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No other State Leader’s visit has captured the triumph of human spirit as Em

peror Haile Selassie’s memorable visit to Jamaica on April 21st, 1966. It was com

mon for the Emperor to receive a majestic welcome wherever he went. Whether

the nations were members of NATO, Warsaw - Pact, or Non - Aligned, they all hon

ored him in their paramount welcoming ceremonies. New York City gave him a

hero’s welcome by throwing ticker tape from skyscrapers - something that was

never done for any other foreign leaders. Warsaw, the capital city of Poland,

opened its palace 46 years after the monarchy was overthrown. China sent thou

sands of balloons into sky while the former Yugoslavia, a non - aligned nation - rang

the bells of the entire churches which were closed for decades. Of course, as the

father of Africa, Africans welcomed him, by announcing the day as the National

holiday.

Unlike those, Jamaica received the Emperor as if it were the second coming of

Christ. This was not a part of the government’s reception schedule, which invited

the Emperor officially. However, it came to pass on the script of the Rastafarians,

who snatched away the role of host from the government in a welcoming cere-

mony at Palisadoes Airport in Kingston.

50 th Anniversary of Haile Selassie’s visit to Jamaica

by Mulugeta Haile

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Martimo Planner

(WoldeHawariyat), one of

the Rastafarian leaders,

was the first person to

enter into the airplane to

shake hands with the

Emperor. He accompanied

the Emperor as they

stepped down from the

plane through the huge

crowd of Rastafarians.

Officially protocol was

disregarded and

implemented in

Rastafarian-style.

From the airport to King’s House, a long chain of non-Rastafarians lined up on both sides of the streets, behind them, a sea of heads struggling to get a glimpse of the Emperor, the Deity of Rasta, whose name has been mentioned since 1920s more frequently than the country Jamaica itself. The day has become unofficially a holiday. The government had not announced it, but the people called the day

off on Thursday. Two months before the Emperor’s arrival, Queen Elizabeth II came to her former colony of Jamaica where she received a royal welcome. The visit was declared a national holiday, and, as such, administration offices, business, and schools were closed. However, in comparison to that received by the Emperor, it seemed that the British Empire’s sun had set for the first time in the Caribbean Island to shine on The Lion of Judah, instead. The Emperor’s granddaughter, Her Royal Highness Imebet Sofia Desat, who was in Jamaica during the visit, said, “The British were unhappy with the way Jamaicans received His Majesty.”

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One cannot help, but wonder why the Queen’s and the Emperor’s visits

was arranged in a very short interval within only two months. Secondly, the

Queen visits was announced as a public holiday while that of the Emperor,

the most aristocratic monarch that stretched to the Biblical King Solomon

and Queen Sheba, the then longest living Emperor, was a working day, why?

Was there a conspiracy behind the invitation, as the same time to obliterate

the Rastafarian movement once and for all?

According to Dr Minase Haile (still alive), the Minister of Information who

acted as interpreter and political officer on the mission to Jamaica, the

invitation of the Emperor to Jamaica was to renounce the notion of the

Emperor as a divine person so as to foil the movement of the Rastafari, a

challenge to the norm of the administration.

Ever since the movement had started by Dr Leonard Howell, there were

several brutal attempts to destroy it, but in vain. Now, as a last option, it was

a right time to kill it by inviting the Emperor and have him announce publicly

that he is a simple Ethiopian king.

During a press conferences, the Emperor answered all the questions that

were addressed to him, except the one regarding divinity. In 2007, when Dr

Menase Haile attempted to answer as to why the Emperor ignored the

question, he said “I don’t know why, but I think the idea of comparing himself

with God was inappropriate. This question was pushed to me twice and which I

pushed it twice to the Emperor. When I felt he did not want to answer it, I

moved on to the next questions and wrapped up the interview.” The late

General Fresenbet, the Emperor’s Aide-de Camp

said, “It would have been good if the Emperor

had clearly relinquished the idea of divinity.”

On the other hand, the three prominent

Rastafarians: Maritmo Planner, and Philmore

Alvaranga, and Douglas Mack (still alive), who

came to Ethiopia and met the Emperor two

years before his visit to Jamaica, had a different

opinion. Planner said that the ignoring of the

question was in itself a divine answer. Alvaranga

said, “Why the Emperor should be bothered

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with such question when he knew who he was.” Mack said, “The

Emperor was in Jamaica not to fulfil the Babylonian’s wishes, but to

bless the Rastafari’s movement.”

The two different perceptions between the Ethiopian and the

Rastafarians over the issue of ignoring the question are still in

perspective. Ethiopians argue that the reason why the Emperor sent

Abuna Yeshaq (A Pan- African archbishop who preached the Ethiopian

Orthodox canon, and as the same time Garveyism in the Caribbean

Islands and North America and currently his body rests in Jamaica and is

called Saint Yeshaq) as an evangelist to Jamaica in order to preach

Christianity, thus shows that the Emperor does not accept of the notion

of divinity. Conversely, Abuna Yeshaq once said that the Emperor

wanted him to teach the Ethiopian Orthodox doctrine and Amharic to

Rastafarians without interfering with their faith.

The late Zewde Retta (a grandson of a private secretary of Empress Zewditu, a

seasoned journalist and Ambassador to Rome in the 70s who later became an

authority on the Emperor’s life and government), the only then young

journalist who attended the visit of the Emperor in Jamaica when speaking on

the issue of divinity, in 2004, said that the Jamaican government led the

Emperor to walk on eggshells so he would break the movement of

Rastafarians, however, by ignoring the question he was in fact able to save the

movement.

One may ask, was the movement of Rasta better off as

the result of the Emperor’s visit? To answer this question,

the legacy of the Emperor’s visit with respect to

Rastafarians has to be examined from political, cultural,

social, and economic points of view.

Education to the Emperor was the beginning and end of

everything. So to uplift the underprivileged people from

political injustice and economical disparity, he laid down

the foundation of a school for the deprived citizens in

what was then the ghetto of Kingston. This school was

named Haile Selassie High School, carrying the motto

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which is written in Amharic and English: ለኑሮተማሩ(Lenuro

Temar), learn for life, which is similar to his personal

motto: ካልተማሩአያውቁካልመፀወቱአይፀድቁ (Kaltmaru Ayaku,

Kalmtsewatu Aytsedku), meaning noting learned without

studying, neither is salvation possible without alms.

In the Emperor’s historical speech at the Jamaican

Parliament he said “The relations in a broader sense

between the people of Jamaican and the people of Ethiopia

and Africa are deep and abiding.” This helped to redefine

the identity of Black race and strengthen “The Back to

Africa Movement” and rally round to include Jamaica as a

family of the then OAU (AU).

During the reception at the King’s House, the Emperor

gave medals of Honor to the leaders of Rastafari. Having

done so in the presence of government officials, including

the then acting Prime Minster, Sir Donald Sangster,

enabled Rastafarians to be accepted by the regime. He also

invited the Police Commissioner, Gordon London, who has

been killing, harassing, and jailing Rastafarians. This

created a healthy atmosphere for the Rastafarians to

confer with their archenemy. The King’s House visit

resulted in the opposite direction: instead of renouncing

the Rastafari’s movement, he created a fertile ground for

the movement to grow up. Until then, the King’s House

was taboo for the Rastafarians, who would not even pass

by the gate, let alone enter the house to receive medals of

Honor and to eat and drink alongside high officials.

The Gleaner, in its part, had not criticized the Emperor for his performance in

the King House, and also for ignoring the question of divinity, which had, in

fact, brought him to Jamaica. All of its White columnists who covered the visit

praised the Emperor as the defender of the Small Nations.

The prevailing atmosphere of the Emperor’s visit encouraged so many oppressed

people in various ways. Local artists and musicians were among those who were

inspired to get the best out of them. The images of the Emperor were drawn and

posted throughout the quarters of the city. Some were printed on post cards and

sold for small amounts of money. Soon to expand into big business, the Emperor

on posters, t-shirts, flags, caps, badges, and key holders and so on have been a

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good opportunity for generating income and creating

new jobs. The other major impact, the numbers of

converted has soared. Rita Marley (Genet Mariam) is

one of the people who joined the Rasta's movement

after the Emperor’s visit and saw a miracle, which is

the main ingredient of all faiths.

The revolution of the Reggae music the world

has never known was invented after the

Emperor’s visit. Bob, Peter, and Bunny with their

new invention from Trench- town ghetto moved

on to an international arena to create a space for

the voice of Rasta. Their new melody with new

style and messages captivated world’s attention.

Millions of their records were sold all over the

world. The dress code and hair styles apart of

being depicted as cultural identity have also

created a new business venue. They turned a

new page before the eyes of history and

reintroduced Haile Selassie as "ever living God."

Almost all freedom fighters in third world played

reggae for inspiration and energy for fighting for

freedom. It is not by accident the government of

Zimbabwe had invited Bob Marley and his band

during the Independence Day. It is to be noted

that the leaders of the freedom fighters were

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supported by the Emperor while Robert Mugabe

lived in London as a spokesperson.

The Emperor’s visit has also helped the politicians,

including Michael Manley, who sympathized with the

Rasta’s cause. He received the vote of the Rastafarians and

won the general election and became the Prime Minster of

Jamaica. For the first time and after a long time, the

Rastafarians have become a force to be reckoned with.

Emperor Haile Selassie’s three days visit to Jamaica at

its best has brought the Rastafarian movement to the

forefront of humanitarian achievements. Their political

point of view, cultural identity, economy status, and

social acceptance has improved. Today Jamaica cannot

be pronounced internationally without Rastafarians’

legacies. Undoubtedly, they brought Jamaica more

close to Africa. Abuna Yeshaque once said that the

Rastafarians are the only Caribbean who travelled to

Africa to live in and those who stayed in Islands are advocating for Africa’s cause. Where ever they live, they wave

the flag of the Lion of Judah, despite the flag is no longer the emblem of Ethiopia. The continuity of waving it gives

an eternal life for the flag and the hope and dream of the Heroes and Heroines of Adwa and Maychew.

Without Rastafarians and reggae, Jamaica is like any other Islands. They are the synonymous name of Jamaica. They

redefined Jamaica as the birth place of philosophers, and music inventors. From these, the country has benefited in

many sectors. Bob Marley’s museum at Maxville Ave in Kingston is the main tourist attraction and cultural center of

the Nation. Last year, when President Barak Obama visited Jamaica, the first place that he visited was this museum.

Obama is quoted to have said,” I grew up with Bob’s music, and I still have all his albums”

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The Rastafari’s legacies have finally arrived in the city of

Addis Ababa, where the good name of the Emperor is

officially banned since 1974. The Emperor’s photos are

focused in different public places and on social media.

His iconic images and root- reggae are one and

inseparable. Reggae is a powerful tool which was ever

invented to defend the Emperor, and at the same time

to spread his messages for humanity.

The fact that the statue of Bob Marley is erected at the

Square after his name, in the middle of a thoroughfare

in Addis Ababa, the capital of Africa, is a shining proof of the triumph of the Rastafari’s movement. There are

several streets name after Bob Marley in the world including in New York, and London. However, the Bob’s Square

and a statue in Addis Ababa is the first to be named in the world. The Square and his statue is the prelude to that of

Emperor Haile Selassie’s which definitely has to be erected one day when his enemies fade away from the vista of

hate politics.

The 50th anniversary of Emperor Haile Selassie’s visit to Jamaica is not only a milestone; but it is also the only

welcoming event on Earth that is being celebrated, since then.