Ethiopia was the first place on our journey where we regularly saw guys with dread locks. Most chew khat leaves (a drug that is legal in Ethiopia) instead of smoking Marihuana, but they still wear Bob Marley T-shirts and green-yellow-red colours. Clear signs of the Rastafari movement – but how come? This is Africa, not Jamaica. A quick read about the Rastafari movement clarified the issue: Green-yellow-red are Ethiopia’s national colours, not Jamaicas where the movement originated. Rastafaris use Ethiopia’s colours because they actually worship Haile Selassie I., who ruled the country from 1930 – 1974, as the reincarnation of Jesus. Selassie’s title as king was Ras Tafari, with ‚ras‘ meaning ‚head‘ or ‚duke‘ in Ethiopia’s dominant language Amharic, and Tafari being the king’s given name. So the connection between Bob Marley and Ethiopia is much more direct than we thought. Small world, really.

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