Jamaican Rastafarians in rural Ethiopia

How did 1,000 ganja-loving Jamaican Rastafarians show up in a rural village in southern Ethiopia? The Run Across Ethiopia harriers learned how on Day 6 of their 250-mile run to Yirgachefe.

Former Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (“Negus Negusti”, the “king of kings”) gave land in the village of Shashomane, north of Hawassa, to 300 Jamaican Rastafarians in the 1950s. Rastafarians believed that Selassie was a prophet from God. This Jamaican enclave lives on today. The Run Across Ethiopia spoke with a second-generation Jamaican named Ibrahim about this unique history.

Outside the gates to the Rastafarian community in Shashomane, Ethiopia, “Jamaican Bob” greeted the Run Across Ethiopia harriers.