSibirsk (rasta website -capitals of Siberia), Jah.Org.Ru - sites about Russian Rastamanism, Rastamans: drug addiction and schizophrenia have become a culture

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Synonyms:

See what "Rastaman" is in other dictionaries:

    Exist., number of synonyms: 2 fan (31) subculture (37) ASIS synonym dictionary. V.N. Trishin. 2013 ... Synonym dictionary

    rastaman- This is a person who follows the path of Jah and adheres to certain rules of life: he always tells the truth, the concepts of responsibility, honesty and commitment are highly developed in a rastaman. He goes forward, defends his positions, by all ... ... Dictionary of modern vocabulary, jargon and slang

    rastaman- tracing paper with Rasta man. Here rasta is the self-name of the Rastafarians, descendants of Ethiopian slaves, residents of Jamaica ... Universal additional practical explanatory dictionary by I. Mostitsky

    A very Russian detective Genre comedy, detective, thriller Director Kirill Papakul Producer Vadim Galygin Timur Khvan Maxim Filatov ... Wikipedia

0 Nowadays, young people are actively borrowing Western culture, and, as a rule, extremely harmful and anti-social phenomena. Today, a huge number of words and expressions have appeared that denote various concepts. However, not many people know their true meaning and origin. Therefore, on our website, we have opened a separate section in which we will decipher the words on this topic. Add us to your bookmarks to periodically look at the light. Today we will talk about such a curious word as Rastaman, which means you can read a little lower.
However, before I continue, I would like to advise you a few more sensible publications on the subject of junkie slang. For example, what does Ganja mean, how to understand the word Role, what does Plyuha mean, what is Screw, etc.
So let's continue what does rastaman mean? This term was borrowed from the English language "Rasta", and denotes a person who practices Rastafarianism, worships the god "Jah", and praises him with all his might.

Rastaman- in Russia, this is an ordinary junkie who mainly uses weed (hemp or marijuana), although in the West this is a broader concept



Ratsaman is an informal or slang term for Rastafarians. A Rastafarian is one who belongs to a religion founded in the 20th century in Jamaica that worships the living god/emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia. In popular culture, religion " Rastafari" is most often associated with reggae music, dreadlocks, marijuana and the rejection of the modern materialistic world, or as it is also called - "Babylon".

A Rasta is someone who has a deep love and intimate relationship with God (Ja Almighty), a Rasta is someone who:

... who believes in equal rights and justice for all mankind;

Every day thanks and praises for everything he has;

Who knows that the first man and woman to appear on earth were discovered in Africa and are known to have had a Negro skin color;

Who knows that God is always watching over everything we say and do;

Who knows that every man and woman will be responsible for their own judgment of God based on their lifestyle;

Who knows that eating meat is an impure act;

Who knows that the Black Man (Emperor Haile Selassie) was crowned King of Ethiopia in 1930 and ruled until 1974;

This is someone who reads and studies the Christian Bible (usually the King James version) daily;

This is the one who knows about the Babylonian system;

Has a deep love and respect for all nature, because we know that God is in Nature, and it is our birthright to enjoy this gift given by Jah.

What is Jamaican Rasta?

Jamaican Rastaman is a person belonging to the Rastafari movement, which originated in Jamaica. While it is generally considered a religion, Rastaman considers it a way of life and culture, as well as a spiritual path.

Movement Rastafarai originated in the 1930s and is based on the teachings of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican who had a vision of bringing black people around the world together and bringing them back to Africa. The name comes from the name of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, Tafari Makonne, who is considered by many Rastas to be the Messiah. Some Rastas immigrated to Ethiopia in the 1960s and formed a settlement known as the 12 Tribes.

Rastafarai is a mixture of African and Christian beliefs with an emphasis on biblical literalism. Rastas are known worldwide for their use of marijuana. Marijuana, or ganja, is considered a sacrament and is used as part of ritual prayer. Rastas are also known for their dreadlocks, which stem from the biblical commandment to avoid cutting their hair. Most Rastas are vegetarian, although some eat fish. The Rastafari movement is peaceful, many Rasta take part in anti-war and other pacifist movements. However, self-defence is not prohibited. Rastas sometimes protect themselves from government oppression.

By reading this short article, you have learned what does rastaman mean and now you can tell your friends about this amazing word.



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