Becoming Rasta: Origins of Rastafari Identity in Jamaica

An exploration into why and how Jamaicans become Rastafari in spite of increasing incrimination of the religion.

So much has been written about the Rastafari, yet we know so little about why and how people join the movement. Although popular understandings evoke images of dreadlocks, reggae, and marijuana, Rastafarians were persecuted in their country, becoming a people seeking social justice. Yet new adherents continued to convert to Rastafari despite facing adverse reactions from their fel...