Exodus, Movement of Jah People

I found the way of life of these particular Rastafarians very interesting. The code of conduct in which they live their lives is completely different than any western style of living, which is exactly what they are trying to achieve. They are trying to achieve complete separation from Babylon (Western culture). In doing so, they are in a remote location in the mountains of Jamaica, and live a very simple lifestyle without the use of unnecessary materialistic goods and other luxury goods such as the use of running water. What also stood out in the video that I had noticed in the reading was the relationship the Rastafarians have to the colors of the Ethiopian flag. These colors are seen on the shanti’s that they live in, thus symbolizing the their connection with Ethiopia.

After viewing the video on the Rastafarian Boboshanti’s and their way of life, I began to realize how closely the Rastafarians follow the demise of Babylon, which is a characteristic of Rastafarians seen in our book. They are trying to free themselves from the western way of life, "Babylon is the primary symbol for the interpretation and assessment of the colonial establishment" (50).  They closely associate evil with Babylon, which can be seen on the hand painted signs in the video, "righteousness over evil", and  "good over evil". Another central theme I had noticed between the two cultures was their will to reach the promise land through the means of an exodus. This exodus seems to be a staple in the Rastafarian culture; this theme can be seen in the meaning of Bob Marley’s song Exodus. In this song, he constantly refers to exodus as the movement of Jah people, once again reflecting their will to seek some sort of religious freedom to Ethiopia, the promise land.