A little fact checking here: There was no concept of "Rastafarianism" in Trinidad & Tobago in 1952, and that was distinctly NOT the motive for Haile Selassie I sending the EOTC into those countries.
The spiritual and religious affiliation of Diasporic Africans with Ethiopia has a very long history in the West, as evidenced in Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment of 1775, the Ethiopian Manifesto of 1829, and the subsequent widespread "Ethiopianist" movements in the Black Church and Masonic Orders. This love affair between the Ethiopians of the West and Ethiopians of the East was kindled by the glorious victory of Emperor Menilek over Italian aggressors in the Battle of Adwa, stoked during the media frenzy surrounding the Coronation of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I and Her Imperial Majesty Waleta Giorgis on November 2nd 1930, and culminated by the Ethiopian relief efforts of the 1930s during the 2nd Italo-Ethiopian War. It was this strong relationship between diasporic Ethiopians and the East African nation, evidenced in both financial and volunteer support during the war, that led to subsequent post-war correspondences and community organizing aimed at bringing the Ethiopian Church to the Western Hemisphere.
Furthermore, it has been explained in interviews with Trinidadian Rastafari Elder Bongo Grease, who was present at Haile Selassie I's visit to the Caribbean nation in 1966, that there were NO Rastafarians in the island at that time. He himself was a Pan-Africanist student during that era. Prior to the Emperor's Caribbean tour, the Rastafari groups that had begun in the USA in 1917 & 1918 were confined mainly to regions of New York and Jamaica.
In fact, many Rastafari leaders in those two regions were amongst those who agitated for His Majesty to send the Church to the West, including Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert ("Father Hibbert"), one of the four original street preachers and evangelists of Rastafari operating in Jamaica from the early 1930s. He later brought his entire congregation to be baptized when the Jamaican Mission was consecrated in 1970, and was named a "Spiritual Organizer" by Abba Mandefro (later Abuna Yesehaq).
A cohesive doctrine of "Rastafarianism" has never existed. This is not a term that is self-applied by Rastafari, but rather an academic term that has been used by outsiders to refer to their own perceptions of the movement, and to serve their own characterizations and criticisms. There are, however, diverse interpretations of the Rastafari Movement and Rastafari Culture, some of them religious in nature. Some may be said to contain "errors", from an Orthodox Christian standpoint, but others not. In fact, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been viewed by traditional Rastafari Ancients as one of the pillar institutions of the movement. This is evidenced in the writings of Abuna Yesehaq, who claimed that traditional Rastafari embraced the Church.
It may be, however, correct to ascribe such a motive to Haile Selassie I subsequent to his visit to Jamaica in 1966, in his sending the Church amongst the Rastafari in Jamaica in 1970. Some of the Rastafari elders who met Haile Selassie I in Jamaica during that visit have testified of His Majesty's chagrin at their seeing him as Christ or Messiah, and there are recordings of Abuna Yesehaq saying that His Majesty was concerned to send him there in order to correct their misunderstandings of Ethiopian culture.
So your claim, while being in some sense true about the Church mission to Jamaica in 1970, is in no way true about the Church's establishment in Trinidad in 1952, and contains a dangerous generalization about the Rastafari.
References:
Fountainhead of Civilization: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Its Activities in the West, by Abba L. Mandefro, 1971
The Ethiopian Tewahedo Church: An Integrally African Church, by Archbishop Yesehaq, 1989
1) I may have spoken too loosely, but what was HIM's motive in 1952 (you say this is true of HIM in the 60s) if not to correct what he perceived to be false teaching?
2) "A cohesive doctrine of "Rastafarianism" has never existed." This could be said of many isms, and some even argue this about the EOTC.
On the second point, yes I agree, there are many philosophies which have no formal cohesion in terms of doctrine.
Amongst the Rastafari, there is a wide swath of interpretations, ranging from those who highly regard Haile Selassie I as a man, a Pan-African, a King, and political leader; to those who regard HIM as Elect of God and Light of This World, the Earth's Rightful Ruler, and strive to follow in the footsteps of His and Her Majesties; those who regard HIM as Christ in His Kingly Character (not literally the same person, but a manifestation); those who regard HIM as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (new person from the same person); those who see HIM as the second coming of Jesus Christ (same person); those who see HIM as God the Father (different person from Christ, but one in triunity); as well as those who interpret HIM as Krishna, Buddha, Vishnu, or some other Indian deity; those who see HIM as an ancient African deity, maybe from a Bantu or Yoruba pantheon, or as Osiris, Ra, or another Egyptian figure.
So, by this point in life, somewhere in the world, I know someone who says every one of those things on that list, and they all call themselves "Rastas", or "Rastafari", maybe "Rastafarians" (but that is rare). Some are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, or even Atheists, but still call themselves "Rasta". Many have come from one or another of those positions and been baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
The more traditional view is to see HIM as exactly who he says he is: King of Kings of Ethiopia, Elect of God, Light of this World (all official titles), etc., and in some way related to the work of Christ, whether as elect, second coming, reincarnation, symbol, or icon. These "Traditional Rastafari" are the ones whom Abuna Yesehaq says in his book are more likely to be baptized within the EOTC.
In the 1950s, I believe His Majesty's motive was to continue cementing the bonds between Ethiopia and the diaspora that had been building since the 19th century and had flourished in the Afro-American support of Ethiopia during the Italian invasion of the 1930s. At that time the Ethiopian World Federation, Inc. was founded in Harlem, New York by Dr. Melaku Bayen, and through the auspices of that organization, many diasporans in both the USA and the Caribbean had been agitating for the Church to come into the West. It was a strong motive and opportunity for evangelism. The first Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in the West were planted in the early 1950s, well before any teachings of "Rastafarians" was known there.
A little fact checking here: There was no concept of "Rastafarianism" in Trinidad & Tobago in 1952, and that was distinctly NOT the motive for Haile Selassie I sending the EOTC into those countries.
The spiritual and religious affiliation of Diasporic Africans with Ethiopia has a very long history in the West, as evidenced in Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment of 1775, the Ethiopian Manifesto of 1829, and the subsequent widespread "Ethiopianist" movements in the Black Church and Masonic Orders. This love affair between the Ethiopians of the West and Ethiopians of the East was kindled by the glorious victory of Emperor Menilek over Italian aggressors in the Battle of Adwa, stoked during the media frenzy surrounding the Coronation of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I and Her Imperial Majesty Waleta Giorgis on November 2nd 1930, and culminated by the Ethiopian relief efforts of the 1930s during the 2nd Italo-Ethiopian War. It was this strong relationship between diasporic Ethiopians and the East African nation, evidenced in both financial and volunteer support during the war, that led to subsequent post-war correspondences and community organizing aimed at bringing the Ethiopian Church to the Western Hemisphere.
Furthermore, it has been explained in interviews with Trinidadian Rastafari Elder Bongo Grease, who was present at Haile Selassie I's visit to the Caribbean nation in 1966, that there were NO Rastafarians in the island at that time. He himself was a Pan-Africanist student during that era. Prior to the Emperor's Caribbean tour, the Rastafari groups that had begun in the USA in 1917 & 1918 were confined mainly to regions of New York and Jamaica.
In fact, many Rastafari leaders in those two regions were amongst those who agitated for His Majesty to send the Church to the West, including Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert ("Father Hibbert"), one of the four original street preachers and evangelists of Rastafari operating in Jamaica from the early 1930s. He later brought his entire congregation to be baptized when the Jamaican Mission was consecrated in 1970, and was named a "Spiritual Organizer" by Abba Mandefro (later Abuna Yesehaq).
A cohesive doctrine of "Rastafarianism" has never existed. This is not a term that is self-applied by Rastafari, but rather an academic term that has been used by outsiders to refer to their own perceptions of the movement, and to serve their own characterizations and criticisms. There are, however, diverse interpretations of the Rastafari Movement and Rastafari Culture, some of them religious in nature. Some may be said to contain "errors", from an Orthodox Christian standpoint, but others not. In fact, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been viewed by traditional Rastafari Ancients as one of the pillar institutions of the movement. This is evidenced in the writings of Abuna Yesehaq, who claimed that traditional Rastafari embraced the Church.
It may be, however, correct to ascribe such a motive to Haile Selassie I subsequent to his visit to Jamaica in 1966, in his sending the Church amongst the Rastafari in Jamaica in 1970. Some of the Rastafari elders who met Haile Selassie I in Jamaica during that visit have testified of His Majesty's chagrin at their seeing him as Christ or Messiah, and there are recordings of Abuna Yesehaq saying that His Majesty was concerned to send him there in order to correct their misunderstandings of Ethiopian culture.
So your claim, while being in some sense true about the Church mission to Jamaica in 1970, is in no way true about the Church's establishment in Trinidad in 1952, and contains a dangerous generalization about the Rastafari.
References:
Fountainhead of Civilization: The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Its Activities in the West, by Abba L. Mandefro, 1971
The Ethiopian Tewahedo Church: An Integrally African Church, by Archbishop Yesehaq, 1989
Testimony of Ancient Bongo Ken & Incient Wicka Man, Wisemind Publications (audio book available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDsjR_nVyP4)
Bongo Grease interviewed on Lion's Voice Live during a special presentation on the anniversary of Haile Selassie I's visit to the Caribbean (https://www.youtube.com/live/ssYImOKRZpI?si=G2fh702MewnMbeht)
Wikipedia page on Joseph Hibbert (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Hibbert)
1) I may have spoken too loosely, but what was HIM's motive in 1952 (you say this is true of HIM in the 60s) if not to correct what he perceived to be false teaching?
2) "A cohesive doctrine of "Rastafarianism" has never existed." This could be said of many isms, and some even argue this about the EOTC.
On the second point, yes I agree, there are many philosophies which have no formal cohesion in terms of doctrine.
Amongst the Rastafari, there is a wide swath of interpretations, ranging from those who highly regard Haile Selassie I as a man, a Pan-African, a King, and political leader; to those who regard HIM as Elect of God and Light of This World, the Earth's Rightful Ruler, and strive to follow in the footsteps of His and Her Majesties; those who regard HIM as Christ in His Kingly Character (not literally the same person, but a manifestation); those who regard HIM as the reincarnation of Jesus Christ (new person from the same person); those who see HIM as the second coming of Jesus Christ (same person); those who see HIM as God the Father (different person from Christ, but one in triunity); as well as those who interpret HIM as Krishna, Buddha, Vishnu, or some other Indian deity; those who see HIM as an ancient African deity, maybe from a Bantu or Yoruba pantheon, or as Osiris, Ra, or another Egyptian figure.
So, by this point in life, somewhere in the world, I know someone who says every one of those things on that list, and they all call themselves "Rastas", or "Rastafari", maybe "Rastafarians" (but that is rare). Some are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans, or even Atheists, but still call themselves "Rasta". Many have come from one or another of those positions and been baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
The more traditional view is to see HIM as exactly who he says he is: King of Kings of Ethiopia, Elect of God, Light of this World (all official titles), etc., and in some way related to the work of Christ, whether as elect, second coming, reincarnation, symbol, or icon. These "Traditional Rastafari" are the ones whom Abuna Yesehaq says in his book are more likely to be baptized within the EOTC.
In the 1950s, I believe His Majesty's motive was to continue cementing the bonds between Ethiopia and the diaspora that had been building since the 19th century and had flourished in the Afro-American support of Ethiopia during the Italian invasion of the 1930s. At that time the Ethiopian World Federation, Inc. was founded in Harlem, New York by Dr. Melaku Bayen, and through the auspices of that organization, many diasporans in both the USA and the Caribbean had been agitating for the Church to come into the West. It was a strong motive and opportunity for evangelism. The first Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in the West were planted in the early 1950s, well before any teachings of "Rastafarians" was known there.