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Rastafari & Iyaric
106 entries in this part of the language, each with meanings, pronunciation and worked examples.
- Ancient of Days A title for God, and in Rastafari specifically for Haile Selassie I — taken from the Book…
- Apprecilove To 'appreciate' with love — a Rastafari Iyaric coinage that replaces the 'hate' sound heard…
- Armagideon The Rastafari rendering of Armageddon — the prophesied final battle and day of judgment…
- Babylon The oppressive establishment — Western colonial and capitalist society, its institutions…
- Bald-head In Rastafari speech, a person who does not wear dreadlocks — and, more pointedly, one who…
- Baldhead In Rastafari speech, a person who is not Rasta — one without dreadlocks — and, by…
- Binggy A short form of Nyahbinghi — the most traditional order of Rastafari and its sacred…
- Binghi Short for Nyabinghi — the oldest and most traditional order of Rastafari, and the name of…
- Binghi man A Rastafari elder of the Nyabinghi order — the most orthodox and traditional house of…
- Blaze To light up and smoke ganja — 'blaze up di spliff' means to spark it and smoke.
- Blem A cigarette, or a rolled spliff — slang for a smoke.
- Blessed A greeting, a farewell, and a blessing all in one, wishing the favour of Jah upon someone.
- Blessed love A warm Rastafari greeting and blessing, offered on meeting or parting — wishing blessings…
- Blindgarette A cigarette — reshaped in Iyaric to expose it as something that 'blinds' rather than…
- Bobo Chiefly a member of the Bobo Ashanti order of Rastafari — known for turbans, flowing robes…
- Bobo Shanti One of the main 'houses' or mansions of Rastafari — the Ethiopia Africa Black International…
- Bun a fyah To 'burn fire' on something — to loudly condemn, denounce, and reject it as corrupt…
- Chalice A water pipe used by Rastafari to smoke the herb ritually during reasoning and meditation.
- Chant down To bring down oppression and corruption ('Babylon') through the spiritual force of…
- Churchical In Rastafari Iyaric, spiritual, sacred, or 'of the church' in the highest sense —…
- Collie Ganja — another name for marijuana, especially good, potent herb ('collie weed').
- Downpression Oppression — reworked so the word itself reflects what it describes.
- Dread A Rastafari — especially one who wears dreadlocks — and, as an adjective, something…
- Dreadlocks Hair grown and matted into rope-like strands, worn by Rastafari as a spiritual commitment…
- Dreadnut A Rasta who wears dreadlocks — a locksman, especially a serious, deeply committed one.
- Earthstrong A birthday, in Rastafari speech — the day one came to be 'strong on the earth'.
- Exodus The movement of Jah people — in Rastafari, the longed-for exodus out of 'Babylon' (Western…
- Forward home In Rastafari speech, to repatriate — to go 'home' to Africa (Ethiopia / Zion), the…
- Fulljoy To fully enjoy — the Rastafari reshaping of 'enjoy'.
- Fullness Completeness, totality, or abundance — the whole of a thing.
- Fyah Fire — but in Rastafari and dancehall it is charged with meaning.
- Gad God — the Patois pronunciation of 'God', with the vowel rounded.
- Ganja Cannabis.
- Grabba A dark, cured tobacco leaf, crumbled and mixed with ganja in a spliff to make it burn…
- Grades Top-quality ganja — a short form of 'high grade' (grade herb).
- Grounation A Rastafari holy gathering of drumming, chanting, dancing, reasoning, and celebration…
- Groundation A Rastafari holy gathering marked by drumming, chanting, reasoning, and dancing that can…
- Guidance and protection A Rastafari blessing and farewell asking Jah's guidance and protection over a person as…
- Healstrong Strong and healthy — an Iyaric reshaping of 'headstrong'.
- Heartical Heartfelt, sincere, and genuine — coming straight from the heart.
- Herb man A man who grows, sells, or is known for smoking ganja — 'herb' being the Rastafari and…
- High grade Top-quality ganja — the finest, strongest herb, as against cheap, harsh, low-grade weed.
- I and I A Rastafari pronoun that can mean 'I', 'me', 'we' or 'us', but always carries the idea that…
- I-man 'I' / 'me' / 'myself' in Rastafari speech — a way of saying 'I' that stresses the speaker's…
- I-manifest To manifest, reveal, or make plain — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so that 'manifest' begins…
- I-sire To desire, long for, or aspire toward — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so 'desire' begins…
- I-talogue Dialogue;
- I-tation Meditation and deep spiritual reflection, in Rastafari 'Iyaric' speech — 'meditation'…
- Iditate To meditate — to reflect deeply, reason, and commune with Jah — the word remade in…
- Iman 'I' or 'me', spoken by a Rastafari to refer to himself while affirming the divine 'I'…
- InI 'I and I' — a central Rastafari expression that can mean 'I', 'we', or 'you and I together'.
- Inity Unity — the word remade in Rastafari speech so it opens with the affirming 'I' in place of…
- Iration Creation — the created world and all its living energy — remade in Rastafari speech with…
- Irie Good, pleasing, and at peace — a state of everything being right and in harmony.
- Irie ites An expression of the very highest good vibes, peace, and positive spiritual feeling.
- Irieshun Creation — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so 'creation' becomes 'irieation/irieshun'…
- Ises Praises given to Jah — thanks, worship, and honour, from 'praises' reshaped in the…
- Ital Natural, pure, and unprocessed — used above all for the Rastafari way of eating: food…
- Italizashun The process of becoming or making something 'ital' — natural, pure, and in keeping with the…
- Ites A Rastafari word of affirmation and greeting meaning 'heights' — spiritual heights, joy…
- Iyah A Rastafari term of address and greeting for a brethren — an honoured 'higher one', hailing…
- Iyaric The deliberately modified language of Rastafari — also called Dread Talk or I-talk —…
- Jah God, in Rastafari belief — the living, present divine, often identified with Emperor Haile…
- Jah know 'God knows' — a heartfelt affirmation of truth and sincerity, calling on Jah (God) as…
- Jah Rastafari The central affirmation and praise of Rastafari — declaring God (Jah) as revealed in…
- Jerusalem The holy city — in Rastafari and Jamaican church tradition, a symbol of the promised land…
- Knotty Having matted, knotted dreadlocks — and, as a name, a Rasta who wears them: a 'knotty…
- Konshens Conscience — the inner moral sense of right and wrong.
- Kutchie The chalice or pipe used to smoke ganja in Rastafari reasoning — passed from one person to…
- Lambsbread A legendary strain of high-quality Jamaican ganja, prized by Rastafari for its uplifting…
- Lion of Judah A central Rastafari symbol standing for Emperor Haile Selassie I, Ethiopia, and the…
- Livicate To dedicate — reworked in Rastafari Iyaric so the 'dead' sound in 'dedi-cate' is replaced…
- Livity The Rastafari concept of righteous living — the whole way a person conducts their life…
- Locks Dreadlocks — the ropes of matted, uncombed hair worn by Rastafari as a sacred symbol of the…
- Natty Knotty and matted — describing dreadlocks — and, as a name, a Rastafari who wears them.
- Negus An Amharic title meaning 'king' — and, in Rastafari, a title of reverence for Emperor Haile…
- Nyabinghi The oldest and most orthodox order of Rastafari, and the sacred drumming-and-chanting…
- Nyahbinghi The oldest and most orthodox order of the Rastafari movement, and the sacred…
- One love An expression of unity and shared humanity — used both as a principle, that all people are…
- Outernational International — but reshaped in Iyaric.
- Overstand To understand — but recast so the word affirms rising rather than being beneath.
- Overstanding Understanding — but a Rasta reshaping of the word.
- Positivity A positive, uplifting spirit and outlook — good energy, encouragement, and good vibes.
- Ras An Ethiopian title of nobility meaning 'head' or 'prince' — as in Ras Tafari Makonnen, the…
- Rasta A Rastafarian — a follower of the Rastafari faith and way of life ('livity'): reverence for…
- Rastafari The Jamaican spiritual movement, born in the 1930s, that reveres Emperor Haile Selassie I…
- Reason To talk things through deeply and openly, especially in the Rastafari way — to sit…
- Reasoning A discussion — especially a deep or spiritual one — a session where Rastafari gather to…
- Redemption Deliverance and freedom from bondage — in Rastafari and reggae, the liberation of Black…
- Righteousness Living right — moral uprightness, justice, and faithfulness to Jah's way.
- Satta To sit, rest, meditate, and give thanks — in Rastafari usage, to settle in peaceful…
- Selassie I Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (1892–1975) — revered by Rastafari as the living…
- Sensimilla Seedless, high-potency ganja — the prized, unfertilised female cannabis flower.
- Sight To see, notice, or — especially in Rastafari speech — to perceive and understand with…
- Sight up To perceive, realize, or come to spiritual understanding — to 'see' a truth with the inner…
- Smoka A smoker — the Patois pronunciation of 'smoker', most often meaning a habitual ganja smoker.
- Spliff A marijuana cigarette — a hand-rolled joint of ganja, often large and cone-shaped.
- Suffera A poor, downtrodden person who bears the daily hardship of ghetto life — one of the…
- Trod To walk, journey, or make one's way through life — used above all by Rastafari for the…
- Twelve Tribes of Israel One of the main houses of Rastafari, founded in 1968 by Vernon 'Prophet Gad' Carrington —…
- Upful Positive, uplifting, and encouraging — full of good, rising energy.
- Weed head A habitual, heavy smoker of ganja — someone forever smoking 'weed'.
- Word sound power The core Rastafari principle that words are not neutral — they carry sound, and sound…
- Yes I 'Yes I' — a Rastafari-inflected 'yes', affirmation, or greeting, where 'I' replaces…
- Zion The promised land of Rastafari belief — Africa, and Ethiopia in particular — understood…
- Zion train A spiritual image of the journey to Zion — the promised land of Africa, redemption, and…