Rastafari: 2012

Babylon

The concept of Babylon plays a central role in Rastafarian Ideology: There is only one other word Rastafarians use with more frequency and passion, and that is the name of their Majestic Ruler, Haile Selassie. People who have even a mild interest in reggae understand what"Babylon"means, yet the roots of the word"Babylon"remain unknown to the masses. To gain a better understanding of this term, it is necessary know the full history of Babylon, which starts 6000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia.

The popular use of the word"Babylon"can be difinitively traced to Marcus Garvey's teachings, which liken the Afro-Caribs in the West to the Jews Exile into Babylon. The institution of slavery created tremendous suffering for those that were enslavedin both of these cases. Many people in Jamiaca are still suffering, due to the successor of slavery, which is racism and poverty. The Bible contains many stories of slavery that describe the hardship that was endured in acncient times, as well as the eventual emancipation from the hardship. Rastas have found much applicable meaning from within the Bible, and it is only natural that they identify with the Jews in Babylon, who faced much of the same obstacles that they themselves face. By labeling the source of their own oppression as"Babylon", the Rastas shed more light on the fact that opression is in fact taking place. This definitive name gives the oppression that they face a center, or a heart, which can be targeted easier. Instead of saying"Injustice must fall","Poverty must be alleviated", or"Jamaican legislation must represent its people", a Rasta need only say"Babylon must fall". When this centralized, encompassing word is used, it provides the Rasta with a target to be passionately against, and increases his sense of unity with his people.

The word Babylon is by no means an arbritary word that is used to describe oppression. Babylon was one of the first cities to ever stand on Earth. It is quite clear that there is much to be learned about this mythical city that will help us to better understand the modern"Babylon system". I believe that the modern definition of Babylon describes a type of mentality that is common to all the institutions that are labeled as being"Babylon". However, the essence of what this midframe is can be most closely encountered through the study of the real Babylon as it grew, prospered and fell thousands of years ago.

In a valley in the dry dessert region of the world that is now Iran, Babylon not only grew to a formiddable size, but also thrived, even amidst many changing factors. Babylonia was located between two rivers- the Euphrates, and the Tigris (hence the rivers of Babylon). Through simple irrigation, the Sumerian people of the desert were able to make use of the otherwise desolate land for some basic agriculture. Agriculture proved to be succesful, but the Sumerians desired more than just sustenance. Trade with other peoples became a very strong influence in the development of the city. To trade with foregn peoples was a very difficult and dangerous task. As a general rule, the larger the trading caravan was, the safer it was. This tendecency is one of the factors that promoted the growth of villages into cities. The resources and securities of a large and centralizated population were viewed as desirable. The first people in the area were the Sumerians, who had been living in bands. These Sumerian people developed the first Monarchy to ever exist, along with the first written language (Cuneiform). A complicated legal system, religion, and culture subsequently developed under the monarchy. Their first City States formed between 4000 and 3000 BC. These City-States went through various stages of conflict and collaboration. But within the next hundred years, a people called Akkadians migrated up the Arabian penisula. The Akkadian people battled the Sumerian peoples, and eventually they controlled all the City-States. This forceful take-over is particularly interesting, because of the high degree of Sumerian influence that remained after they were conquered. The Sumerian Cities were taken by the Akkadians, yet the Akkadians ended up absorbing much of the Sumerian culture, laws, and religion, and letting go of their own culture. It has been theorized that this was the case because the Sumerian peoples system of operating a city was effective, and much of its culture was complimentary to the oprations of the city.

The original"Babylon system"is exposed to us as something was somewhat self-perpetuating. These bold new cities in Babylon couldn't possibly function without Beaurocracy. Beaurocracy was a new concept. In order to the feed the city people who worked, but didn't produce their own food, there needed to be middle men. These middle men had the task of figuring out the ammount of food that needed to be grown, etc. And this is where written records became of high importance. The writing style began as heiolyphic-like pictures, and quickly evolved into cunieform- a letter system consisting of wedge shaped scrapes. This new field that emerged; the field of record keeping and beaurocracy, can be considered to be the most influential role in creating what we call the"Babylon Mentality". The Babylonians saw this element of calcuting and coputing as a most important pursuit, and it quickly became a predominant mentality in the cities_. The Babylonians avidly pursued facts, numbers, measurements, workings, etc. They developed a complicated astrologocal charts, and detailed anatomony charts through observation.

"For these observers, whose knowledge was deeply rooted in primitive ideas, the heavenly bodies which they studied over the centuries were living gods, whose ordered movements in space, correctly interpreted, could be used as a guide in the daily activity of men."(Babylon-The old Babylonian era)
The Babylonians were solely concerned with the material aspect of living, and the way that they practiced religion mirrors this tendency. The first records of any written language are traced back to about 5000 BC in Mesopotamia. This language was originally used for accounting purposes and continued to develop throughout the era in which Babylon stood. The scientific, logical mentality that governed their lives, extended into, as well as received from, their religion. They were, in fact, a very religious and superstitous people, but the deities they believed in had concrete ties to the realm of physicality. Babylonian people believed in Polytheism. To believe in multiple Gods seems slightly absurd to the modern person. However, the effect it had on its people is similar to the increasingly popular modern religion known as Atheism. It becomes apparent how the"Babylon Mentality"of the modern Rastafarian vocabulary has a truthful synonomity with the Ancient Babylon's way of thinking.