An Introduction to Ital: The Original Way of Man and Wombman

 Ital is the Rastafari Word for Vital, Natural, Pure, Unprocessed, JAH-Made - not MAN-made. It is one of the most important components of the RasTa trod and identity, being the way in which I and I love, purify and rejuvenate the land and ourselves - mind, body and Irit. Ital replaces "diet" as it contains the word "die." In fact, diet is what Babylon does, and Ital is what Rastafari live by.

Ital is the substance and essence of Eden - the First Creation - it represents the Earth and Creation or "Mother Nature" before the children of men learned the art of manipulating natural resources from the Watchers (the fallen angels who lusted after the daughters of mankind and created the Giant race such as Anak, Og, Goliath).

Think about the Garden of Eden at the time of Creation - it was a rain forest watered by four rivers, nestled in the heart of Afrika - the Nile Valley region - the land of Kham, Kush and Kemet. The animals were peaceful, and dwelled in harmony. The plants, trees, bugs and the birds were untouched, unharmed and allowed to flourish in a clean environment. Life was perfect, it was good. And in that perfection, was the circle of life, or the food chain - but flesh was not on that menu! "Adam and Eve" and the rest of the animals were given the green herbs as their "meat" their "daily bread." They were vegetarians, peace-dwellers.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day (Genesis 1:29-31 New King James Version).

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.  And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food....Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2: 8-9, 15-17)

Ital is therefore the original way of nourishment and eating, the cultural ideals of the First Peoples, who lived on spring water, fruits and fruit juices, vegetables, herbs, flowers, barks and roots. There were no "snacks" unless you count honey, and fruits like pineapple or berries. Nothing was prepackaged only preserved through natural processes. This way of living was natural to Man and Wombman, it was embedded in their DNA - there was no other way to survive but to till the land and reap the harvest of the fields, vineyards and gardens. 

(I often go outside of the "Holy Bible" or Ible, to find more information on the Hebrews and the True Way of Life for the Prophets, Priests and Kings - but also because the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is based upon more Spiritual Literature than the Ible - there are 81 books instead of 66, and there are also other texts that contribute to Eastern Church or oral traditions, like the original Torah, Apocrypha and Dead Sea Scrolls. There is also the Book of Jasher, and the Book of Jubilees, and the Forgotten Books of Eden - they hold all the family history of the Israelites from the time of Adam.)

The Book of Jubilees gives more insight on the day-to-day living at the time of Eden:

 And in the first week of the first jubilee, [1−7 A.M.]  Adam and his wife were in the garden of Eden for seven years tilling and keeping it, and we gave him work and we  instructed him to do  everything  that is suitable for tillage. And he tilled (the garden), and was naked and knew it not, and was not ashamed, and he protected the garden from the birds and beasts and cattle, and gathered its fruit,  and eat, and put aside the residue for himself and for his wife [and  put aside that which was being kept].    (The Book of Jubilees Chapter 3:15-16)

Although it was against the DNA or genetic make-up of Man and Wombman to kill and eat flesh, meat was introduced into the human diet very early on, as the sons of men and Giants multiplied in the Earth. At the time of Noah, the Earth was so far gone and defiled in its carnal obsessions such as flesh, blood, wine, adornment, sexual intercourse, idols and sacrifices; that all had to be destroyed. And after the flood, Noah and his tribe had to be fed - his three sons were married and had children already. As the animals multiplied, their offspring were taken as food to feed the growing nations. But with that taking, came the ritual of sacrifice - ones had to give thanks for the life of the animal, and ask its blessing before ending its life.  The Israelites were in Leviticus Chapter 11, given strict orders on what types of flesh were forbidden and allowed, clean and unclean to the body and Irit.

In today's world, Babylon, the ritual order and selection of flesh are lost traditions because the vanities and creativity of mankind have continuously developed new ideals and societies. Such progression keeps us moving farther and farther away from our true selves. Unclean meats like pork and shell-fish  are consumed daily with zeal -  but they [respectively] are heavily polluted with hormones and mercury and other sea pollutants, so though it may taste good, the long-term effects are tragic. And it is selfish to neglect the other living beings that are suffering too - habitats and animal species have been avidly destroyed era after era, as the world changed and shifted under the weight of population and economic growth. Mother Nature's population has significantly declined, She has lost many kinds of children.

Today, mankind has reached an all-time low (at least in my opinion), because it has taken that God-given Lordship over the Earth, too far. Man has wrought all kinds of abominations against his very own creation or nature or root. He transforms his sex and she her bodily proportions. All kinds of wild animals are hunted as "delicacies," killing off entire species. Forests like the Amazon are being destroyed day by day to provide paper, wood and other materials. Seas are polluted by oil, and fecal matter, while top soils are being eroded by toxic surface water run-off as more concrete structures go-up. Domesticated animals are raised in pens and injected with hormones which give them cancer. The bad soil and infected meats contribute to the cancers and other illnesses that men and women suffer from alike. Herbs are mixed with toxic chemicals to created medicines and vaccinations that fail to cure disease, and often make the body ill. Seeds are grafted to produce crops with their own built-in pesticides, and likewise carry little nutritional value. In fact, most soils, foods, medicines and toiletries today are poisonous to the skin and body, and have significantly reduced the lifespan of humans over the years. Years of using toxic products bring up all kinds of damage in older age. Food culture has also changed, and fresh produce which holds all the nutrients is cooked and killed, and made into a "side dish" instead of the main course.   "Fast food" is preferred to home-grown, home-cooked food, causing obesity and diabetes in young and old. The list of damages is endless, the Original Livity and Glory forgotten as the human race exists at sub-par, blinded by the shiny things, and pretty reflections.

I am sure I speak for Rastafari when I say that Babylon has changed the order of Man and Wombman, displacing Human Nature in pursuit of riches and development. 

And even though it seems impossible to pin-point, this fact-filled book by J. Herer, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" shows that most of the damage came when American businessmen decided to push their new products (nylon, cotton, GMOs, alcohol, tobacco) and ban personal cultivation of the hemp plant which once supplied all American family and military needs. Along with the oppression of the "Eighth Wonder of the World" governments rigorously controlled the production and distribution of crops with trade laws, the pharmaceutical market, and the divide of town and country, upper and lower class. 

But along with the loss of health and Original Tradition, comes the loss of Human I-Consciousness, Spirituality and Harmony with Creation. Bodies are ill, and so are the minds and the souls. All three components of man are clouded over by vanity, chemical addiction and the slave-like pursuit of meaningless things, and worship of people - celebrities - who are in fact portraying what is wrong and abominable. They are the new age idols. 

All of these realities contribute to the slave life and slave mentality or culture, that Rastafari breaks away from. Rastafari is a journey to building back the ancient connection to JAH in Mother Nature, and the freeing of the mind from idolatry and carnal lusts and vanities. Balance is returned, Rationale is embraced. The Return of the I-Consciousness comes when Man and Wombman find back their connection with the Ivine Earth, and the other elements of fire, Irit, air and water. Union with the elements is union with the Seven Sacred Chakras or Irit-Energy pathways, a marriage that heals the senses, mind and soul. That means that all processed, toxic, shelf foods and beauty products are "kicked to the curb." Ital says no to the vaccinations, the shampoos, conditioners, relaxers, lotions, tampons, the fake tans, the alcohol, the pharmaceuticals, birth control, the corporations, the moral indiscretions...

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My humble reasoning on Ital principles of Rastafari will continue as I branch into Ital recipes, the Alkaline Blood balance, the Nazirite and Tree of Life origins of Ital Livity.

Stay in touch and feel free to leave your contributions on Ital, there's an endless wealth of information out there and  this is the place to share it!

Bless!

Sistah Ila