The Sunday Mail
BORN on April 3, 1891, the Rastafari Community is preparing to celebrate the life of Empress Menen, Mama Africa.
After having been subjected to extremely harsh and brutal slavery and colonialism for hundreds of years, it is highly reasonable for Rastafarians to draw a lot of inspiration from royal and noble characters in life and history.
In Ras Tafari philosophy and theology, every male member is king and likewise, every female member is queen. The two genders are considered equal and it is up to the individual to prove to society how much of a king or queen they really are.
During slavery and colonialism, this high status was intentionally eroded from us by our slave-masters as it gave hope and pride amongst “savage, barbaric, primitive African primates”.
We were literally stripped of our pride and dignity as this endangered the primitive intentions of divide and rule dominant during the scramble and partitioning of the Motherland.
Our civilisations, cultures, history and achievements were destroyed and/or distorted beyond recognition. Even the narratives we hold to this date happen to be plagiarised and severely altered versions of the truth.
For instance, it is speculated that the Great Zimbabwe “Ruins” were constructed by the Portuguese or some other foreign and alien civilisation of European descent. The same is said of nearly all marvelous ancient black African products including the great pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt and Cush (Ethiopia).
It must be known also that prior to European and undeniably colonisation and enslavement in the name of Christ; Arabic and undeniably Islamic enslavement of Africa and Africans came.
This abuse of church and state authority has undeniably aroused the need to redefine these roles and replace them wherever and whenever possible.
Identifying with and sometimes fantasising royalty amongst the ordinary is no new discovery or invention. Throughout the continent, it was always assumed that everyone is either king or queen.
Even in our Shona culture, we have totems such as “vaera Ngara” who are all identified as “waMambo” meaning sons and daughters of royal blood.
In general, Shona people always identified everyone and anyone with utmost respect and treatment deserving and normally reserved only for royal blood.
When invaders looted and ruined our civilisations and ways of life, they also dissolved a lot of norms and introduced their acrid substitutes. The Holy Bible prophesies that, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:10)
According to the whole of Revelation 5, this responsibility is offered unto the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the root and offspring of David.
Herein now enters Her Imperial Majesty as wife and consort to the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I King of Kings and Lord of Lords, again consistent with Revelation 19.
Of Her Imperial Majesty it is said, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to HIM: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” (Revelation 19:7-8)
If we honour and praise the Lion of Judah Haile Selassie I as our Father it is only natural and logical to also revere and worship the Lioness of Judah, Wollata Giorgis Wayzero Menen, as our Mother.
This principle of male and female adoration is not unique to Rastafarians but is universal and the Chinese refer to the same as Yin and Yang.
It is also identified as the theory of opposites or the theory of dualism as testified and rampant in biology.
In the Holy Bible, it is referred to as Alpha and Omega or the beginning and the end. This concept is loosely defined in modern religion but in ancient Egypt and Cush it was predominant and they used the ankh as a holy symbol to celebrate and honour life as created equally by both male and female adult human beings.
The role of women in ancient society was held with high regards and women were literally valued higher than men. This is testified by the sign of the ankh, a sign and symbol whose relevance has since been darkened by western secret society influence; the illuminati, Ku Klux Klan and so on.
Modern day numerals, namely zero and one, are derived from ancient Africa. Alpha is one and Omega is zero. In ancient education, lines defining the boundaries between subjects of study were loosely defined so much such that a considerable amount of overlapping always occurred.
In modern times, the cross is more common place as a representation of “Christ” but in ancient Egypt and Cush it was Ankh.
In light of this, Rastafarians always say “the ankh is better than the cross” as it elevated women uncompromisingly and in contrast to the cross of which ancient Egyptians and Nubians reserved for other meanings.
The reverence of Empress Menen Asfaw as Goddess amongst Rastafarians is greatly symbolic as she stands to represent each and every woman and female who is also highly revered and honored equally the same as a Goddess and living Creator of the next generation.
A deep understanding of Her Imperial Majesty Empress Menen in the history of Ethiopia and the world is deriving divine inspiration from characters the universe chose for us to be lead and inspired.
Again, modern society fails to fully comprehend that human beings are basically immortal, immaterial and eternal spirits living inside a mortal, material and temporal physical body.
