What did Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia have in common? A love for the Kebra Negast, holy book of Ethiopian Christians and Jamaican Rastafarians. Contemporary scholars date the Kebra Negast to the 14th century, but it retells the stories of much earlier Biblical times, one very important story in particular. According to the Kebra Negast, the Israelites' Ark of the Covenant was spirited away to the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia by wise King Solomon's own son, offspring of the union between Solomon and the exotic Queen Makeda of Ethiopia (a.k.a. the Queen of Sheba). Gerald Hausman, a consummate storyteller of native traditions, presents the core narrative of the Kebra Negast, from Adam to the rise of the Ethiopian Solomonid dynasty. On top of this, he injects his own encounters with Rastafarians during his travels in Jamaica--dreadlocked Rastas as modern-day Samsons, their unwavering faith in Jah, and a rare outsider's glimpse at the Nyabinghi ceremony. The combination of ancient tale and modern belief give Hausman's Kebra Negast the rich flavor of enduring truth. --Brian Bruya
From Library Journal
Folklorist and author Hausman has combined ten years of informal study in Jamaica, the 1922 version of "The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek" (translated by E.A. Wallis Budge), the Koran, the King James Bible, and the words of reggae great Bob Marley into a new version of the Kebra Negast ("the glory of the Kings"). This "lost bible," the core of Rastafarian wisdom and faith, has survived through oral tradition in many Caribbean nations, even though it has been banned because of its African glory themes. Hausman effectively puts the Kebra Negast into the words of the Rastafarian community, presenting the core?that "we must learn to live by the laws of compassion rather than judgment"?through anecdotes from the author's travels in the Rasta community. A recommended introduction to the Kebra Negast.?L. Kriz, West Des Moines Lib., IowaCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
The Lost Bible of Rastafarian Wisdom and Faith from Ethiopia and Jamaica.
Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
The Kebra Nagast: The Book of Rastafarian Wisdom and Faith from Ethiopia and Jamaica FROM THE PUBLISHER
Handed down orally from generation to generation in Rastafarian and West Indies culture, the Kebra Negast has not been available in English translation since 1922. Because the subject of the text presents an African view of the Old and New Testament, the Kebra Negast has long been prohibited in many Caribbean nations and this ban is enforced even today. However, it has survived through the spoken word, as the cornerstone of the Rastafarian religion and was a significant influence on the lyrics of the late Bob Marley, among others. Introduction by Ziggy Marley. 60 line drawings.
Art & Photography
Book Info
