Bongo Papa Noel Dyer I (c. 1927 – 31 July 2000) was a Jamaican Rastafarian elder known within the movement as the man who "walked to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

" after hitchhiking there,Ethiopia - The Emperor's Birthday
/ref> becoming in 1965 one of the first Rastas to settle on the

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 Rastafari ...

land granted in 1948 by the Rastafarian messiah, and Emperor of Ethiopia,

Haile Selassie I 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 ('' ...

. His story is featured prominently in ''The Emperor's Birthday'', the 1993 documentary by John Dollar. By Papa Dyer's own account, he was converted to Rastafari after seeing

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 ...

speak in 1959. Like many young

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 ...

ns at the time, Dyer made his way to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1961 (aboard a Spanish ship), but unlike those who had preceded him, his intention was not to remain there, but to travel on to Africa, namely the free land at Shashamane that had been promised to West Indians by Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1948. He stayed for about three years in England, before deciding that he had had enough of the 'belly of the beast'. In 1964, he decided to leave 'Babylon' for his spiritual homeland, Ethiopia, with only five pounds, five shillings and five-and-a-half pence in his pocket. It took him around 1 year to reach his destination. He did not literally "walk", but hitch-hiked through

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and Sudan, before arriving 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 ...

in September 1965. At Addis, Dyer was granted an audience with Emperor Haile Selassie I at his Jubilee Palace. There, he says the Emperor personally told him, "Be at home in the Jubilee Palace. Make yourself at home, like when it was in Jamaica. Everything will be all right." The following day, he made his way to Shashamane with all the documents needed for residence and a position with the Imperial Highway Authority. He was preceded there by only one other Rastafari elder, brother

Gladstone Robinson Gladstone Robinson (24 January 1943 – 8 January 2010) was a Jamaican cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, eac ...

of the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), who had flown to Ethiopia in June, 1964.

References

External links

Noel Dyer Clips from "The Emperor's Birthday", at official website for the Niyabinghi Order
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Noel Jamaican Rastafarians 1920s births 2000 deaths Converts to the Rastafari movement Jamaican emigrants to Ethiopia