Zion
Also spelled: zayon
Meaning
The promised land of Rastafari belief — Africa, and Ethiopia in particular — understood both as a physical homeland to return to and as a spiritual state of peace and freedom. It stands as the direct opposite of Babylon, the oppressive system.
Examples
-
“Wi a chant fi go a Zion.”
We are chanting to go to Zion.
The longing for repatriation to Africa is a central Rastafari theme.
-
“Zion inna mi heart.”
Zion is in my heart.
Used for the spiritual, inner sense of Zion.
-
“Babylon cyaan hol wi back from Zion.”
Babylon cannot hold us back from Zion.
Origin
From the biblical Mount Zion in Jerusalem, a symbol of God's dwelling and the homeland of the Hebrew people. Rastafari reinterpreted it as Africa, the ancestral home from which the diaspora was taken.
How it's used
Deeply spiritual, tied to the doctrine of repatriation. Contrasted with Babylon in almost every use.