Rastafarian Perspectives: Decolonisation of the mind and spirit is essential for Africa

08 Mar, 2015 - 00:03 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Ibo Foroma

Jesus Christ was and is black and native to Africa. Not to mention that everyone is of Black African origin, to add, he was born Ethiopian. A lot of confusion is expected to rise since modern day maps greatly differ from those of ancient times, especially in terms of Jurisdiction.

From the 7th of January to the 13th, the Rastafarian Community celebrates and commemorates this glorious fact every conscious African must be fully aware of. When Jesus Christ was born, the three wise men who came to offer him gifts were Ethiopians. The following is a quote from the Ethiopian Tewahedo Church, from whence Lidj Tafari Makonnen was baptized and given the Christian name Haile Selallie I meaning ‘might of the trinity’.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is he who was born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (St. Matthew 2:1) They were well informed through the prophets and through the scriptures that some great King would arise in Judea. Besides they were moved by divine guidance. They received special direction from heaven leading them to follow the star and to inquire at Jerusalem.

Archeologists and historians have tried to discover the origin of the Magi. One modern writer, Prof. A.V. Gutschmidt, tried to place the wise men as coming from Persian provinces but admitted that he was not quite sure. Many other commentators vaguely state that these wise men were “from the east.” Hans Holzer in his book Star of the East states that one of the Magi was Emperor of Ethiopia. He also named them Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar; Caspar as King of Afghanistan, Melchior as ruler in the Near East, and Balthasar as King of Ethiopia.

An article written by William Leo Hansbury and E. Harper Johnson concerning the wise men identified them as Caspar, King of Ethiopia, Melchior, King of Nubia, and Balthazar, King of Saba. There is a contradiction between Hans Holzer and these other two writers. However, Holzer, who believes the name Bazan gradually became Balthazar (Balthasar), seems closer to the truth. Aleqa Taye, an Ethiopian Historian, writes, “King Bazan ruled Ethiopia for 17 years, eight years before and nine years after Christ.”

Prof. August Dillman, a philologist, in his book Royal Ethiopian lists Ethiopian rulers from the time of the Queen of Sheba to the last period of King Bazan. He also states that during the eight years of the reign of Bazan, Christ was born.

The Archaeologist Littman discovered the tomb and relics of King Bazan and his family in Axum in 1904. From this he concluded that Bazan lived in the first century A.D. The inscription on the tomb was Sabaean. Thus the King who worshipped Christ was Bazan, Emperor of Ethiopia. This was the fulfillment of the prophecy of 68:31, “Ethiopia shall stretch forth her hands unto God.”

Another suggestion regarding the identity of the three wise men is represented thus:

“When the line of the King Menelik 1 of Ethiopia (Son of Queen Makeda and King Solomon) had sat upon the throne for thirty generations, one of the royal line, cousin to the King then reigning and a famed student of Wisdom of the Stars, by name Gazpor (in northern lands called Gaspard), beheld the shining of the strange star in the East, and on his dromedary, with his two Magi brethren, Melchior and Balthazar, came to Bethlehem to find the Savior of the world.” P. Wheeler, The Golden Legend of Ethiopia.

From this point of view it is not impossible to believe that all three wise men had come from one jurisdiction. History also recorded that during the time Christ was born; Ethiopia was inhabited by a powerful race of warriors who had also managed to bring parts of Southern Arabia and Asia under its control.

When Herod heard of the visit of the wise men, he summoned them privately and inquired diligently as to the time of the star’s appearance. His main reason was to pinpoint the age of the child. He pretended he wished for an opportunity to worship Him, but he really wanted to kill Him. He expected the Magi to return by way of Jerusalem, but they had special directions from God to keep away from Herod.

According to Matthews account, the arrival of the wise men was later than the birth of Christ. It was probably after the purification, which took place forty days after His birth. The flight into Egypt took place soon after the Magi’s departure, and the purification also took place before the flight into Egypt.

It has been suggested by most writers that Caspar brought gold, Melchior brought frankincense, and Balthazar’s gift was myrrh. Why should the King of Ethiopia bring a gift of myrrh to Christ when he could without any problem bring gold unless there may have been an arrangement as to what gift each should bring for the occasion?

It was traditional for Ethiopian Emperors to send gold with their gifts. When the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon, she took gold along with other gifts with her to Palestine. It is also possible that all three gifts had come from the jurisdiction of Ethiopia, since Ethiopia dominated several countries at that time, including Nubia and South Arabia. Therefore, in this regard, Hansbury and Harper Johnson also may be right.

Rastafarians celebrate Christmas but not in the western sense. Not on the 25th of December, assumed to be the exact day when the Messiah was born yet actually known to be just but a bluff. The former is a result of the slavery and colonialism imposed on Africans by the worst societies on earth.

Derived from pagan sun worshipping and a host of idolatry, the 25th day of December was and is still dedicated as the day when the sun is born. Significant only to residents of the Northern Hemisphere, the sun or solar and not the son of man changes route back to longer days and shorter nights. Due to the dominant cold winter experienced during this time, the return to more sunny days called for celebration.

In Denmark, game and especially reindeers were slaughtered to honour the sun god. Since this age old custom was long established, when Christianity dawned on these pagans they recruited it amongst their corrupted ways of life. One Santa Claus, hero or zero, had to bribe less advanced members of society from their massacring of innocent animals and unjustified merry making.

Not to mention, women were raped and transgressed at will. The same ecstatic hype present even to this date made it possible for participants to ignore morals just for a short while. From incest, group sex, homosexuality and all other forms of sexual immorality tolerated by the worst even to this date, were perpetuated on this glorified calendar date.

Considering that females honoured the goddess of fertility during the same period of time, all was well. Young women, single or married, and considering modern day standards, overzealous underage girls parade in the nude. Covered in blood symbolising fertility, they openly invited willing donors to help celebrate the birth of the sun. And of course such hot controversy is hidden by the ‘worst’, however the truth must be revealed.

Although no where near the orignal forms, the general lose of morals and exagerated thirst for merry making is still evident to this date. The so called festive holiday is plagued by fatal accidents of all sorts. Wealth and health is voluntarily lost. Simply stated, the devil quenches his thirst during these hollow days.

Comparing the western peverted copied version to the true original eastern version, individuals must chose the right way to go. The atrocities imposed on Africa by the west are yet to be cleansed and rid off. While such a process awaits, even more harm and injury continues. If Africa is to advance free from western hindrance, decolonisation of the mind and spirit is essential.

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