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Published: January 3rd 2023
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I wrote about the Rastafari Community Development Office of Mombasa
in an earlier blog post. This is a cooperative community-service project with a lot of history behind it and great personal meaning for all of us involved. Essentially, it is a community library in combination with a connections center and a community shop.
All of the books at the RCDOM have come from one of three sources:
• Those I shipped or carried over from the USA
• Those acquired locally by Ras Franklin and Ras Simba
• Those shared with us by the Kenya Libraries Association
While the books acquired by the Rases in Kenya and provided through the Libraries partnership cover a general subject matter--ranging from Islamic studies to technical-school training manuals--those that I have either shipped or carried with me are all specifically selected for their applicability to the Rastafari movement.
Here are a few selections that I’d like to highlight:
Haile Selassie I’s Ethiopia
This is an excellent book from Dejazmatch Kwasi Bonsu telling the story of the birth of Tafari Makonnen (later Haile Selassie I) and the history of Ethiopia & Africa up until that fateful day in 1892 (western calendar).
Africa on the Move
This contains reports from Nana Farika Berhane on the Pan-African congresses she attended over a 50-year timespan, as well a collection of her own poetry.
Itations of Jamaica and I Rastafari, vols 1-3
These 3 books blew my mind with their visual representation of Rastafari creative expansiveness. Every page is a collage of photographs, color blocks, African flags, textures, objects, and psychedelic explosions. The writing is a mixture of dub poetry, Bible verses, Reggae lyrics, Nyabinghi chants, quotations, and journalistic reporting. Powerful.
The Herbal Manual
An early edition of Honorable Priest Kailash's manual of Caribbean (African/Global) herbs and their uses as food and/or medicine.
Tried & True
Rastafari book publisher Dutty Bookman's autobiographical account of returning to Jamaica after University with a mission to kickstart a cultural revolution.
The Rise of Rastafari
Host of The Black Books Show, Makonnen Sankofa, penned this book summarizing the history of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica and abroad.
Vantage Point Zines
A series of 4 zines (mini magazines), each paying tribute to an important person or event in Black history and African liberation.
- Malcolm X Tribute Paper
- German Coast Uprising
- Marcus Mosiah Garvey
Tribute Paper
- Bantu Stephen Biko Tribute Paper
Incient Testimony of Bongo Tawney
The personal testimony of Rastafari Ancient and priest of the Nyahbinghi Order, Bongo Tawney, sharing his perspective on the trod of Rastafari that he walked in Jamaica and on other shores from the 1930s into the 21st century.
Incient Wisdom: Coral Gardens Atrocity 1963
A series of personal, eye-witness accounts from survivors of the Coral Gardens Atrocity in 1963, when the government of Jamaica ordered all Rastas to be brought in dead or alive.
Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey
There are two versions of this book at the library: a faithful reprinting from the original that includes all original photographs and facsimiles of documents, as well as a special collector's edition--with a more attractive formatting and some very worthwhile introductions and prefaces--that loses some of the original images and documents and has numerous typographical errors.
Life in Gambia
Another book from The Black Books Show's Makonnen Sankofa that tells his own personal story of repatriation to Africa and his settlement in Gambia.
Doctrines of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
These are printouts from an official Ethiopian Church document that we
are offering for sale as well as for study in the library. They explain the basic doctrines of the E.O.T.C. for the personal edification of Rastafari sons and daughters as well as for defense against the parasitic missionaries who like to vilify and attack the Rastafari.
Nyahbinghi Guidelines & Chantbook
For those interested in the Nyahbinghi Order, this booklet explains basic elements of the livity and includes many of the most popular chants. Available for purchase as well as for study at no charge.
Nyahbinghi Chants from the Centenary of HIM
An additional booklet of Nyahbinghi chants, which is available to study free of charge, or to purchase at an affordable price for Kenyans.
Various documents of the Ethiopia African Black International Congress
These documents are currently available only for study in the library, but can be reproduced at special request. They include the King-ciples of the Bobo Shanti Order (Ethiopian African Black International Congress), the 4-point repatriation agenda, and the history of the early life of King Emmanuel (Charles Edwards).
Commercial Code of the Empire of Ethiopia, 1960
This rare Ethiopian law book from the reign of Haile Selassie I comes to us from the
Kenyan Libraries Association. I'd like to highlight it because of the powerful words of its introduction, teachings of His Imperial Majesty that are unlikely to be found printed elsewhere, as well as its elucidation of legal principles that arise from Ethiopia's long tradition of human dignity.
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