Rastafarian Children of Solomon

The Legacy of the Kebra Nagast and the Path to Peace and Understanding

By: Gerald Hausman

Narrated by: Gerald Hausman

Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

Shares the spiritual wisdom of Rastafari through the stories, teachings, and traditions of practicing Rastas in Jamaica

• Includes the author’s interviews with bush doctors, healers, and Rastafarians gathered during his 15 years of living in Jamaica
• Reveals the old ways of the Rastafarians and how their beliefs form an unbroken lineage tracing back to King Solomon
• Explains the connection of Rasta beliefs to important biblical passages

Tracing their lineage back to King Solomon—the wisest man who ever lived—Rastafarians follow a spiritual tradition of peace and meditation that is more a way of life than an organized religion. During his 15 years living in Jamaica, Gerald Hausman developed deep friendships with Rastafarians and rootsmen, enabling him to experience firsthand the beliefs and traditions of these followers of the Kebra Nagast—the African gospel excised from the King James version of the Bible. He met bush doctors, Rasta preachers, members of the Marley family, and respected elders who knew Marcus Garvey, prophet of the Rasta movement and vocal proponent of the Pan-African movement in America. He also met elders who were present when Haile Selassie I, emperor of Ethiopia and descendant of the House of David, came to Jamaica in the 1960s.

Through interviews with fishermen, mystics, and wise men, as well as direct encounters with spirits and the spiritual, the author reveals the deep wisdom that underlies the “old ways” of the Rastas. He connects their stories, lives, and teachings with important biblical passages as well as reggae songs. He shares their views on the medicinal and meditative powers of cannabis—the sacred herb of Solomon—and explains that while Rastas believe it to be “the opener of the door”, they maintain that peace and understanding must be found within.

Illustrating the unwavering faith and hope of the Rastafari of Jamaica, Hausman shows them to be a people who, above all, emphasize equality, because the Holy Spirit within each of us makes us all one and the same.

©2013 Gerald Hausman. All Rights Reserved. (P)2019 Inner Traditions Audio. All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

“Day by day, the elders who formed the foundation of Rasta in the 1920s and ’30s are passing. Within these pages you will meet a man who knew Marcus Garvey and an elder who met Haile Selassie I when he came to Jamaica. You will also meet younger rootsmen whose faith is constant and true. This book goes straight to the heart with truths that are seldom written but often said in my home country.” (Cedella Marley, author of the best-selling children’s books One Love and Every Little Thing)

“Folklorist Gerald Hausman takes us deep into the modern dreamtime of Jamaica’s backwaters, enthralled by the company of living prophets and conmen, killers and saints, obeah workers and ethereal half-real creatures of the sea. They are all, as his eloquent mythlike prose reveals, the voices of the cherubim and seraphim of old.” (Roger Steffens, founding editor of The Beat magazine and coauthor of The Reggae Scrapbook and One Lo)

“Hausman skillfully connects the lives and beliefs of these peaceful and resourceful people - fishermen, wicker weavers, Rasta preachers, respected elders, and wise men and women - through heartfelt conversations that arise spontaneously while sitting under the shade of a pimento tree, in a dusty yard, or by firelight in the cool evening ocean breeze. Rastafarian spiritual wisdom, recounted here in authentic Jamaican patois, emphasizes equality: an unwavering faith and hope in the holy spirit that lives in each human being.” (Publishers Weekly, February 2013)

Must listen!

This book is a must listen/read specially for young Rasta like i self, or ones and ones that are new to the faith. A lot of the teachings of Rastafari are passed down from generation to generation... but for those of us that are trapped inna Babylon and don’t have access to nuff elders it’s a pleasure to hear their teaching and reasonings with Gerald. I felt like i was there, reasoning, listening to the ocean n the animals, smelling the smells n feeling the vibes of all the bredren them. Selassie I rule n reign.

The books introduction, climax and finish is heavy

Fall in love with real stories told from natural mystics, nature's best gift in life is the ones that are hidden in plain sight 🇯🇲

Great teachings

Listen to learn the truth of i and i blessed to have come across this masterpiece!! Jah rastafari

Reader and Story not a good match

Struggled with it! I was so excited when I purchased this book that I didn't listen to the sample. Had I listen I would not have purchased. I know the reader is the author of the book, however, he should have paid someone else to read it preferably a Jamaican that does not have a heavy ascent. The readers imitation of a Rastafari's ascent just kills it for me.