Rastafari reasoning and Nyabinghi drumming

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines · Leonard Howell, Archibald Dunkley, Joseph Hibbert · Jamaica

What it is

Rastafari is an Afro-Caribbean religious movement that arose in Jamaica. According to Joseph (2019), Rastafari regard Haile Selassie as the second coming of Christ and understand Jah (God) as dwelling in every person. That belief is expressed in I-and-I, used in place of "we" to stress the equality…

Format

• This is an observance, not a clinical protocol. No source gives a session count or a set of clinical phases. The structure below has two parts: the rite as sources describe it, then the therapist's own sequence. The second part is.
• Calling a Binghi. Anyone may call one, with support from their own group, by announcing the time and place. Others arrive early to build a tabernacle, prepare food and socialise. The gathering begins at sunset and continues through the night. It lasts one to three days and sometimes up to a week.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Jamaica. The position comes from statute, not a court ruling. The Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act 2015 exempts ganja held for sacramental use by adherents of the Rastafarian faith. Sacramental smoking is permitted only at registered places of worship and at events declared exempt by order, and adherents may apply for cultivation authorisation. Possession of a small amount is now a ticketable, non-criminal matter,…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• Generational conflict about identity. Working when the family can disagree safely.
• Your own bias for or against the faith. Working when the client's choices feel like their own.
• Proselytising in either direction. Working when the client feels respected and the boundary holds.
• Pressure on the client from either side, and breaches of confidentiality. Working when the client feels supported, not watched.
• Missed appointments being read as non-adherence. Working when attendance stabilises and the client raises scheduling needs on their own.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.