Leonard Howell, The First Rasta: Leonard Howell is recognized - TopicsExpress

Leonard Howell, The First Rasta: Leonard Howell is recognized as the first Rasta of Rastafari. He formed the first Rasta commune called Pinnacle, in an abandoned estate between Kingston and Spanish Town, where the followers of the New religion found a safe haven. Many of the original tenets of the Faith were formed there, such as the Divinty of Haile Selassie, Herb Commune/Sacrament, Purity, etc. From the 1930s to the 50s, he led a community of otherwise poor black people to a self sufficient and independent livelihood that they might not have known or acknowledged without the great teachings of black solidarity brought to them by the Gong, Leonard Howell. Howell being a world traveler and friend to many, brought him into close contact with many Jamaican/East Indians. This is a big reason for the large Indian influence some may find also among some practices of the Rasta bredrin. Built on many acres of land, at its height, the Pinnacle Community was known to consist of up to more than 4000 people. The Gong also compiled, wrote, and published a book entitled The Promised Key in the early 1930s which contains many early Rasta teachings. And due to his revolutionary runnings, and after continuous harrasment, Babylon eventually charged him and committed him to an asylum, tearing down and burning the community. Along with others like Robert Hinds, H. Archibald Dunkley, Joseph Hibbert , and a small group of other Garveyites, Black Ethiopians, and other visionaries, Howell and these Bredrin are the original founding Fathers of the Rastafarian Faith.