H.I.H. Princess Aster Sellassie

On Rastafarianism: Part V
"Nyabinghi"
H.I.H. Princess Esther Sellassie Antohin,
The Imperial House of Sellassie of
The Solomonic Dynasty in
The African Diaspora
[Editor's Note: In the following series of articles by H.I.H.
Princess Esther Sellassie Antohin, of the Imperial House of
Sellassie, great granddaughter of H.I.M. Haile Sellassie I, we
continue to present her responses to some of the most frequently
asked questions on the Haile Sellassie Family Web:
www.sellassie@angelfire.com
9. What is our view of Nyabinghi?
Nyabinghi is the Jamaican Creole term which we find translated into
English as "holy convocations" from the original Hebrew miqra qodesh
so frequently described in the Bible. It is properly a high worship
service of music and praise, "giving glory to the Father." There are
special occasions throughout the Rasta liturgical calendar when a
Nyabinghi is held. Most of these occasions mark the significant
annual events of our traditional Ethiopian calendar.
I would furthermore point out that our Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo
Church, unlike Western Christendom, has always combined the customs
of Ancient Israel described in the Old Testament with the Gospel of
the New Testament. For example, the date of our Fasika, "Easter,"
always occurs on the Sunday following the Jewish Passover, for we
celebrate the day of Jesus' resurrection. In like manner, we keep the
Seventh Day Sabbath, as well as the "Lord's Day," and in many regions
of Ethiopia, Saturday, the Seventh Day, is still kept as a day of
rest in strict accordance with the Ten Commandments. "Thou shalt keep
the Seventh Day holy." The Bible is our Divine Guide in life.
The Bible states specifically when a Nyabinghi should be held. "These
are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations which ye shall
proclaim in their seasons." (Lev 23: 4) We can translate this verse
into Jamaican Creole (Rasta Talk) as follows: "Dem-yah de feas-dem fe
Jah, yeah de Nyabinghi-dem, wa you mus call togedda in dem good
time." The Book of Leviticus, Chapter 23, sets forth in great detail
the "holy convocations" that my great forebear, King Solomon himself,
observed. (I must note that I cannot urge strongly enough that The
Bible in Basic English be translated into idiomatically correct
Jamaican Creole for its study by our Ethiopianist Congregations.)
There is an important difference, which cannot be emphasized strongly
enough. The Nyabinghi must be thoroughly cleansed of the false
teachings of Leonard Howell and his disciples. Proper worship belongs
exclusively to the God of Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon and of all Israel. My saintly great
grandfather, H.I.M. Haile Sellassie I, was the humanly mortal servant
of the Lord God and that is what he wanted for each and every one of
those who admired him to become. To love and give glory not to the
humble servant, but to the servant's Master was unceasing his prayer
for all Ethiopianist Congregations of Jamaica
It has often been noticed that Ethiopianist Congregations make no
reference to the "Three Persons in the Godhead" of European
Christianity. This phenomenon is completely in agreement with our
Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church, for we neither developed nor
accepted the European Christian idea of "Three Person in One God."
The Ethiopic word tawahedo means "Oneness; Unity." It is related to
the Arabic word wahad, "one," and the Hebrew `ehad, "one," and this
is what Jesus, the Torah-observant Jew, taught: "And Jesus answered
him, `The first of all the commandments is: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord
our God is one Lord."'" (Mk 12: 29) Jesus did not say "three in one."
Historically, the "Three Persons" teaching of European Christianity
has always been ignored by our Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church.
You may ask from where the idea of "Three Persons" ever emerged? My
graduate academic emphasis has been anthropology. Let me pause a
moment to share some information with you. The study of comparative
Indo-European linguistics has permitted the hypothetical
reconstruction of an original parent language from which Hittite,
Armenian, and most languages historically spoken from Europe to the
Indian subcontinent. In a parallel way, the Indo-European mythologies
have been analyzed and, though comparison of common denominators in
myths, a fairly accurate picture has emerged of the
original "religion" of the Indo-Europeans. They worshipped the sky in
its three aspects, dawn, noon, dusk. The theme of "Three Persons in
One" recurs throughout all the pre-Christian Indo-European
mythologies. And European Christianity never managed to walk away
from this mythological thinking.
Most probably, it is because we Semitic Ethiopians did not share the
Indo-European background of European Christianity that we still find
the idea of "Three Persons" strange and foreign. Our Ethiopian
Orthodox Tawahedo Church is the only authentically African
Christianity which was never filtered through the Indo-European ways
of thinking. This fact also throws into sharp focus the truism: "More
than Rome became Christian, Christianity became Roman."
I applaud and strongly encourage this philosophical position in all
Ethiopianist Congregations of Jamaica (Rasta), for we in Ethiopia
have always known and never forgotten: "…this is life eternal: that
they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou
hast sent." (Jn 17: 3) To acknowledge this through the best in Reggae
music and in heartfelt praise giving glory to the Father for His
blessings in life is the only proper focus of a Nyabinghi.

Notes:
The interested reader may enter the Sellassie Community via:
http://members. linkopp.com/sellassie/list.html, "How to use the
Sellassie Website."
http://members.linkopp.com/sellassie/doc/secretar.html
http://sellassie.ourfamily.com/academics/orthodoxy.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ak/sellassie
http://sellassie.ourfamily.com/rasta/rastafi.html
www.RestorationFoundation.org
Princess Edjigaheu Sellassie-Antohin, Registrar
The Imperial House of Sellassie
115 Kelsan Way
Fairbanks, AK 99709