**NOTE THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL SITE NOT CONNECTED TO THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE IN ANY WAY

This site was created for People
who have seen the exhibit to post
photos and comments about their
experience as well a place for those
who are planning to attend this coming
year or cannot attend, to see what it's all about.
Excerpt From the Smithsonian Site:
http://www.si.edu/visit/whatsnew/nmnh.asp
November 2, 2007 - November 7, 2008 Featuring rare photographs, artifacts, and ephemera,
this exhibition moves beyond the popular Jamaican
music known as reggae to explore the origins and
practice of the Rastafari religion in Jamaica and
the movement's subsequent spread across the Caribbean
and around the world. Video footage featuring male and
female Rastafari of different ages, nationalities,
ethnicities, and socioeconomic classes highlights the
unity of the movement. An overview of the three major
"mansions" (organizations) reveals the diversity of
Rastafari and the core of sacred practices that guide
the daily lives of its practitioners.
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Museum Hours and Info
http://neoworx-blog-tools.net/blue/edit_settings_neocounter. php?language=english&registered_id=20471&user_accoun t=
http://www.mnh.si.edu/visit/
**NOTE Many Of The Photos In this Show that appear in some of the
Slideshows Below are by Sis Susanne Moss
Photographer and Filmmaker (RAS CUBA) from
The Hudson Valley in NY
Please support her works
by visiting her site & purchasing her prints and DVD
http://www.selahphoto.com
UNitedReggae.COM'S SLIDESHOW

Slideshow By Ras Clarke

Sis Inora's Slideshow
..
Andrew Councill's NY Times Photos Slideshow

Ma Ashanti Yanting @ Howard U
..
Add to My Profile | More Videos
..
Video From Rastafari Today
http://www.rastafaritoday.com/
Video from the opening by Innernational Music NC
77th anniversary of the corination of H I M haile selassie I
..
Photos by Ras Adam Simeon 2007
A beautiful November evening in Washington DC
The Smithsonian Institutes's Museum Of Natural History
A Huge Banner Outside The Show
The gates of the exhibit adorned with an incredible
painting by Binghiman Ras Jah Terms
Discovering Rastafari Exhibit Left wall as You enter
Discovering Rastafari Exhibit Front wall
Discovering Rastafari Exhibit Right wall
Discovering Rastafari Exhibit Obverse wall Bobo Section
Discovering Rastafari Exhibit Obverse wall TTOI Section
Discovering Rastafari Exhibit Obverse wall Binghi Section
Haile Selassie's Grandson Prince Ermais Sahle Selassie with Rastafari Elders and Idrins
Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus Perform
Bro Asher and Junior "I-sta J" Manning with Jamaican Rastafari Elders

EABIC BoboShanti Idren at Howard University
Mama Farika Berhane teaches Howard about Empress Menen
Elder Irice Clarke at Howard University
Tireless Co-worker Bredda Jakes Homiak
Iyahbinghi Yants at Howard University
January 2008 Smithsonian Magazine Article Photo
RASTA FEST ARTICLE From The Jamaican Gov Website
http://www.jis.gov.jm/foreign_affairs/html/20080226T090000-0 500_14357_JIS_SMITHSONIAN_INSTITUTION_HIGHLIGHTS_RASTAFARIAN _CULTURE.asp
Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade
Smithsonian Institution Highlights Rastafarian Culture
WASHINGTON, (JIS)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Visitors looking at exhibits at the opening of the Rasta Marketplace
this past weekend at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
The global impact of Rastafarianism and the attendant
influence of the Jamaican culture were on full display
this past weekend in Washington, D.C., with the opening
of the Rasta Marketplace on Saturday (February 23),
at Washington's historic Smithsonian Institution's
National Museum of Natural History (NMNH).
The marketplace drew thousands of adherents
of the Rastafarian movement, local supporters,
as well as regular visitors to the museum who
were able to view sculptures, paintings, crafts,
music, graphics and jewellery, which focused on
the symbols of Rastafarianism as well as its
beginnings in Jamaica.
A familiar theme depicted in several of
the paintings which were featured, focused on
life in the country of Ethiopia, which is
recognized by Rastafarians as their ancestral
homeland.
A special feature presentation at the marketplace
also sought to highlight and explore the ties between
Hebrew symbolism in the Old Testament and its
strong influence on contemporary Rasta culture.
The exhibit, which depicts the life and religious
practices of Rastafarian elders in Jamaica, as well
as adherents living in Israel, highlights the
significant commonality between Rastafarian
artistes in both countries, and is underscored
by the similarities in lyrics and performance styles.
The Smithsonian also featured a special screening
entitled, 'Coping with Babylon', which looks at the
diverse cultural landscape of contemporary Rastafarianism
and emphasises the many voices and ethnicities that
constitute the global movement. The film focuses on
foundation leaders in Jamaica, scholars who have focused
on the Rastafarian culture, as well as an array of
performing artistes, including reggae luminaries, such
as Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.
The Rasta Marketplace is a component of a year-long
exhibition spotlighting Rastafarianism and features
several artifacts and rare photographs from other
established collections. It focuses on the history of
Rastafarianism and also highlights the life of Emperor
Haile Selassie I and, in addition to Bob Marley, highlights other major Jamaican political and cultural icons,
including National Hero, the Right Excellent Marcus
Garvey.
In addition to the mounted exhibits, the museum has also
provided information on the origins and
religious practices of the movement in Jamaica as well
as the roots of the Rastafarian culture.
In order to provide the American public with
a range of perspectives on Rastafarian life and
institutions, the exhibition has also provided several
video depictions of current Rastafarian communities both
in Jamaica and in Shashemene, Ethiopia.
The NMNH, which is hosting the exhibition, is
part of the Smithsonian Institution and was opened
in 1910. The green-domed museum was among the first
Smithsonian buildings constructed exclusively to house
the institution's collections and research facilities.