Mpumalanga Rastafarians can’t be bothered with Covid-19 – they’ve always been in lockdown

Ethiopia – a serene, densely vegetated and exclusively Rastafarian settlement on the banks of a river near Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga – could not be bothered by the Covid-19 epidemic crisis or the 21-day national lockdown.

Masks, gloves and sanitisers are novel items for the group of devoted Rastafarians and social distancing such a foreign concept that they continue to hold hands for every greeting or prayer.

Elder Chalice, one of the Rastafarians living in a rural village in Waterval, KwaNdebele, 2 April 2020, Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles

They also continue with their culture of smoking marijuana from the same bamboo pipe, which goes from one person to the next in a circle during mediation sessions.

All residents are astute subsistence farmers who have lived from the land given to the group by the Ndzundza tribal authority in the early ’80s.

Papa Tosh one of the Rastafarians living in a rural village in Waterval, KwaNdebele, 2 April 2020, Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles

“We hardly leave this place. We have almost everything we need here because we live from the land, with little need to venture out,” says elder Papa Lord I, who lives with his wife and three children.

As the 21-day national Covid-19 lockdown has begun to take its toll on cigarette smokers and alcohol drinkers, the Rastafarians could not be bothered. They have their main spiritual and physical sustenance, marijuana, enough water and enough fruits and vegetables in their gardens for everyone.

Papa Lord, Papa Tosh and Somtshongweni Isaaiah, three of the Rastafarians living in a rural village in Waterval, KwaNdebele, 2 April 2020, Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles

From a distance, the settlement is nothing but a cluster of vegetation and trees. Tucked away is a group of little houses and huts, with six of these occupied by a family of at least five people.

Elder Somtshongweni Isaiah, who lives with his wife and four children, says their pure organic, vegetarian diet and natural way of life has made them resilient to disease and other evils.

“Rasta has warned for time immemorial that killing and eating meat is wrong. [Covid-19] comes from people eating animals. I moved here almost 10 years ago because out there is just chaos. I will never look back,” he says.

Elder Chalice, one of the Rastafarians living in a rural village in Waterval, KwaNdebele, 2 April 2020, Mpumalanga. Picture: Jacques Nelles

Papa Tosh, another elder who lives alone, says that although nobody from the outside hardly ever comes to the settlement, they are cautious who they let in and The Citizen had to make an appointment, which was discussed by the council first.

He says they are concerned by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s major screening and testing drive, saying they are worried these very same people may bring the virus to their settlement.

“I hope they do not do it by force because we would rather be left alone,” Tosh says.

The only impact the pandemic has had on the Rastafarians is that they have had to cancel their commemoration of Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie’s 21 April 1966, historic visit to Jamaica. Selassie is the cornerstone of Rastafari belief system and regarded by the Rastafarians to be the incarnation of God. – siphom@citizen.co.za

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