|
A holy man treads the ism-sksims of Rastafari -
Interview by by Carol Amaruso
He is a man of bulk, but he walks quietly,
almost glides; his flowing robes, tufted raincloud
beard and gold cross clutched in his fist
dramatically portray his eminence, but he keeps a
low profile, his life has been full of contention,
but he speaks softly. Archbishop Abuna Yesehaq is
the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the
Western Hemisphere, emissary and shuttle
diplomacist of Emperor Haile Selassie to the new
world, godfather and spiritual advisor of Bob and
Rita Marley and their children. His
accomplishments are impressive, yet mysteriously
unheralded. Inheralded perhaps because the
Archbishop is the kingpin in a deep schism running
through the Rastafarian community which many would
probably prefer to keep hushed.
The archbishop is a comfortable, affable,
generous man, and fatherly in the way priests are
painted in the movies. I have seen him in three of
his guises: as a prelate serving mass, as a mover
and shaker amongst peoples of the Diaspora in New
York City, and at home with his church
"family". In each aspect one senses a
quiet awe and obeisance of those around him,
paternal concern, and familiarity on his part and
the underlying thrill of history drawing you to
him.
Laike Mandefro was born in Addis Ababa in 1933.
He attended first lay then liturgical schools in
Ethiopia and was ordained a deacon and priest
there. The young prelate was among several taken
under Emperor's Haile Selassie's wing. As the
Archbishop relates it, "His Majesty was
tutoring us as his own children." Laike
Mandfredo was invested as Abuna Yesehaq (the Old
Testament's "Isaac"), Archbishop of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Western
Hemisphere, in 1979. Selassie made a momentous
trip to Jamaica in 1966, where for the first time
he saw people -Rastafarians- worshipping him as
God. The emperor was reportedly deeply dismayed.
At a Kingston news conference he attempted to
dispel the belief in his divinity with his
response to a pointed question from Jamaican
Minister of Education, Edward Allen. "I am a
man, and man cannot worship man" are perhaps
the most oft-quoted word the Emperor has ever
said. Despite the famous disavowal, the Archbishop
relates that many continued to maintain, "He
is our God, even if he doesn't say he's God."
In 1970, still distressed, the Emperor announced
to the priest: "There is a problem in
Jamaica.... Please, help these people. They are
misunderstanding, they do not understand our
culture.... They need a church to be established
and you are chosen to go." He arrived in
Jamaica shortly thereafter and began building the
first Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Kingston.
Later, "Rasta churches" would dot the
island, in fact, the whole English-speaking
Caribbean, and various locations in North America,
including New York and Toronto.
While the prelate was busy in Kingston founding
a house of worship and gathering a flock, he had
another, perhaps more difficult task to accomplish
- that of mediating between the authorities and
the Rastafarian community as a whole. Wholesale
persecutions were being carried out against Rasta.
Be found on the streets with lock by a cop with an
attitude or something to prove, and you ran the
risk of being arrested, roughed up, even shot.
Some call those roundups attempted genocide. The
Archbishop agrees they were terrible times and
says he spent endless hours ate the station house
securing Rastas' release. "They (the police)
used to beat them and kill them. Just for
nothing." he recollects. "All that pain
is eased now," he observes. "After that,
they have good relations with the police." I
had to correct him, "Better relations with
the police." "Yes, better. Thank
you."
|
