Rastafarianism-Boboshanti vs. Mainstream

The way of living as portrayed by the Boboshanti Rastafari was completely different than my impression of general Rastafari. I think that a lot of people get a certain impression of Rastafarianism because of Jamaican's tourist promotion and Bob Marley's music (more generally, reggae). The people in the video were very devout, practicing a seemingly more strict doctrine. They rise at 3 in the morning to pray, and later pray at 9 am and 3 pm. They wear their dreadlocks in turbans. They live in the mountains-completely isolated from society-in often primitive conditions. Another thing that differentiates them from mainstream Rastafarians is that they practice resting on Sabbath. So that's the basic idea of these people.

It was such a contrast to what I had imagined about Rastafarians; I had the impression of informal gatherings, relaxed rules and community, and yes, smoking ganja. I had imagined the Rastafarians to basically be intermingled in mainstream society, living among others but practicing their own religion, but these people were isolated. There was also no mention of ganja smoking among these mountainous people, although it might have been omitted because of the producers. The people did wear red turbans, which I assume is related to one of the Ethiopian colors. These people were also very strongly committed to Ethiopia and the crown. I wasn't sure whether the RX symbol was also used in mainstream Rastafarian tradition; it symbolized righteousness (R)over evil (X). Another thing that took me by surprise was the music. Because of Bob Marley and his influence, I had assumed that reggae was a form of music that all Rastafarians relate to because of its concentration of equality and hardship. However, the Boboshanti seemed intent on chanting, not reggae. Overall, I had imagined all Rastafarian people to be more modern. The Boboshanti seemed almost tribal; I never would have guessed that there were Rastafarians like this, because it always seemed that Rastafarians were concerned with current and (particularly) urban issues, like equality. However, I can understand why some Rastis would live in the mountains, as they refuse to be involved politically. It never occurred to me that there would be offshoots of a main religion, even though it happens in other religions all the time.

Link: a journalist explores a Boboshanti community.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20040531T010000-0500_60580_OBS_LIFE_IN_THE_BOBOSHANTI_CAMP.asp