they were perceived as violent, and were blamed by the media for many murders (Garcia “Rastafarianism: An Overview”). The Rastafarian movement had become increasingly secular since the 1980’s. Many symbols lost their religious significance. Rastafarian colors were worn by all, and had no meaning. Dreadlocks have now become a trendy hairstyle in both black and whites. Another great sign of change in the Rastafarian religion was the presence of women. Women previously were not allowed to participate in rituals and were expected to show complete respect to males (Garcia “Rastafarianism: An Overview”). Rastafarian women are now a major part of the religion. Even with its current changes, the Rastafarian religion is still a great moral authority (Garcia “Rastafarianism: An Overview”). The Rastafarian religion is a blend of the purest forms of Judaism and Christianity. During the reign of King Solomon, Queen Makeba ruled the empire of Sheba. The empire of Sheba spanned out across Ethiopia, Egypt, and parts of Persia (Salewicz “Rastafari”). When Queen Makeba came to visit King Solomon, the wise wealthy ruler of Jerusalem, he converted her beliefs to the God of Abraham. Before this time, she worshipped the sun god Ra. Queen Makeba changed the religion of her entire empire to Judaism (Boot 49). While she was visiting Solomon, she became pregnant with his child. She promised Solomon after the child was born, if it was a boy she would send him to Jerusalem to be brought up under the teachings of his father (Salewicz “Rastafari”). She gave birth to a son whom she named Menelik. As promised, when her son was a young man, he was sent to Jerusalem. Menelik swore to his mother he we return to Ethiopia to take over as ruler of the Empire. After Solomon brought him up, he returned to Ethiopia to rule his empire. Here, the Judaism religion existed in undiluted form (Salewicz ...
