Emperor Haile Selassie Ethiopian Painting Lion of Judah Jah Rastafari Antique

Description: A great oil on canvas measuring 27.5x33.5 inches of Haile Selassie c1960-70's by an artist M.L. Morrison. The painting has some white marks and some holes at the top of the canvas which appear to be original to the piece but i am not sure. The painting is very vibrant and is signed by the artist lower right and titles lower left. aile Selassie is one of the most bizarre and misunderstood figures in 20th-century history, alternately worshipped and mocked, idolised and marginalised. This magnificent biography by the German-Ethiopian historian Asfa-Wossen Asserate (a distant relation of Selassie), and translated by Peter Lewis, is diligently researched and fair-minded; he is at last accorded a proper dignity. The book is manifestly a riposte to Ryszard Kapuscinski’s The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat, which portrayed the emperor, and indeed Addis Ababa’s entire Amharic elite, as a comic-opera laughing stock. Selassie came to power as regent of Abyssinia, later Ethiopia, in 1916, but many of the myths around him originated with Mussolini’s invasion of the country in 1935. Selassie and his armies resisted, but he was eventually forced into exile. In 1941, after six years of brutal occupation, the Italians were defeated by British and South African forces and Selassie was allowed to return to his throne in Addis Ababa, where he remained in power until 1974. Sign up for the Bookmarks email Read more One unexpected side-effect of the plunder of Selassie’s sub-Saharan state by a fascist power was to give Jamaica’s fledgling Rastafari movement impetus and a cause. The invasion became a dominant event in the Rastafarian narrative of black martyrdom. Selassie was seen as a manifestation of the one true God and a bulwark against “Babylon” (oppressive colonial society). The movement took its name from Selassie’s pre-coronation title, Ras Tafari Makonnen. The Rastafarian movement was not the only radical current in Jamaica to co-opt Selassie. Marcus Garvey, the Jamaican apostle of black liberation, had condemned the ruler as a “great coward” for fleeing Mussolini’s troops in 1935, yet went on to dub him the “black Christ” of his Back to Africa movement. Inspired by Garvey, and believing in Ethiopia as the one true “Zion”, during the 50s and 60s some 2,500 West Indians and African Americans went to live in the vicinity of Addis Ababa, in what is now Shashamane village. Only 300 of their number are believed to remain today. There is a wonderful chapter on Jamaica here, in which Asserate recreates Selassie’s historic visit to Kingston in April 1966. A large crowd of Rastafarians swarmed the airport and banners showing the Ethiopian Lion of Judah rippled amid clouds of ganja smoke. Converging around the Ethiopian plane even as the propellers were turning, they sang praise to their god in human form, who they believed had come to redeem his Jamaican brethren. The impact of Selassie’s four-day state visit endured for many years, inspiring poems and songs – one of which, “Rasta Shook Them Up”, by Peter Tosh, contained introductory words in Amharic, the Ethiopian language. Bob Marley, like Tosh, his fellow Wailer, believed that Selassie was a reborn messiah. The irony was that the emphasis placed by Rastafari on dietary laws and ganja-inspired “reasoning” of Old Testament scriptures was quite alien to the conservative Selassie, who was at pains to deny his status as the Rastafari Pope Almighty. Meanwhile, the Ethiopian royal family promoted myths of its own, particularly its vaunted descent from King Solomon, the legendary third king of Israel. Selassie proclaimed himself a collateral descendent of Solomon’s wife, the Queen of Sheba (who may or may not have come from present day Yemen). Yet for all the dizzying Semitic connections, Asserate reminds us, Ethiopia converted to Christianity in the fourth century AD, when the Ark of the Covenant was allegedly transferred there from southern Egypt. The Old Testament casket, lined with gold to accommodate the two tablets of the Ten Commandments, is said to reside today in the church of St Mary of Zion, near the Eritrean border. The evidence for Ethiopia’s Semitic past is far from watertight (Rider Haggard made much of it in his schoolboy hokum, King Solomon’s Mines). But some believed that Selassie was the saviour whose coming had been foretold in the Old Testament. The belief was aided, Asserate notes, by the emperor’s “pure Semitic” features and “sphinx-like dignity”. Selassie projected an image of himself as a paternalistic ruler. His ambition was to found a dynasty and “modernise” his country’s feudal system through a forward-looking (if paradoxially absolute) monarchy. His coronation in 1930 – attended by Evelyn Waugh, who Asserate describes as a “notorious sneerer” – drew ridicule for its display of sumptuously plumed and gold-braided uniforms and other regalia. Yet in lampooning Selassie as a tinpot Caesar, Waugh and other critics rather missed the point. The Napoleonic hats and gowns were part of Selassie’s vision of a parallel world equal to that of the white man. Why should the European powers have all the pomp and ceremony? Advertisement More contentious was Selassie’s tolerance of slavery. Most people-traffickers under his regime were Muslims, who converted their captives to Islam. As a condition of Ethiopia’s entry into the League of Nations, Selassie was required to eradicate the trade. He did what he could, and Ethiopia was admitted in 1923. Yet chattel servitude was not entirely eradicated. Bondsmen employed at the Addis Ababa palace were often actually “proud” of their position, writes Asserate. Slavery had long been a part of such African nation states as Dahomey, Oyo, and the Niger city-states. With his unbending antipathy to any kind of social reform, from the 1950s onwards Selassie became out of touch and indifferent to the suffering of his people. When his 60-year rule ended, the subsequent “Red Terror” under President Mengistu, combined with Ethiopia’s border dispute with Eritrea, has left the African nation state depleted and corrupt. King, God or Redeemer? In collaboration withProfessor Ellis CashmoreStaffordshire University Think about Rastafari and you’ll immediately conjure images of the charismatic reggae master Bob Marley and his headful of swirling dreadlocks. Marley is certainly a Rastafari icon, but there is another man at the heart of the Jamaican movement. He is Ras Tafari: that was the birth name of Ethiopia's 225th and last emperor, who was born on 23 July 1892, and took the regal name Haile Selassie I when he was crowned. For Rastas, he is God (or Jah) incarnate - the redeeming messiah. Nearly 8,000 miles separate Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and Kingston, Jamaica, but a link between them was forged by a number of poor black Jamaicans who believed Ras Tafari’s coronation was the fulfillment of a prophecy and that he was their redeemer, the messiah written of in the Bible’s Book of Revelation: “King of Kings, Lord of lords”. They believed he would arrange for a deliverance, which, as they saw it, involved a miraculous transformation. They would be spirited away from their lives of poverty in the Caribbean and relocated in Africa, the land of their ancestors and their spiritual epicentre. 2. From Ras Tafari to Haile Selassie Emperor Selassie uncovers a statue in his honour at his coronation in Addis Ababa. This video has no sound. Tafari was a son of a chief adviser to Emperor Menelik IIl, one of Ethiopia's greatest rulers. Since childhood, his intelligence impressed the Emperor, who facilitated his political career. When in 1930 Menelik II's daughter Empress Zauditu died, Tafari was crowned emperor. Haile Selassie's coronation was a lavish event attended by royals and representatives from all over the world. The New York Times reported on the expensive gifts received by the attendees and speculated that the celebrations may have cost more than $3,000,000. Time Magazine dedicated its iconic cover to the Emperor: it was a world sensation. Soon after his coronation, Haile Selassie gave Ethiopia its first written constitution, which greatly restricted the powers of Parliament. Effectively, he was the Ethiopian government. Succession to the throne was restricted to his descendants and, the constitution stated, "the person of the Emperor is sacred, his dignity inviolable, and his power indisputable." But in Jamaica, Haile Selassie was becoming more than the name of a powerful emperor. 3. Marcus Garvey and the vision of Africa Marcus Garvey in 1924 APIC/Getty Images Marcus Garvey in 1924 “Look to Africa when a black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliverance is near.” This was the prophecy that started it all. The prophecy was Marcus Garvey’s. Garvey was a Jamaican activist who campaigned for political and social change on an island that had been an important centre for slavery. After the slave trade was abolished in 1833 and Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed "all persons held as slaves", life did not improve dramatically for ex-slaves, their children and successive generations of black people. It's unclear whether the “black king” Marcus Garvey had referred to was an actual person; more likely, he meant it as a symbolic figure. But, when news of Haile Selassie's coronation in 1930 reached Jamaica, many of Garvey’s followers made what seemed to them a logical link. Ras Tafari was the king, and so the day of deliverance was imminent. That meant they should prepare themselves for an exodus to Africa. Although Marcus Garvey was never actually a Rastafarian, he is considered to be one of the religion's prophets, as his ideals heavily shaped the Rastafarian philosophy. Only a few years after Haile Selassie's coronation, Ethiopia became involved in a terrible war. 4. War in Ethiopia An Abyssinian soldier aims a gun, in the image below Emperor Selassie arrives in Jamaica. Popperfoto/Getty Images Top image: An Abyssinian soldier operates an anti-aircraft gun during the Italian invasion in 1936. Bottom image: Emperor Selassie arrives in Jamaica in 1966. In 1935, Benito Mussolini's troops invaded Ethiopia and, in 1936, Haile Selassie fled in exile with his family. That year, he delivered a famous speech to the League of Nations in Geneva, appealing for help to fight the invaders. Although during that time he tried to raise awareness for the Ethiopian cause in Europe, Selassie spent five years away from his country. He stayed mainly at Bath's Fairfield House, but he also briefly stayed in London - a time that is commemorated by a bust in the city's Cannizaro Park - and in Malvern, in Worcestershire. Marcus Garvey heavily criticised him for leaving his own countrymen at the mercy of Italy. Haile Selassie reinstituted his powers as emperor in 1941, with support from Britain. Visit to Jamaica On April 21, 1966, Haile Selassie visited Jamaica. This was 36-years after his coronation and the enthusiasm of Rastas was undimmed. There was now a new generation of Rastas, many of whom still harboured the vision of an African exodus. Haile Selassie was overwhelmed by the rapturous reception. He did nothing to dispel thoughts of his divine status. By this time, Garvey had died and his criticism of Haile Selassie forgotten in Jamaica. But around the world, the jury was not unanimous. Although he wanted to project the image of a progressive emperor, he faced accusations of being a greedy dictator. Among the rapturous crowds who turned out to honour their redeemer was the wife of a 21-year-old Jamaican musician. He had just formed a band called the Wailers and his name was Robert Nesta Marley. Witness: Haile Selassie's visit to Jamaica 5. The Rastaman cometh Bob Marley performing in Brighton in 1980. Redferns/Getty Images Bob Marley on stage at Brighton Leisure Centre, 1980 Bob Marley was arguably the most influential Rasta in history. He never claimed to be a prophet, though his songs had a prophetic character; and he was never a leader, though his many followers treated him as one. Marley and his band the Wailers, in 1973, released their album Catch a Fire. Two years later the album Natty Dread sold well internationally. Both records were loaded with Rasta symbols and motifs, prompting music fans to ask questions about their meanings. By the time of the release of Rastaman Vibration in 1976, there were Rastas in practically every British city and in many parts of North America. Young black people had fashioned their hair into the long coiled dreadlocks, as worn by Marley, were carrying what were called prayer sticks (i.e. walking canes) and wearing clothes in the colours of the Ethiopian flag, green, yellow and red, usually with the addition of black. While their parents were, in the main, Christians, young blacks in places like London, Birmingham and Manchester, were drawn to a different theology, which incorporated a political critique. All around them they saw evidence of Babylon, personified in the police, but were guided by an image of deliverance in the form of Africa. 6. I and I A Rastafarian stands next to a banner of Haile Selassie. Kingston, Jamaica. Getty Images A Rastafarian stands next to a banner of Haile Selassie in Kingston, Jamaica. Famine and revolution Back at home, things took a turn for the worse for Emperor Selassie. In 1973, a terrible famine killed approximately 200,000 Ethiopians, mostly in Wollo province. Only a year later, the Derg, a group of army officers with a Marxist agenda, overthrew Haile Selassie in a military coup. Sick and imprisoned, he died in 1975. 'Lies of Babylon' Haile Selassie's death was described by his followers as his 'disappearance', since they refused to believe he had passed away. And when the subject came up, the phrase 'lies of Babylon' was frequently used in the Rasta community. Many Rastas believed the white-dominated structure they called Babylon had propagated a falsehood in an attempt to undermine the then fast-growing Rastafarian movement. Others discounted the news by pointing out that Jah (the Rasta name for God) had temporarily occupied the earthly body of Haile Selassie. The passing of Haile Selassie’s body was merely a sign that Jah was not just a human being but also a spirit. A third interpretation and the one most Rastas adhere to, concerns the concept I and I: this refers to the essential unity of all humanity; we may inhabit different human bodies, but we are all spiritually united. Haile Selassie may have gone, but to see him as a single deity misunderstands the meaning of Rastafari: his spirit lies in all of us and can’t be extinguished. From birth, we are all ephemeral bodies, but our souls live on.

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