[ras-tuh-fair-ee-uh-niz-uh
m, -fahr-, rah-stuh-] 
| a religious cult, originally of Jamaica, that regards Africa as the Promised Land, to which all true believers will someday return, and the late Haile Selassie I, former emperor of Ethiopia, as the messiah. |
| Ras·ta·far·i·an·ism (rä'stə-fär'ē-ə-nĭz'əm, rās'tə-fâr'-) n. A religious and political movement originating in Jamaica in the 1930s that bases its doctrine on selections from the Bible and regards Ethiopia as the Promised Land and Haile Selassie as a messiah, with many members advocating nonviolence and rejecting materialism. [After Ras Tafari Makonnen, former name of Haile Selassie, proclaimed a divine being by adherents : Amharic ras, head, prince; see r  š in Semitic roots + Amharic täfäri, to be feared, participle of täfärra, to be feared, derived stem of färra, to fear, respect; see prh in Semitic roots.] |