Grounation Day (April 21) is an important
Rastafari
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of ...
holy day, second only to
Coronation Day Coronation Day is the anniversary of the coronation of a monarch, the day a king or queen is formally crowned and invested with the regalia.
By country
Cambodia
* Norodom Sihamoni - October 29, 2004
Ethiopia
* Haile Selassie I - November 2, 1930
...
(November 2). It is celebrated in honour of
Haile Selassie
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...
's 1966 visit to Jamaica.
Visit of Selassie to Jamaica
Haile Selassie had already met with several Rasta elders in
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
, and had allowed Rastafari and other
people of African descent
The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...
to settle on his personal land in
Shashamane
Shashamane ( om, Shashamannee, am, ሻሸመኔ) is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Oromia Region with a 2007 Census population of 100,454, but with an estimated 208,368 inhabitants in mid 2022; the town is known for its Rastafarian ...
.
Haile Selassie visited
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
on Thursday, April 21, 1966. Some 100,000 Rastafari from all over Jamaica descended on
Palisadoes Airport
Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
in
Kingston,
[Dread, The Rastafarians of Jamaica, by Joseph Owens ISBN] having heard that the man whom they considered to be God was coming to visit them. They waited at the airport playing
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
s and smoking large quantities of
marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
.
Today the Rastafari celebrate that Haile Selassie visited Jamaica on .
When Haile Selassie's
Ethiopian Airlines
Ethiopian Airlines (commonly referred to as Ethiopian; am, የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ, translit=Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā āyer menged), formerly ''Ethiopian Air Lines'' (EAL), is the flag carrier of Ethiopia, and is wholly owned by t ...
flight landed at the airport at , the crowd surrounded his plane on the
tarmac Tarmac may refer to:
Engineered surfaces
* Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902
* Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...
. The day had been overcast and stormy. After about half an hour, the door swung open and the emperor appeared at the top of the mobile steps. A deafening tumult was heard from the crowd, who beat
calabash
Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...
drums, lit firecrackers, waved signs, and sounded
Abeng
An Abeng is an animal horn or musical instrument in the language of the Akan people. The word ''abeng'' is from the Twi language in modern-day Ghana, it is a commonly used word in the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, and the instrument is associat ...
horns of the
Maroons
Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...
. All protocol was dropped as the crowd pressed past the security forces and onto the
red carpet
A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.
History
The earliest known reference to ...
that had been laid out for the reception. Selassie waved from the top of the steps; some interpreters have claimed that he shed tears, although this is disputed. He then returned into the plane, disappearing for several more minutes. Finally Jamaican authorities were obliged to request Ras
Mortimer Planno
Mortimo St George "Kumi" Planno, (6 September 1929, Cuba – 5 March 2006, Kingston, Jamaica) was a renowned Rastafari elder, drummer and a follower of the back-to-Africa movement founded in the 1910s by Marcus Garvey. He is best known as th ...
, a well-known Rasta leader, to climb the steps, enter the plane, and negotiate the Emperor's descent. When Planno reemerged, he announced to the crowd: "The Emperor has instructed me to tell you to be calm. Step back and let the Emperor land" After Planno escorted the African monarch down the steps, journalists were puzzled by Selassie's refusal to walk on the red carpet on the way to his limousine (hence ''grounation'',
Iyaric
Iyaric, also called Dread Talk, is a pseudo-dialect of English consciously created by members of the Rastafari movement. African languages were lost among Africans when they were taken into captivity as part of the slave trade, and adherents o ...
equivalent of ''foundation'', "uplifted" with the sound of the word ''ground'' in the sense of "making contact with the soil"). He was then driven to the
King's House, the residence of
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Clifford Campbell
Sir Clifford Clarence Campbell (28 June 189228 September 1991) was a Jamaican educator and politician who served as speaker of the House and President of the Senate. In 1962, after Jamaica achieved independence, he was appointed as the first ...
.
[White, p. 211.]
As a result of Planno's actions, the Jamaican authorities were asked to ensure that Rastafari representatives were present at all state functions attended by His Majesty, and Rastafari elders, including Planno and probably
Joseph Hibbert
Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert (1894 – September 18, 1986) was, along with Leonard Howell, Archibald Dunkley, and Robert Hinds, one of the first preachers of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica following the coronation of Ras Tafari as Emperor Haile ...
, also obtained a private audience with the Emperor, where he reportedly told them that they should not immigrate to Ethiopia until they had first liberated the people of Jamaica. This dictum came to be known as "liberation before
repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a thing or a person to its country of origin or citizenship. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as to the pro ...
". At a dinner held at the King's House, Rastas claimed that acting Jamaican Prime Minister
Donald Sangster
Sir Donald Burns Sangster ON GCVO (26 October 1911 – 11 April 1967) was a Jamaican solicitor and politician, and the second Prime Minister of Jamaica.
Early life
Donald Burns Sangster was born in Black River in the parish of St. Elizabe ...
had stamped his foot at Lulu, Haile Selassie's pet
chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to:
Places
*Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state
**Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state
**Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state
**Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state
**Chihuahua Mun ...
, who, they swore, had responded with the roar of a lion.
[White, p. 211]
Defying expectations of the Jamaican authorities, Selassie never rebuked the Rastafari for their belief in him as the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
. Instead, he presented the movement's faithful elders with gold medallions bearing the Ethiopian seal – the only recipients of such an honour on this visit.
Meanwhile, he presented some of the Jamaican politicians, including Sangster, with miniature coffin-shaped cigarette boxes.
Impact
Rita Marley
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, a ...
,
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
's wife, converted to the Rastafari faith after seeing Haile Selassie in his
motorcade
A motorcade, or autocade, is a procession of vehicles.
Etymology
The term ''motorcade'' was coined by Lyle Abbot (in 1912 or 1913 when he was automobile editor of the ''Arizona Republican''), and is formed after ''cavalcade'', playing off of ...
en route to the King's House. She claimed, in interviews and in her book ''No Woman No Cry'', that she had seen a ''
stigma'' on Haile Selassie's hand as he waved to the crowd, and was instantly convinced of his divinity.
For years afterward, Planno, who became a spiritual guru of
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
, would give out enlarged photographs of himself with the Emperor on the steps of the aeroplane.
The great significance of this event in the development of the Rastafari religion is that, having been outcasts in society, its adherents gained a measure of respectability for the first time. With Rasta having become acceptable,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music became commercially viable, leading in turn to the further global spread of Rastafarianism.
Haile Selassie is thought to have encouraged the Rastafari elders to learn about the
Ethiopian Orthodox
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
faith while in Jamaica, and in 1970, he dispatched Archbishop
Laike Mandefro to establish a mission in Jamaica. Mandefro was formally invited by
Joseph Hibbert
Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert (1894 – September 18, 1986) was, along with Leonard Howell, Archibald Dunkley, and Robert Hinds, one of the first preachers of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica following the coronation of Ras Tafari as Emperor Haile ...
, one of the original founders of the Rastafari Movement, to teach the Rasta community, and in 1971 Mandefro named Hibbert as a "Spiritual Organizer". During this time, Mandefro pointedly refused calls to demand that the Rastafari renounce their faith in Haile Selassie's divinity, and some 2,000 Rastas accordingly received Orthodox baptisms.
[Barry Chevannes, "The Apotheosis of Rastafari Heroes", in ''Religion, Diaspora and Cultural Identity'' by John W. Pulis, p. 345.]
Because of Haile Selassie's visit, April 21 is celebrated as Grounation Day. The "Abu Ye! Abu Ye Abu ye! Abu ye!" chant is an element of Grounation Day festivities.
References
{{Authority control
April observances
Rastafari