ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on how the Rastafari movement has been globalized ever since its emergence in Jamaica. It considers all of the major mechanisms through which the culture, political ideology and spiritual ethos of the movement has been transmitted and instituted in various parts of the globe. It is found that the movement has been globalized via what may be considered the Jamaican Diasporic phenomenon. Wherever there have been large migrations of Jamaicans, (ostensibly to England, the United States and Canada), Jamaican Rastafari who have been part of these migrations have established Rastafari communities in those host countries. Additionally, the movement has been globalized through Reggae music which has acted as a vehicle for the transmission of its worldview. There has also been globalization of the movement through various Rastafari missions, whereby renowned Jamaican Rastafari leaders have spread Rastafari culture by visiting various parts of the globe.