ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter broaches the topic of group identity for Rastafari adherents. It explores what the characteristics of the group identity that are imparted to an adherent of the movement are, and whether these characteristics vary/differ significantly when one moves from mansion to mansion for the movement. The chapter also takes a fairly in-depth look at the theoretical perspectives that pertain to notions of group identity and self-identity. The chapter further looks at positive Black identity formation. The fundamental, philosophical, and ideological orientation of the Rastafari movement is firmly rooted in the concept of the African diaspora as a displaced populace, whose homeland and geographical base is Africa. Rastafari adherents located outside the continent of Africa generally see themselves as displaced Africans, and, in many specific cases, as Ethiopian Israelites. The chapter shows how positive, autonomous group-identity formation achieved within the framework of Pan-Africanism, Ethiopianism, or even Black Nationalism.
