Mansions of Rastafari
Mansions of Rastafari are branches of the Rastafari movement. Mansions include the Bobo Ashanti, the Nyabinghi, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and others. The term is taken from the Biblical verse, "In my Father's house there are many mansions."
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Bobo Ashanti
Known as the Priestical House of Rastafari, the Ethiopian Africa Black International Congress / Church of Salvation for Bobo Dreads, or Bobo Ashanti, is an organisation founded by Charles Edwards, known as Prince Edward Emmanuel Charles VII, in the 1950s. Most of its members, called "Bobos" or "Bobo dreads", live in Bull Bay in a small utopian community called Bobo Hill. Bobos are most notable for their wearing of turbans and robes. Bobo men make and carry brooms to signify cleanliness. The brooms are also sold in Kingston as a way to provide funds for the community.
Prince Emmanuel is called "Dada" by his followers, who see him as part of a holy Trinity, together with Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, in which Selassie is seen as King/God (Jah), Garvey as prophet, and Emmanuel as high priest. Additionally, some Bobos saw Idi Amin, the former military dictator of Uganda during the 1970s, as a second coming of Garvey.
Bobos say that "Africa" is the name that the white man gave to Ethiopia or Jerusalem. Many see black supremacy ideas as essential to the faith; in the Bobo (and Rastafarian) conception, the true Israelite is a black man. Twice each week and on the first Sunday of every month the Bobos fast. Almost all songs and tributes within the community end with the phrase "Holy Emmanuel I Selassie I Jah Rastafari".
Almost all men within the community are seen as prophets or priests. The funcion of a prophet is to "reason" and the priests to conduct the services.
Women and children are considered subordinate to men. Women must cover their legs and arms. A woman may serve food to a guest, but never to a Bobo male. The Bobos have built a strong relationship with the local community outside of Bobo Hill and they often invite people to their services.
Many reggae artists have emerged from the Bobo Ashanti, including The Abyssinians, Sizzla, Capleton, Anthony B, Turbulence, and Ras Shiloh.
Twelve Tribes of Israel
The Twelve Tribes of Israel is a Rastafari group based in Kingston, Jamaica. Its founder, Vernon Carrington, was known as Prophet Gad. The twelve tribes are based on the twelve astrological zodiacal signs. Thus Bob Marley, an Aquarian, came from the Tribe of Joseph, the 11th of Jacob's 12 biblical children. Ijahman Levi is a Gemini, and Levi was the 3rd child. Another well known reggae group of this sect are Israel Vibration. Bob Marley, by quoting a biblical text about Joseph on the album cover of Rastaman Vibration, was acknowledging his own support for this sect.
Nyabinghi
The Nyabinghi Theocracy Government (Nyabinghi), was named for a legendary Amazon queen of the same name, who was said to have possesed a Ugandan woman named Muhumusa in the 19th century. Muhumusa inspired a movement, rebelling against African colonial authorities. Though she was captured in 1913, alleged possessions by Nyahbinghi continued, mostly afflicting women.
The Nyabinghi resistance inspired a number of Jamaican Rastafari, who incorporated what are known as nyabinghi chants (also binghi) into their celebrations (grounations). The rhythms of these chants were eventually an influence of popular ska, rocksteady and reggae music. Three kinds of drums are used in nyabinghi: bass, funde and akete. The aketa plays an improvised syncopation, the funde plays a regular one-two beat and the bass drum strikes loudly on the first beat, and softly on the third (of four) beat. Count Ossie was the first record nyabinghi, and he helped to establish and maintain Rastafari culture.
Nyabinghi are considered the strictest mansion of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica preaching the ideals of a global theocracy to be headed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, whom they proclaim to be the promised Messiah and incarnation of the Supreme Deity.
Often misrepresented as supporting violence for promoting "Death to black and white downpressors", the Nyahbinghi are actually pacifists who believe that the rule of the black race is simply a matter of destiny and not a cause for war. They do not believe in violence, because they believe that only Jah has the right to destroy. They make this pledge because of the power of words, believing that only when all of Jah's children make the pledge together, oppression will be destroyed.