Despite what many people think they know about Rastafarians, it is fair to say, there are many misconceptions. Many are bent on calling any person with dreadlocks, or anyone who lives apart from the rest of society a Rasta. Reggae musicians, weed smokers and Jamaican patois talkers are also lumped together under the Rastafarian umbrella. Clearly those external references only create a more disillusioned understanding and unidentifiable characteristic of Rastafarians. For anyone to call themselves Rasta, one of the most important tasks one must do is study. Unlike other religions where all one has to do is accept the doctrine as truth without study, or study without changing behavior to be accepted, to live as a Rasta, one must study the doctrine, the diet, the laws and the strict codes that adhere to the faith. It is, after all, seen as a way of life rather than a religion. Since each individual has his/her own personal relationship with Jah, there are very few churches, synagogues, or places of worship that are identifiably Rasta, however there are means that Rastafarians use to congregate and engage in spiritual communion.

For Rastafarians, worship goes beyond the spirit of man, and incorporates the spirit of all living things. Creation is seen as the epitome of Jah and there is the idea that Jah never dies, he only expresses and manifests himself in different carnations. Therefore, the divinity of life in man is not seen merely in his earthly existence, but while he exists on earth, he must adhere to the laws of the earth, be at one with the earth and live in harmony with others.

Contrast to popular belief, ganja, or marijuana was not seen or used as a mere social drug to intoxicate or derail the senses. The Rastafarian use of marijuana stemmed from a ritualistic and spiritual expression of life. The plant and its properties allowed Rastas to gain clairvoyance, atonement and wisdom. Ganja was exported from India in the late 1800s as Indians became indentured servants and migrants to the island. Its use dates back thousands of years before Christ by the Indians. The Jamaican climate provided a lush, fertile and perfect environment for growing and harvesting the plant, and has since remained a staple in Jamaican agriculture.

Despite it being outlawed during British rule, Rastas cultivated, maintained and sold the herb for financial support. For Rastas, the plant has many medicinal purposes and has a cultural and spiritual use that allows the mind to reach a less conditioned state and relate with the divine state of life. Unlike western culture that uses marijuana solely as a social drug or to cause loose and silly behavior, Rastas use marijuana very seriously for Nyabinghi sessions to "reason" and gain a serious tuning with the forces of life, among other rituals. Silliness and loose behavior is deemed disrespectful and irresponsible when using the herb. To ensure "society's laws," police and the government had taken many steps to destroy the plants and arrest and detain Rastas that were found carrying any amount of herb on them. These were and continue to be trying times for Rastas who have fought for the legalization and cultivation of the herb. Its uses have far outweighed its vices for Rastas, who feel they have the religious right to smoke and use the herb to their discretion. Despite the pervasive use of marijuana in Rasta culture, there are many who do not smoke at all yet overstand the plant and its many uses. Sadly, many get stereotyped into this image, and it is not always so. The false stereotype of Rastafarians smoking herb, growing dreadlocks and carrying less than productive lives are incorrect depictions and create a false image and idea as to what the lifestyle is really about. Besides cultivating marijuana, many Rastas are farmers, and agriculturalists and maintain a wide variety of herbs, plants and have great knowledge of their many uses. Marijuana gets singled out, because it's "illegal" but more importantly because of the social, spiritual awareness that it awakens in man.

Ital Is Vital

Natural living is a must. The foundation of Rastafari livity is to seek a life that is natural and earth-loving.

Rastafari philosophy overstands that the most beautiful thing a person can be is one's true natural self. It is also the most powerful thing. That is why naturality is such an affront to Babylon - it is a direct challenge to the power of the empire.

Just within Aotearoa, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent teaching us that we are inadequate. We must be made dissatisfied with our lives, so we can be manipulated and sold - sold as wage slaves in order to be sold the crap we don't need to make ourselves feel better about ourselves.

Retail therapy they call it - the instant and fleeting rush that comes from buying and consuming. It is all more fuel for the consumerist fetish that sees the buying and selling of unnecessary products as good for the economy.

So dread is ital. The Rasta lives an ital life also through the food that I&I eat. The highest heights (ites) of the italist is strict vegan - no animal product at all. Some Rasta eat fish, and even those few who eat meat would try to avoid pork and shellfish.

It is not just about meat. Unprocessed foods are best, no refined sugars and flours, no salt. Ital is wholesome, natural and living food.

Babylon loves processed and artificial food. It keeps better on the shelf, so is good for capitalism. Food can be grown, processed, synthesised and preserved, transported, stocked and stored from one side of the globe to the other. Never mind that it is shit, for the body and for the land.

Better to grow ones own food as much as possible, or get it from a local grower. Better to use whole grains or freshly ground. Better to eat food that is freshly harvested and that still retains the vitality of its life force.

Babylon fears the natural because the natural world is uncontrollable. Every attempt to assert mans domination on the natural world ultimately ends in chaos. Today's illusion of human control is maintained by a massive entropy of ancient energy stores in the form of fossil fuels. It will not last.

The need of the empire to control and dominate has created a weird mythology. The story of "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", the writings of Freud or the book "Lord of the Flies" demonstrate the false assumptions underlying Babylon's fear of the natural human being.

The fear is that civilisation is a thin veneer holding us in check. Take away that control, they say, and we become wild ravening beasts, murderous and rapine. In reality it is "civilised" humanity that has defined the depths of human depravity - the Catholic inquisition, the Nazi death camps, the torture houses around the world supported by the US empire and that maintain capitalist control.

Such depravity can only come from a people alienated from themselves. The natural human being is whole, one, content in themselves and with no need to exert power over another.

That's why ital is vital...