- Jamaica has many Rastafarians, in short 'Rasta'. Rastas are people of a local religion that has become very popular internationally.
- Rastafarians are members of a Jamaican messianic movement dating back to the 1930s. According to the Rastafarian belief, the only true God is the late Ethiopian emperor HAILE SELASSIE (originally known as Ras Tafari), and Ethiopia is the true Zion. Rastafarians claim that white Christian preachers and missionaries have perverted the Scriptures to conceal the fact that Adam and Jesus were black. Their rituals include the use of marijuana, Nyahbingi drumming and the chanting of revivalist hymns. Reggae Music is the popular music of the movement. The Rastafarians, who stress black separatism, have exercised some political influence in Jamaica.
- The Rastas are unique to most tourists as they have very long hair in a 'Dreadlock Style'.

 Below are video clips of an elder rasta by the name Iyah V in an interview regarding rasta and music in particular Reggae and his involvement in Bob Marley Birthday Bash over the years. Iyah V speak on behalf of  rasta culture and movement at the 2013 press launch of the Bob Marley Birthday Bash.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Eap7Pp7lqs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PhFf1sHHdA&list=LLNPR2p3sPI28HXgAY9FiaMw&feature=mh_lolz

About Bob Marley:
- Bob Marley is one of the most famous and popular Rastafarian. He is the undisputed King of Reggae Music.
- Singer-songwriter-guitarist, Bob Marley, b. Robert Nesta Marley in St. Ann, Jamaica, Feb. 6, 1945, d. May 11, 1981, took Reggae out of Jamaica and disseminated it to the world in 1964. Marley formed his vocal group the Wailers (then Wailin' Wailers or Wailin' Rudeboys), which included Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingstone, both of whom went on to enjoy solo careers. Their first hit, "Simmer Down", was followed by a string of Caribbean chart-toppers, and by 1972 the group had recorded four Jamaican albums. In 1967, Marley converted to the Rastafarian religion, which became a dominant theme in his music. Marley became a songwriter for Johnny Nash in 1972, giving him the first reggae-flavored international hit with "Stir It Up!" Bob Marley and the Wailers' critically acclaimed American debut album Catch a Fire, and its follow up, Burnin' (which contained the subsequent hits "Get Up, Stand Up" and "I Shot the Sheriff" - popularized by Eric Clapton), were both released in 1973. Later albums including Natty Dread (1975), Rastaman Vibration (1976), and Uprising (1981), won Marley international audiences. His work influenced countless reggae and pop artists in the United States and Britain, where reggae remains especially popular.

Rasta Links:

Rasta Links: Lots & Lots & Lots Of Links

Dread History: Dread History: The African Diaspora, Ethiopianism, and Rastafari

Jah Rastafari: Jah Rastafari Haile Selassie I Ethiopia

The Afrocentric Experience: Lots of info. on The Rastafarian Movement

Ras Adam's Haile Selassie/Rastafari Links: A Whole Lot of Links In No Particular Order