Words of Advice for the Seeking Dawtas

Hail all Dawtas of His and Her Imperial Majesties JAH RasTafari!

Give thanks and Ises for life health and strength to carry on each and every day no matter the trial or tribulation!

I wanted to give an Iditation for the Dawtas who are new to RasTafari, who are coming into this Livity because they are in love with a man who says he is a RasTa man, who want to know how to please him, what he expects and how they should act and dress as a RasTa Wombman. This post is ideally a review of reasonings I made a while back about Marriage and Livity…

If there is one truth that I think InI can all agree upon, it is that “every man do his thing a little but different,” if you know the reggae. And even though InI may all call ourselves RasTafari, and may know the same principles and guidelines and share similar ideals, InI are never the same. Though InI all can access the same information on the Order whether it is from elders or in books or on sites such as RasTa Wifeline – when it comes to Livity and marriage between one and one, raising the youths and so on, every man do his thing a little bit different. And from that, a Dawta must know that what she is really seeking to know is how to balance the cultural ideals of RasTafari with what works for her and her kingman in their own personal space. This is realistic, because no one as much as they would like to believe, follows the Tenets and Livity perfectly. A Dawta must see that she can take a word sound from books like the Bible and Feta Nagast, she can observe the Livity of others, she can take a reasoning from another sistren; but at the end of the day, a Dawta must pay attention to her own man and how he does his thing. How she must please him, is based on what he likes and what his personality responds to. 

How does he do his thing? Is he an honest man, does he live up to his word, does he only do things to get a reward from you? Is he a hard worker, and does he deal fairly with people and money? How does he keep his space and his possessions? What does he like to do in his free time? What are his friends like? What are the kinds of things that he would say, and truly mean? How does he do his thing? Is it a positive energy or negative most of the time? What makes him angry? What makes him happy? How does he respond to stress or ignorance? 

And to a Dawta I would say have a serious heart to heart with yourself: Do you really feel in your gut that you can trust him with your life and heart? Oftentimes, at heart we feel that certain moves another makes doesn’t rest well with us, and we ignore that feeling that something wasn’t right with them, until “the shit hits the fan.” Then when everything is a mess you decide to be real with yourself that you should have known better. Too many Dawtas experience this feeling of not listening to themselves or listening to the pattern or history of the man they wish to be with. Don’t overlook the warning signs just because a bredren can deliver knowledge or is charismatic. Men in general have a tendency to always get what they want by any means necessary in this day and age, and women need to be more mature about who they allow to take possession of their mind and heart and body. SERIOUSLY> InI are the ones left with the babies to raise alone and the cycle must stop! 

There are so many things to consider about the person you think you are spending your life with, and it is important overall, to know and consider these things about yourself, ask yourself these questions, think about what you put out there, and how you are treated by others> What are their opinions of you? What are your weaknesses or flaws? What or who do you need to leave behind in your old life as you enter in RasTafari Royalty? Are you moving on and making a new kingdom and is he? Do you think that you can represent this man as his queen, and do you think he represents you well as your king? How well can and will you serve him and the princes and princesses of your womb? Have you talked about this, and what kind of parent will he make for your children? How do you think you both will manage the stresses of parenthood?

Knowing how to serve your kingman and be good wife is ideally all wrapped up in the two of you and how hard you love one another, care for one another and truly raspect one another, edify one another. So to please a man or to be a wife, a wombman needs to really figure out how he operates and how she responds, how she operates and how he responds. Is there a true companionship, a true gelling of souls? 

It is important to really be with someone who you know would give his life to protect you and his children. You should feel confident and secure that he is a true man of honour like Emperor Haile Sellassie I. If you want to really see a Man of Morality, take in the book called The Mission and the many many photographs of the King and see how He carried His family with Him always and was very close with them, how they were His life as much as Ethiopia. In exile He relied on family to keep HIM going because They faced racism and poverty in Britain and from Italy and other countries. He never left them behind in any way and did His best to ensure that they were well taken care of and stayed on the moral path. A kingman therefore at his lowest point, can rest assured that when he has been treating his family with love all along, he knows that he can rely on them for anything in his time of need. The yutes and a beautiful kind wife will be his treasure and joy.

Empress Menen also teaches through Her lifetime that a wife must be the confidante and best friend of her King. She must be the one who is his deputy, his MVP. She will never reveal his secrets. Who remembers what he might forget, who boosts his confidence and treats him kindly and raspects his wishes. The Empress shared Her King’s vision and She worked hard alongside Him and saw them come to fruition, as One. A Dawta likewise should embrace the motherly attention that her kingman needs from her even though she is his woman and not his mother or maid, by ensuring the homespace is clean, sacred and well stocked and prepared for her king. It is His sanctuary, where he does his resting, deep thinking, relaxing, planning, and love-making. It must be the place he longs to be when he isn’t there, to see the people who make him the happiest in life. and it his duty to ensure that his castle is being kept well, that what needs repairing gets fixed. A Dawta will clean but when things get broken she wants her king to take charge of the home. Keep your sanctuary in running order. Dawtas, choose a king who takes pride in his appearance and his environment.

I find it also helps to be realistic and accept that how your kingman “does his thing” may not always be perfect, and in the cleanest or most organized or successful or efficient way. No one is perfect at all, so it is good to know whether you can live with someone as they are, and be willing to pick up the slack for them and not be judgmental about it for the rest of your life – or not. No one can live up to all your expectations and it is good to recognize and love them for what they do give you and what they try to fulfil. It is good to separate harmless flaws from dangerous or wicked intentions. 

It is also good to be with someone who is willing to give you everything they can and whom you feel to give your all as well. It isn't everyday all the time that we can do this, because InI all have highs and lows, but truly our general acts of partnership should be willing and abundant. Often I find it better to learn to pick our battles and to allow others the same freedoms we want for ourselves – mainly to be who we are and to be free to be imperfect with overstanding from others. People can mature and change over time but it has to be genuinely their own evolution, it cannot be forced upon them. Being with Someone who inspires you to grow and who also grows strong and wise in this way is a marriage that will be firm forever! 

Now I know that aside from these things, when most Dawtas are seeking Fari Livity they just generally want to know the tradition of the RasTafari Wife, or the “Orthodoxy of RasTafari,” meaning the tenets and way of life that is specific to InI. They want to know so they can be authentic, and can be especially on the physical level, a true empress for their king. They also want to know what he will expect from them, and more importantly, why he expects all these changes and restrictions on their part. And Most Of All-All they want to know how to fit in when they go to a Yard for Binghi or Gathering or Groundation. The need to blend and be accepted by a kingman's people is a very intense and urgent need that often rushes the process of rising into RasTafari. InI end up doing things, and letting go of things because InI don't want to be judged or outcast.

Some Dawtas are smart enough to know they their king doesn’t know enough about Dawta Livity, so they must find out through others. This generally leads ones to Mansion Livity, to the more religious traditions that have shaped the way RasTafari man and woman interact in the home and at groundings.

On this website I have provided reasoning on what I have been taught to be the foundation principles of RasTafari through elder Bobo priests and their wives. I have included however, a more detailed look at these principles with I have learned through diligent study of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures the Holy Bible – KJV, Aprocrypha – Good News Translation, the Gnostic Book of the Holy Twelve, Book of Peace, the Ethiopian Book of Jubilees, the Book of Jasher, the Kebra Nagast and Feta Nagast and so on. 

My scope is therefore not limited to the Bible but generally is aimed to prove the “Ethiopian-Hebrew” or Judeo-Christian roots of both Ethiopia and RasTafari in the Caribbean, to show how much RasTafari has aligned theologically and culturally to the Biblical and Ethiopian Israelites or Jews or Christians, and how much Emperor Haile Sellassie I fulfills all prophecies of the King of Judah or Messianic Redeemer. All in All RasTafari have seen a true and clear connection and thus adopted the “Joseph” or “Ephraim” or “scattered” “exiled” Ten Tribe of Israel tradition which appoints the Head of Judah to lead the way back home. Or it could be as it is in my opinion that there was only ever truly a historical House of Yehuda or Judah in the olden days, which is said to have moved to Palestine from India, or that the names of Indian places were used to write the Bible. 

In this tradition InI see ourselves as the lost sheep who have been found (fulfilled April 1966) and reclaimed to New Jerusalem the “New Flower” (repatriation to the landgrant of Shashemene and the EWF,by seat of the throne Addis Abeba), by the Root of David King Selah. In acknowledging I-Majesty’s strong Judeo-Christian background and livity, as detailed in the Feta Nagast and Bible,  means that the identity of this religion has a huge part to play in how RasTafari Dawtas act and dress and how they are treated by their husbands. Empress Menen has always served, alongside of Ethiopian and Afrikan wombman as the Ideal in which InI Dawtas of captivity reclaim the Afrikan Identity. 

So if one is looking to know how to be RasTafari Wife in the Judeo-Christian sense that it would serve to read the Old Testament, namely Genesis to Deuteronomy, and the Pauline Books namely 1 Corinthians, also 3 Colossians, 1 Timothy. I have listed a number of other Biblical verses that I have condensed at the top of the Blog in various posts.

So in terms of what a Dawta can learn about being a RasTafari Empress or Queen or Princess or Dawta or Wombman or Sistren, or whatever you want to say, I can offer a lot of the patriarchal Judeo-Christian traditional outlooks and views that I have been exposed to over the past eight years. I believe that these principles detailed by the books of Moses and Paul can help a man and woman to live a cleaner and more grounded life in terms of morals and values. I believe ones can get a good overstanding of ungodly versus godliness from the Scriptures,- that means one can build up a conscience, a moral foundation by learning to refrain from a lot of "lusts of the flesh" which cause problems in our relations, because I and I all have them! 

But no matter how much law you follow -  it is up to every Dawta and Bredren to really be accountable for self, and deal with a good heartical vibes over all - cause even the righteous can fall into sin - the only way not to sin is to have an abundance of love and right thoughts. InI must be aware that knowing the rules of the Bible does not really equate to being righteous or good or happy; and the Bible because of the example of JAH RasTafari, cannot be allowed as a platform to oppress a wombman in the home or in the marriage.

Following all the rules of wearing long skirts, headwraps, or no makeup and jewelry and nailpolish and no pants and so on, will on the outside make any I look like a royal beautiful queen of Afrika, it will present an Identity for the Rastafari Queen that she deserves as Afrikan Royalty. But InI must "render the heart not the garments" as Rastas are known to say in this debate. InI have to have nboth Identity and a Humble Attitude of peace and love and raspect and truth.  And I have learned from my own growth that it is the countenance of a Dawta that will truly shine forth this way as the Light of the Emperor and Empress of Ethiopia and all other Ankhcestars.

As it says in Proverbs 31, a Virtuous Wife is known by her good works and words. It is the good words and works of a Dawta at home and in her community that will truly set her upon a throne of Life. The rules and tenets are there as guidelines to separate InI from the follies of Babylon, they are there to guide us out of indiscretion, but they must be used with WiseMind, they must be overstood heartically and not forced upon anyone. This I have learned because I feel like all the laws a Dawta is forced to keep, and then InI don't take the time to focus on the morality side, healing the habits, making better decisions in what we say and not just what InI wear. Then if the kingman doesnt match up in his own character, dawtas becomes disillusioned.  InI also create problems with one another because of rules and practices.

I myself keep many of the laws, but I am no longer bothered when a Dawta chooses not to do something - like wearing skirts only or not covering the head, these kinds of things. I raspect many Rastafari Queens and it's not because of what they wear and don't wear - although I feel more love and Inity or common interest when I see them in the traditional dress. Everyone has a right to be themself - I too want that right for ISelf and I take it - if it suits one to be "BIble Holy" it doesnt have to suit another in the same exact way. Freedom and Overstanding - and the Golden Rule. These are lessons I was free to learn, and it was in the interest of sisterhood - too often Dawtas lose the Sistarhood because of petty arguments and "Judgey attitudes". I did not like myself becoming that person!  While it looks good when InI are Inified in dress as Rastafari, having good attitudes and getting the works done are more important, aren't they? MATURITY comes with living by Mosaic Law. 

Every Dawta should know that she can be beautiful and adorned and yet modestly express herself in her own way, without feeling like she is being “sinful” and Kings must support their Queens and encourage them to feel beautiful and love themselves. He mustn't let anyone discredit her character because she may not conform to everything. When a queen feels beautiful and protected and comfortable she is then prepared to do her works with a positive and friendly attitude, she feels confident in her works and her rewards. and truth is, that no one should deny a Dawta her right to express her natural beauty in her own way. and I say this quite sincerely but I also think it so beautiful when all Dawtas can show forth RasTafari traditional wear.

So my advice is to really find a balance between your Afrikan I Self and RasTafari Livity. Any Dawta who wants to be a good wife mother and sistren must first tend to her own mind and heart and body. When she is Right and Balanced within, Maat, dealing with Good vibes, good thoughts, Ital food and hailing the Powers of Iration in Man and Wombman…all other things will be added unto her. To every Dawta seeking herself in RasTafari, her number one job is to cultivate her Lioness Strength and feed her mind with knowledge and love of self. And of course a Kingman must likewise work on his own self, and see the balance that must be achieved between laws and actual hueman nature and character.

I chant a song for all RasTafari Queens at this time struggling with marriage, motherhood and the pressures of stretching yourselves thin over everything for everyone. I know how you feel. Some days I could just run away just to get a moment to just breathe and be at peace in nature - to not have to answer to anyone but be consumed by self-expression and rest. Nature is my safe space, my place of recharge and rejuvenation. But this is our role as Wombman, to be the heart and backbone of everything, this cannot be escaped, so each of us have to learn how to be Queen of our situations and to find that Imega Strength within to do what we have to do without giving up, without complaint, like Empress Menen who survived war and the loss of her children all while co-running a country. The only way to make it through and be happy in your role and your Livity is to truly be Kristos-Conscious, to have the peace and love of JAH within, being inspired daily by the Wonders of JAH RasTafari working through you!

Blessed Be the Iternal Mother Goddess that lives in all of us. Menen Ites!

Selah! JAH RasTafari!

Sis Ila

Biblical Duties of Husband and Wife

Blessed Love to all Royal Dawtas of JAH RasTafari Ithiopia I!

I've been down the last three days with a bug, it was pretty rough - still have a bad cough. Haven't been able to achieve much, but I hope to back up and running and in better Irits soon. I also really want to get serious with myself to go as raw as possible, or at least cut myself off totally from the forbidden foods I've been posting about. I guess when you're sick you have too much time to think about all the crap you're not doing good enough lol!

In response to a Sistren request for this topic, I post the following lists on the duties of a man and woman in what I call "sacred marriage," or in the type of marriage JAH RasTafari honoured and full-joyed for many many fruitful years. When I told another Sistren that I was posting about this topic, we ended up reasoning at length over RasTafari Marriage and the lack of security some sistren face because they have no formal ceremonial order to establish themselves before JAH and the community with. Many RasTafari who want to marry have to come up with their own ideas on what works best for them. We wondered why it is so? I figure it's because in the beginning days, the marriage affairs of the Lion was personal - it was probably not something spoken about much in Binghi - I'm just guessing. In bunning out Church marriage I and I have failed to really replace it with a tradition just as wholesome and accepted, and which will set more RasTa homes before JAH, placing HIM as Head and Guardian of the family. The lack of vows and the declaration thereof causes insecurity for some Dawtas (and this is speaking outside of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church) and it should not be. Hopefully I will be able to address this topic at more length in the future.
  I will definitely be making a video in the near future given that I feel like so many Sistren feel it to be an important topic that is left unaddressed.

The duties of the Virtuous Wife as listed in the Bible are to:

·         Pray, fear the Lord and walk in His ways

·         Be obedient to the Laws of right, love, cleanliness and feasts

·         Be sanctified and washed in the Word, to become a holy “Church” without blemish

·         Be a “believing wife” that she may worship and minister with her King-Man and his brethren and their wives

·         Be obedient and submissive to her husband always, seeing him as her head

·         Have authority over her husband’s body, not her own

·         Have unshakeable faith in JAH to survive any situation

·         Manage the home and all property

·         Never commit adultery

·         Never live independent of her husband

·         Never depart from her husband, or be reconciled to him

·         Remain unmarried if she is over sixty and livicate herself to the Lord

·         Bear children and discipline them in the Law

·         Love her husband and children

·         Be discreet/reverent, with chaste conduct

·         Dress modestly attired at home and in public, wearing the symbol of authority on her head

·         Find and develop skills that can provide income and daily occupation,  working hard and diligently

·         Focus on things that develop and stimulate the Holy Irit

·         Speak quietly and wisely always to others

·         Be gracious and fair in all dealings

·         Be a “teacher of good things” or give counsel to the younger generations

·         Make no oaths or promises that could afflict her soul or bring guilt upon her, and likewise break no vows she cannot honorably keep

·         Help the poor

·         Beautify, furnish, clean the tabernacle and place of worship

·         Tend to the Lord’s holy men, the priests, monks and apostles who journey and minister

·         Congregate with others in good works

·         Stay away from drunkenness, idleness and ungodly places and company

A Virtuous Wife wants a Virtuous Husband the same way. Someone who will also put JAH first in his life and will strive to obey and emulate the Laws of Right, Love and cleanliness. Someone who will make her feel happy, beautiful, important and unburdened by the Laws their Livity and Faith mandate.  She wants a Man of JAH, a Lion, who will submit to her wishes, raspect her and provide/conquer for her and their children with the same care and zeal she gives to them. She wants him to allow her to also provide for the family and home in the way that she is capable and willing to bring forth.

It is necessary that her husband take her seriously, take the Law seriously, and not be a hypocrite or fall short of his reputation in whatever capacity he lives. Although patriarchal society - both Hebrew-Israelite and Ethiopian – never really offered a choice to a woman in choosing her husband; the Law still ensured that a husband would make her happy and comfortable. He, in taking her from her father’s home, or whatever circumstance he found her, would need to be totally responsible and provide even better. Frankly speaking, it just didn’t look good for a man of a good living, or good marriage or of a leading role in society, to have an unhappy home. How could he keep order elsewhere if his home was a sham?

And so, in order to clearly establish the principles of Sacred Marriage, including the Alpha with the Omega is necessary. It gives  Sistren a clearer overstanding of the values and principles to look for in a husband, and to instill in a son.

The following summary details the duties of the upright, Nazirene Husband in Scripture as father, husband and holy man of God whether prophet, priest, king or apostle.

The duties of the Virtuous Husband are to:

·         Lift his hands in prayer without wrath or doubting

·         Establish the Lord as Head of his house

·         Have unshakeable faith in JAH to conquer and provide

·         Put on the Image of Kristos, fearing the Lord to walk in His ways

·         Honour and obey Laws of Right, Love and Cleanliness always

·         Take a virgin wife, or a younger woman whose husband is deceased to wife (have his own wife, not a harlot, widow or another’s wife who has left home)

·         Leave his mother and father’s house and cleave to his wife, and be at home frequently for the first year with her if he is a man of travel

·         Sanctify and cleanse his wife by the Word of JAH that he may take her unto himself as a holy and spotless “Church”

·         Teach her at home anything she does not overstand in Tabernacle

·         Love his wife as he loves himself, be affectionate towards her

·         Nourish and cherish his wife as he nourishes and cherishes his own body and pleasures

·         Have authority over wife’s body, not his own

·         Never commit adultery

·         Never divorce his wife, or be reconciled to her

·         Not live independent of his woman

·         Give his wife a proper certificate of divorcement if she does not please him at all

·         Never approach his wife during her customary impurity

·         Never spill his seed outside the womb

·         Not be bitter toward his wife

·         Give his wife many children

·         Labour with his hands to provide for them and their table

·         Not provoke his children, or ill-treat them that their spirits will become broken and discouraged

·         Ensure his children are upright, taught well, and have a secure inheritance

·         If in her presence, immediately relieve his wife of any unwise vow/promise she makes if it will afflict her soul. Failing to relieve her, binds her to accept her fate

·         Praise, give honour to his wife for all her works whether at home, business or charitable

·         Never mistreat his wife or diminish his care and love of her, if he takes a second wife

·         Never take a second wife if he is a leader of a Church

·         Rejoice and live joyfully with the wife of his youth

Queen Omega Love
Sis Ila

Origins of the Headwrapping Culture for a RasTa Empress

Greetings Royal Queens of Afrika!

For RasTafari, the growing and also the wrapping or covering of the dreadlocked crown is founded in the knowledge that the entire head region of the body is sacred – it is the home of the crown chakra which is responsible for our connection with our Higher Self and advanced spiritual truths. This is the violet colour of the light spectrum. Furthermore, the brain controls the entire body, it is where the thinking mind is, where the Wise Mind or Wisdom of JAH or The Word, lives and reigns in the flesh. It is representative of the Heavens, the sacred seat of the body which is the Tabernacle of JAH, the Most High. The crown is where salvation truly abides, where logic and self-esteem manifest – all things we value most in our Kristos Consciousness. The crown, as an extension of the third-eye, heart and throat chakras, is therefore the most important part of the body we have to care for in order to have a sense of identity and purpose, and to live a fruitful and long life. The body will not survive if the mind has been corrupted or addled.

The mane of Dreadlocks are a physical manifestation of this intellectual consciousness of the Higher Self. The Livity of RasTafari honours this sacred crown with chanting Ises to raise our spiritual vibrations and with Ital foods and beverages to keep it vitalized. RasTafari value reasoning and using cannabis to increase our use of this intellectual mind-space. The dreadlocks show commitment to righteous mind and separation from negativity or Babylon/mainstream society. It is an outward projection of the Inner man and wombman, of the spiritual journey of Rastafari. We engage in head-covering to protect the Irits and Vibrations sacred to the crown chakra, and to keep this symbol of a personal covenant, hidden and set-apart unto JAH like the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem. The turban covering has, for centuries, been a mark of a personal devotion to the holy life, or Mysteries.

Elder Rastafari such as Rita Marley, have shared that in the early days, non-Rastafarians would throw garbage and insults at Rasta people on the street. They would degrade them and criticize their appearance by calling them “dutty.” Rastafari started covering their dreadlocks more often when walking the streets as a way of protecting themselves from such hateful, ignorant and negative comments. Beautiful crochet hats called tams became a common item for Rastafari, and allowed them to proudly display their Ethiopian or Afrikan heritage and mindset, with the use of black, red, yellow and green colours.

The knowledge of colours and what vibrations they send and receive, plays an important role in how many RasTafari dress and cover their head as well. For example, the Bobo Shanti have a turban and fall (head scarf) in the colour of each Tribe month. The Kemetic Teachings show that colour was a sacred part of life and worship in Kemet as well – white for purity, black for the soil of the Nile and underworld, and yellow symbolizes the Word Sound Power, etc.

. . .

Head-wrapping is a common act performed by religious people cross the world for thousands of years. It is an ancient tradition brought to the Diaspora by Afrikan women. Jewish women also cover their heads with scarves or bonnets called snoods, while the men, during times of study, prayer or when in temple, also wear kippahs. Christian women also engage in head-wrapping, such as the Shouter Baptists, as do Muslim men and women, as well as Afrikan spiritualists like Orisha. Different forms of spirituality therefore establish head-covering to be an important part of both the women’s and men’s daily life.

Within the dreadlocked culture of RasTafari, it is tradition that both bredren and sistren cover their mane or crown consistently from the very beginning, especially during times of worship and while in public. This tradition has a religious foundation in the New Testament as well as The Fetha Nagast. These sources in the Bible speak about the covering of a virtuous woman as part of the church and as part of her sacred marriage order (according to Pauline doctrine which is quite restrictive to say the least).

Like circumcision, not marking or cutting one’s hair with a razor is a sign of being put-apart unto the Living God rather than idols. As part of the Nazirite Vow it shows that one is not caught up in death or with pleasures and ego, but has livicated/devoted oneself as a sacred temple that is pure in its Creation. Long hair, like fine linen, was therefore once a show of virtue, humility and holy separation for both man and woman.

In the New Testament however, Paul mentions that long hair was not customary for the common man but for the woman, as a “covering” for her. Long hair, along with the cloth that covered it, together symbolized woman’s submission to her man and her god which is “sacred marriage.” It is assumed that the covering of a woman is a sign of submission so that she does not disgrace her husband or the authority in her life, thereby implying that she has no teaching or faith.

“But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head.

But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved.

For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered.

For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.

For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord.

For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.”

“Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her;

for her hair is given to her for a covering.”

(1 Corinthians 11:2-16 NKJV).

In the above verses of First Corinthians Chapter 11, Paul notes that for the good Christian woman, covering her long hair is a sign of belonging to the Heavenly Father – but also her submission to her husband. A woman should not only have long hair to cover her body, but that long hair should be covered in prayer and prophesying, marking that she is headed by her husband and JAH. To have her hair uncovered in prayer is as big a sin as not having hair at all. She covers her head as a worshipping wife, handmaid, patroness or prophetess. The covering represents her acceptance and reception of the law and Holy Spirit in her heart and soul.

And by interpretation therefore, the woman who covers is of constant reverence, prayer and Iditation on the Word and Irit of JAH, of that Authority that guides her decisions and works every day. She covers her head to signify her reception of Jah Consciously. Her head-covering is also viewed as a mark of perpetual service to the Kingdom of JAH.

Her head covering in prayer is in submission to the Lord who is Authority over her and her husband. It is a Virtuous Wombman who prays often, who speaks wisdom always, and knows that her righteous deeds in the law are in themselves offerings to her God. She knows that she is always in submission to JAH through her submission to her husband and the law in righteousness. She will seek to always cover or crown herself consistently and appropriately as a womanifestation of righteousness.

The impression given by Paul is that the covering of the wombman shows that she is also headed by a righteous man – her father and/or husband, even her priest and king. Covering herself in worship shows that the man is head of the gathering in Church or for prayer as he is in the home and marriage. A covered woman therefore boosts the standing of her man in public, amongst his bredren.

Chapter Eleven reminds the church that the veil is a symbol that she is not independent of her husband, and he is not independent of her, and that they are not independent of JAH. So he must crown, cover, cherish and protect her; keeping them both in union with their God. The veil, the covering and crowning, once again represent this perfect union or sacred marriage, and the Authority of JAH over them both through the husband.

The veil or covering also shields the husband’s “property” from the lustful curious stares of his family, friends and strangers in public. A woman’s body was coveted by her man in a way that shielded her from the eyes of others – long hair was the first covering given to her by JAH, then came the long dresses/robes and the head scarves, hats, veils and so on given to her by her father, brother and then her husband. Hence, the covering of a woman stems from both religious and social ideologies.

The Ethiopian doctrine used apart from the Bible is the Fetha Nagast, which outlined the laws that kings and queens lived by. Many do not realize that the traditions given to Rasta women were traditions followed by Empress Menen Asfaw as an Orthodox Christian. This book states:

When she walks through the street, she veils her head with her cope [probably cape]; she veils herself with purity to defend herself from the looks of wicked men. She adorns neither her head nor her face, for there is nothing which renders her ugly and makes adornment necessary. Let her drop her head and look to the ground and let her always remain veiled.

A free woman [“not enslaved by the devil”] shall not leave her hair unveiled in the house of the Lord she shall not give her children to wet nurses, nor shall she be slothful in administering her household nor disobedient to her husband (Feta Nagast, Strauss, 2002, pg. 80).

It was expected that the Ethiopian Christian Wombman in covering herself with a veil and cape, would not even make eye contact with other men. As the virtuous wife moved about her society, her veiling or head covering kept her somewhat hidden away from the same negativity or temptations her sacred marriage took her away from. She, by her modesty in donning this Cloak of Righteousness, became Iritually untouchable by the stares of strange lustful men.

Drunk and lustful men are known to “undress women with their eyes,” it is therefore not impractical to think that covering up herself is a barrier against such unwanted negative attention. And furthermore, her choice to cover is a womb-manifestation of her principles to distinguish herself from someone they could toy with, a godless woemen; or one who is wayward, or lacks responsibility, tradition, honour, love and raspect in her own dwelling.

By these religious terms therefore, any woman who dresses confidently in modesty and covers her head is basically labelled “spoken for,” or at least God-fearing; and is therefore not open to being appraised or approached by ill-intending strangers. The only ones allowed to behold the beauty of her body and nature are her family members; and theirs is the only praise she needs or wants to receive and bask in.

To recall Biblical history, which is the precedent for the push for Christian wives to be so submissive in their appearance and in public; being wary of beautiful or beguiling women who could somehow compromise their morality, was very important for the officials of Isra’el. Women were considered the “weaker” sex and vessel, being prey to carnal sins probably because of their beauty and tender feminine attributes. Beauty somehow was linked to weakness, because adornment sometimes expresses or aims to cover a woman’s insecurities about her body. On the other hand, her beauty could also be used by her or others as a weapon or vice to commit evil intentions.

It was therefore necessary for the sons of the Covenant to find wives who were clean spirited and able to abide in humility and goodness despite their physical beauty – so that they themselves could remain ritually pure. It was best to find a virgin bride, untouched by another man and totally in submission to them and the law; and therefore not someone who would lead them astray, or someone who could tempt them into doing the wrong thing. “They shall not take a wife who is a harlot or a defiled woman, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for the priest is holy to his God.” (Leviticus 21:7 NKJV)

Therefore, the righteousness of a wombman and a true humble virtuous wife, in the tradition of the Ethiopians and Hebrews is culturally identified and womanifested (apart from her works or reputation) by her covering. Her veil, her gown, her cloak, her cape, her snood, her turban, her scarf, her wrap, her shamma – they all speak volumes about her principles and how much she is in communication with the Law, the church, her JAH. It is a good work on her part, literally for the sake of mankind. And more importantly, her covering lets it be known on the street that she is of high morale, and likely to be a good or obedient wife and daughter. (Biblically a virgin or daughter also covered in raspect for her father.)

To summarize, traditionally, by religious and social tradition, the reasons for the head-covering of the Judeo-Christian Wombman are as follows:

1. to protect herself from others in public

2. to show her submission to JAH and the rules of worship in church or at home, 

3. to shun vanity in humility and livication to a holy life (think of Nuns, Muslims, Amish and so on)

4. to signify the submission in sacred marriage between Man, Wombman and JAH.

. . .

Indeed, it is clear that in First Corinthians Chapter 11 the veil is a glory between JAH, man and wife - and so are the dreadlocks, for RasTafari. The covering of the RasTafari Daughter’s dreadlocks and body is a reflection of her sacred marriage to her King-Man and the Highest Dread JAH RasTafari. The dreadlocks are a defining factor in her overall natural beauty, being the physical beauty and reflection of her Lioness Irit, and personal covenant and humility to King-Man and JAH. Dreadlocks are a reflection of her personal journey and covenant; but they are also a covenant shared with her husband as part of their Iritual beliefs, bond, identity and livity. Her Alpha is reflected in him, and his Omega in her.

The RasTafari Queen of today has risen to her own throne and crowning freedoms even in her sacred marriage to JAH and her King-Man. She is much more sociable, and has her work, friends and affiliations. She may be physically found “out there” but she is not “out there” mentally or Iritually and her appearance reflects that balance. Her dreadlocks are outward manifestations of her inner crown opened through RasTafari Livity. Such must be guarded if she is to remain powerful and in touch with the Word of JAH as His/Her Anointed. Be that as it may however, the covering of the crown or even growing locks, are not considered to be the only important markers of a Dawta’s virtuosity or livication to Rastafari. Her character and good works are even more important in projecting to the world who she is and what she is about.

Some Dawtas wrap their crowns all the time, some only on special occasions, when they feel like, or when it is required. There is no steadfast order in the culture anymore because the Rastafari Woman is free to choose for herself in most cases. While these freedoms are taken, however, it can be assured that when it comes to worshipping and entering the Taba or any place of worship, Dawtas are required to cover their crowns. What freedoms we take in our personal life, are not to disrespect the public gathering of Rastafari to worship as a community.

Queen Omega Love!

Sis. Ila

(This post was updated 27/9/2021)