Rastafari Roles

The recognized roles within Rastafari, the Afrocentric religious and social movement that arose in Jamaica in the 1930s around the belief that Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is a divine figure. Elder is an honorific standing bestowed on adherents of good reputation rather than an ordained office, and elders oversee gatherings such as Nyabinghi Issemblies and are often looked to for interpreting current events in light of Rastafari belief, given the movement's deliberately decentralized structure with no single ordained clergy.