The Origins of the Rastafari Movement

The word Ethiopia was widely used as a synonym for Africa and all people of African descent. In keeping with this tradition, Garvey regularly said things like, the faith that we have is a faith that will ultimately take us back to that ancient place. But he eventually became sharply critical of Selassie while the latter was in exile during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia. We need to distinguish Garvey's significance as a prophet in the Rastafari tradition from how the man himself felt about this particular offshoot from his teachings.