From: [f--ca--t] at [paranoia.com] (Tommy Ranks)
Newsgroups: rec.drugs.cannabis,alt.drugs,alt.drugs.culture
Subject: Rastas and Ganja (long)
Date: 24 Jan 1996 07:04:53 GMT

This is some new info on http://www.paranoia.com/drugs/  in our new 
marijuana/culture section.  Check it out:

Excerpts from *The Rastafarians* by Leonard E. Barrett, Sr., 
Beacon Press 1988.


from the introduction:

The [Rastafarian] movement does not have organized 
congregations, as do other religious cults; it does not have a paid 
clergy; it does not even have a cohesive doctrine in written form, 
yet young people from every walk of life and every race are 
drawn to the movement.  Its steadfast beliefs -- that Haile 
Selassie is the living God, a God who is beyond death; that 
marijuana is sacred; its dedication to nature and mystical 
approach to the universe along with its strong opposition to 
oppression of any kind -- distinguish the movement as a 
revolutionary cult.


from Chapter 4: Beliefs, Rituals, and Symbols:

     Prior to the emergence of the Rastafarians, ganja was used by 
native herbalists as a folk medicine, particularly in teas and as 
smoking mixtures with tobacco.  But as the Rastafarians 
emerged, ganja took on a new role as a religious sacrament.  Its 
use became a reactionary device to the society and an index of an 
authentic form of freedom from the establishment.  Although the 
use of ganja was prohibited early in Jamaica, most of the 
peasants were unaware of it; the Rastafarians, who were mostly 
urban dwellers, knew of its illegality.  It would therefore be 
right to assume that as a protest against society, ganja smoking 
was the first instrument of protest engaged in by the movement 
to show its freedom from the laws of "Babylon."  But, like 
peyote among the Navaho Indians of North America, ganja has 
other sides to it; its use produces psycho-spiritual effects and has 
socio-religious functions especially for people under stress.  It 
produces visions, heightens unity and communal feelings, 
dispels gloom and fear, and brings tranquillity to the mind of the 
dispossessed.  So, ganja gradually became a dominant symbol 
among the cultists and has remained so to this day.
     Among the Rastas, ganja is called by many names, such as 
*callie* and *Iley* which suggests the essence of the herb.  
Other names are "the herb," "the grass," "the weed," and so on.  
Sometimes called "the wisdom weed," it is said that the weed 
was first grown on the grave of King Solomon, the wisest man 
on the earth.  When used in ritual contexts, the name became 
known as the "holy herb" as various scriptures are given as 
proof of its sanctity.  The Rastafarians will say that God who 
created all things made the herb for human use and will cite 
Genesis 1:12 as their proof text:
     And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed 
after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in 
itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And
     ...thou shalt eat the herb of the field (Genesis 3:18).
     ...eat every herb of the land (Exodus 10:12).
     Better is a dinner of herb where love is, than a stalled ox and
      hatred therewith (Proverbs 15:17).
     He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the 
      service of man. ...(Psalm 104:14).
These biblical texts are only a few of the many used by the 
cultists in defense of their rituals.

They are also capable of quoting the history of the herb from 
antiquity to the present.  In a recent interview with a leading 
Rastafarian, he had this to say of the weed:

Concerning ganja and the amount of publicity it has received of 
late, it becomes imperative that I should impart some knowledge 
on it regarding its history and usage among the Rastafarians.  
We know that in the wars of the Crusades, the Moslems were 
using a form of Hashish from which they get the name 
Assassin.  This same Hashish was used religiously.  In Jamaica, 
we do not make full use of Hashish in that form; what we use is 
ganja.  The Rastafarian sees ganja as part of his religious 
observance.  He sees ganja as the smoother of mental 
imbalances and as a meditatory influence.  Ganja is really used 
to bring forth a peaceful and complacent aspect within man.  We 
do not believe in the excessive use of ganja.  It cannot be used to 
excess.  In that case it would be bad for man.  But in truth, ganja 
used moderately is not bad.  We do not find ganja as a mental 
depressor, ganja sharpens your wit, and keeps you intellectually 
balanced.  It is not a drug; it is not an aphrodisiac either.  We 
smoke it, we drink it, we even eat it sometimes.  We do not find 
it a poison.  I have been smoking ganja since I was eighteen 
years of age.  I am now fifty, and I have never been to a doctor 
for any ganja related ailments.
   Even in Trinidad today, ganja is used by the East Indians in 
their Temples as a form of worship without any government 
interference or restrictions.  If ganja was not available in Jamaica 
as a sedative to keep poor people calm, the island would have 
experienced anarchy already. [Taped interview with Ras Sam 
Brown, summer, 1975.]

     A Montego Bay "dread" described his experience of ganja 
like this: "It gives I a good meditation; it is a door inside, when it 
is open, you see everything that is good."  And yet another: 
"When I smoke the herb I man is able to see from Jamaica 
straight to Panama."  There is no end to the praise of ganja 
among the brethren.
     Ritual smoking follows the same pattern wherever it is 
observed.  A package of herb is produced, generally wrapped in 
old newspaper or a brown bag.  After carefully mincing it with a 
knife, it is made into a cigarette known as a "spliff" or packed 
into a chillum pipe.  Just before lighting it, the following prayer 
is said by all:

Glory be to the Father and to the maker of creation As it was in 
the beginning is now and ever shall be World without end: Jah 
Rastafari: Eternal God Selassie I.
[To appreciate this benediction one must hear it spoken -- the "i" 
in Rastafari rhymes with the "I" in Selassie I.]

Several strong pulls of smoke are taken and deeply inhaled.  The 
smoker then seems to go into a deep trance-like state, exhales, 
repeating the process two or three times, then the pipe is passed 
to another person.  If it is in individual spliffs, [a spliff is the 
Jamaican name for the American "joint"] the same kind of 
smoking technique is used.  Smoking is done on all safe 
occasions; but it is required at all called meetings and at 
Nyabingi services.  I saw at least three kinds of pipes: first, a 
straight hollow piece of wood or iron tube called a "cutchie" 
which is used by placing a piece of cloth over the mouth end -- 
this is called a "sappie."  The second type is the regular chillum 
made out of a cow's horn into which a cutchie is placed.  The 
smoking end is a rubber tube attached to the small end of the 
horn.  The horn is filled with water, while the herb is placed in 
the cutchie.  The third type is made of bamboo and varies in 
shapes and sizes, but the parts described above are the same. 
...in addition, some pipes are so large that they are used only on 
rare occasions.
     There are many taboos among the Rastafarians; some of the 
strongest are those against consuming rum and all liquors and 
the smoking of cigarettes, particularly at a Nyabingi service.  
The brethren insist that drinkers of Jamaican rum have created 
more serious social problems on the island than all the ganja 
smokers together.  Furthermore, the cultists declare that while 
rum makes one violent, ganja smoking makes one calm.  The 
Rastafarian poet puts the whole philosophy this way:

     What is ganja?  We know it's a plant
     Created by God to fulfill men's want
     The powers that be, say man should not use
     They use it in secret, yet show its abuse.

     There is no comparison between ganja and rum
     The former keeps you "cool" the latter makes you glum
     Rum as we know is an agent of death
     With the using of ganja you draw new breath.

     The taking of rum has eaten out our head
     They who continue to take it will wind up dead
     Remember, one is created, the other manufactures
     On the evils of men we have always lectured.

     So cast not your verdict before making a test
     True conscience in you will show you the best
     For rum as we know will pronounce your doom
     All hail to great ganja, the solvent of gloom.
          [taken from taped interview as read by the author
          Sam Brown.]


The controversy surrounding the use of ganja or marijuana 
continues unabated... One personal observation may, however, 
be in order.  The author has observed that, after years of 
studying the groups most familiar to him, there appear to be no 
physical, mental, or psychic effects on the Rastafarians from the 
use of ganja.  Most older brethren have been smoking for twenty 
years and are still as witty, hard working, and creative as any 
other citizens of Jamaica.  This observation was recently 
collaborated by the Official Report of the National Commission 
on Marijuana and Drug Abuse.  On Jamaican's use of the herb 
they reported:

In the Jamaican study, no significant physical or mental 
abnormalities could be attributed to marijuana use, according to 
an evaluation of mental history, complete physical examination, 
chest X-ray, electro-cardiogram, blood cell and chemistry tests, 
lung, liver or kidney function tests, selected hormone 
evaluation, brain waves, psychiatric evaluation and 
psychological testing.  There was no evidence to indicate that the 
drug as commonly used was responsible for producing birth 
defects in offspring of users. 
     [*Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding, the Official 
Report of the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug 
Abuse* {New York: The New American Library, Inc., 1972}.]


from Chapter 8: Where Go the Rastafarians?

If it is agreed that the God-figure Haile Selassie may not be the 
most dominant force in the movement's ideology, what then is 
the real center?  The real center of the movement's religiosity is 
the revelatory dimensions brought about by the impact of the 
"holy herb."  Under this influence the person of Haile Selassie is 
transformed into that supernatural reality or a cosmic 
significance befitting a racial redeemer.  To the Rastafarians the 
average Jamaican is so brainwashed by colonialism that his 
entire system is programmed in the wrong way.  He is thus 
unable to perceive of himself as a Black man; his response to the 
world is conditioned by unseen forces due to European 
acculturation.  To rid his mind of these psychic forces his head 
must be "loosened up," sometimes done only through the use of 
the herb.  The herb enables one to see one's true self.  A true 
revelation of Black consciousness brings about the proper love 
for the Black race; it rids the mind of social and psychological 
"hang ups" by altering one's state of consciousness, revealing 
the true nature of the world to the inner consciousness.  This 
done, one's true identity can be experienced, including the 
revelation that Haile Selassie is god and that Ethiopia is the home 
of the Blacks.
     According to the Rastafarians, the structure of the Jamaican 
society is inhuman and cannot provide the psychic nutrients 
demanded by the Blacks who originated in the satisfying 
cultures of Africa.  They see Jamaica as death oriented; 
redeeming values for human life are absent; success in the 
society is defined largely in terms of having money and a certain 
standard of living.  to them the work roles which yield this 
money and standard of living are spiritually demeaning and 
unsatisfying; so, rather than strive for this kind of upward 
mobility, they have opted for the simple life.  This poverty, 
however, is voluntary, free from the pressures and dictates of a 
dying culture.  By withdrawing from the acquisitive society into 
a counterculture, they believe that they will be able to redefine 
themselves and restructure their values with new norms and 
goals.
     The herb is key to new understanding of the self, the 
universe, and God.  It is the vehicle to cosmic consciousness; it 
introduces one to levels of reality not ordinarily perceived by the 
non-Rastafarians, and it develops a certain sense of fusion with 
all living beings.  According to a leading Rastafarian:

Man basically is God but this insight can come to man only with 
the use of the herb.  When you use the herb, you experience 
yourself as God.  With the use of the herb you can exist in this 
dismal state of reality that now exists in Jamaica.  You cannot 
change man, but you can change yourself by the use of the herb.  
When you are God you deal or relate to people like a God.  In 
this way you let your light shine, and when each of us lets his 
light shine we are creating a God-like culture and this is the 
cosmic unity that we try to achieve in the Rastafarian 
community.  [Interview with Ras Sam Clayton, Mystic 
Revelation of Rastafari, summer, 1975.]


---
 Tommy Ranks -- [f--ca--t] at [paranoia.com] -- http://www.paranoia.com/~foucault