Ras·ta·far·i·an·ism 
(rä′stə-färē-ə-nĭz′əm, răs′tə-fâr-)
(rä′stə-färē-ə-nĭz′əm, răs′tə-fâr-)n.
A religious and political movement originating in Jamaica in the 1930s that bases its doctrine on selections from the Bible and regards Ethiopia as the Promised Land and Haile Selassie I as a messiah, with many members advocating nonviolence and rejecting materialism.
[After Ras Tafari Makonnen, former name of Haile Selassie I, proclaimed a divine being by adherents : Amharic ras, head, prince; see rʾš the Appendix of Semitic roots + Amharic täfäri, feared, participle of täfärra, to be feared, derived stem of färra, to fear, respect; see prh the Appendix of Semitic roots.]