Hi,

It’s all re-starting! If everything goes to plan I will come to see you all in the next few weeks…not groups yet I don’t think, but I will be able to check you are all okay in person, face to face….wow, its been a long time!!! As always, I can’t promise anything, it all depends on whether my eldest daughter is well enough to be left but she does seem to be staying relatively (for her) healthy.

It feels like a really good time to re-start….Its spring, I am listening to all the birdsong in the garden as they settle down for the evening. It has been beautiful weather today. The horses have gone out onto the fields for the first time this weekend since the beginning of October….its a long 6 months for them. In the winter months they have a concrete yard with lots of hay nets to pick at while the fields are too damp, but they get really fed up…its just not the same as being out on the fields. They were completely overexcited going down to the field, bouncing and bucking and walking just on their back legs. When they got out to the field they ran around squealing and kicking out their back legs. I’m hoping they are a bit calmer on the way back in.

I have spent the weekend gardening…my idea of bliss! I’ve been listening to music, singing along (badly) and digging, weeding, planting, pruning and everywhere is starting to look a bit smarter. Like last year, I’ve got some garden vouchers to spend that I have saved from Christmas. Now the ‘Stay Local’ rule is lifted I can’t wait to get to the garden centre…there is just a 3,000 word essay between me and freedom! I suppose really truthfully I probably should be writing my essay instead of writing to all of you, but here we are!!! 😊 …

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Kebra Negast

54. How DAVID [the King of ETHIOPIA] Prophesied and Saluted ZION And King [DAVID] came and stood up before ZION, and he saluted it, and made obeisance thereto, and said, “O Lord God of ISRAEL, to Thee be praise, because Thou doest Thy Will and not the will of men. Thou makest the wise man to forget his wisdom, and Thou destroyest the counsel of the counsellor, and Thou raisest the poor man from the depth, and Thou settest the sole of his foot upon a strong rock. For a full cup of glory is in Thy hand for those who love Thee, and a full cup of shame for those who hate Thee. As for us, our salvation shall go forth out of ZION, and He shall remove sin from His people, and goodness and mercy shall be poured out in all the world. For we are the work of His hands, and who shall rebuke us if He loveth us as ISRAEL His people? And who shall reprove Him if He raiseth us up to heaven His throne? For death and life are from Him, and glory and dishonour are in His hand, He hath the power to punish and to multiply His compassion, and He can be wroth and multiply His mercy, for it is He who trieth the heart and the reins. He giveth and He taketh away, He planteth and He uprooteth. He buildeth up and He throweth down. He beautifieth and He deformeth; for everything belongeth to Him, and everything is from Him, and everything existeth in Him. And as for thee, O Tabernacle of the Law of God, salvation be whither thou goest, and from the place whence thou goest forth; salvation be in the house and in the field, salvation be here and be there, salvation be in the palace and in the lowly place, salvation be on the sea and on the dry land, salvation be in the mountains and in the hills, salvation be in the heavens and on the earth, salvation be in the firm grounds and in the abysses, salvation be in death and in life, salvation be in thy coming and in thy going forth, salvation be to our children and to the tribe of thy people, salvation be in thy countries and in thy cities, salvation be to the kings and to the nobles, salvation be to the plants and to the fruits, salvation be to men and to beasts, salvation be to the birds and to the creeping things of the earth; be salvation, be an intercessor, and a merciful one, and have regard for thy people. Be unto us a wall, and we will be unto thee a fence; be thou a king unto us and we will be thy people; be thou a guide unto us and we will follow after thee. And be not impatient, and mark not closely, and be not angry at the multitude of our sins, for we are a people who have not the Law, and who have not learned Thy praise. And from this time forward guide us, and teach us, and make us to have understanding, and make us to have wisdom that we may learn Thy praise. And Thy name shall be praised by us at all times, and all the day, and every day, and every night, and every hour, and all the length of time. Give us power that we may serve Thee. Rise up, ZION, and put on thy strength, and conquer thine enemies, and give us strength, our queen, and put thou to shame those who hate thee, and make to rejoice those who love thee.” 

And then he made a circuit and said, “Behold ZION, behold salvation, behold the one who rejoiceth, behold the splendour like the sun, behold the one adorned with praise, behold the one who is decorated like a bride, not with the apparel of fleeting glory, but the one who is decorated with the glory and praise which are from God, whom it is meet that [men] shall look upon with desire and shall not forsake; whom [men] shall desire above all things and shall not reject; whom [men] shall love willingly and shall not hate; whom [men] shall approach willingly and shall not keep afar off. We will draw nigh unto thee, and do not thou withdraw far from us; we will support ourselves upon thee, and do not thou let us slip away; we will supplicate thee, and do not thou be deaf to us; we will cry out to thee; hear thou our cry in all that we ask of thee, and desire not to withdraw thyself from us, until thy Lord cometh and reigneth over thee; for thou art the habitation of the God of heaven.”

Thus spake DAVID the King, the son of SOLOMON, King of ISRAEL. For the spirit of prophecy descended upon him because of his joy, and he knew not what he said and he was like PETER and JOHN on the top of Mount TÂBÔR.¹ And they all marvelled and said, “This, the son of a prophet, is he to be numbered among the prophets?”

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From H.I.M. Church…

Reasoning

Command:

Deuteronomy 4 v40
40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments,
which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with
thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon
the earth, which the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, thy God giveth
thee, for ever.

Will:

Psalm 27 v4, 8
4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and to inquire in his temple.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, will I seek.

Desire:

Isaiah 51 v11
11 Therefore the redeemed of the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy
shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Wish:

Revelation 7 v15
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

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Bible Verses

Deuteronomy 5:32-33

³² So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.

³³ Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

Deuteronomy 6:4

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a]

⁵ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

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The Book of Enoch Chapter 8

1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all

2 colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they

3 were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, ‘Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .

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Here is the next chapter of…

All the Churches Religious system of today, claims to represent the Lord God of Israel; but the Pope who is satan the devil, false organization is a hypocritical religious system that has three elements, first commercial political and ecclesiastical, to keep the people in ignorance of their wicked course.

Money powers are the great bulwarks of their organization and they use the Religious elements as a smoke screen to keep the people in ignorance of the truth.

The false teachers under the supervision of the Pope of Rome who is satan the devil. The agents of his speaking lies in the churches and let the people walk in darkness.

My dear Readers you can see that all their foundations of the earth are out of course. Allow me to say that there is no throne for the Anglo Saxon white people, they must come down and sit in the dust on the ground there is no throne for them. See Isaiah 47th chapter.

King Alpha was wroth with us the Black People and had polluted our inheritance for 2520 years and had given us into the hands of the Anglo-Saxon white people, they showed us no mercy therefore evil shall come upon them suddenly.

Now let the Astrologers and Stargazers stand up and save the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom from the vengeance that shall come upon them suddenly.

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A Speech About Life By His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie

What life has taught me on the question of racial discrimination, I like to share with those
who want to learn.

That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and
permanently discredited and abandoned.
That until there are no longer first class and second class citizens of any nation;
That until the colour of a man’s skin is no more significance than the colour of his eyes:
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all, without regard to race;
That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and world citizenship and the rule of
international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued but never attained;
And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers in Angola, in Mozambique
and in South Africa in sub-human bondage have been toppled and destroyed;
Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self interest have been replaced by
understanding and tolerance and goodwill;
Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of the Almighty;
Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if
necessary, and we know that we shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over
evil.
It will be self deceiving and a waste of time to advocate dialogue with those who are not
ready to listen, because it is obvious that the freedom of millions is not a commodity subject
to bargaining.

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The Shepherd’s Prayer By Athlyi

O God of Ethiopia, thy divine majesty; thy spirit come in our hearts to dwell in the path of righteousness, lead us, help us to forgive that we may be forgiven, teach us love and loyalty on earth as in Heaven, endow us with wisdom and understanding to do thy will, thy blessing to us that the hungry be fed, the naked clothed, the sick nourished, the aged protected and the infants cared for. Deliver us from the hands of our enemies that we prove fruitful, then in the last day when life is o’er, our bodies in the clay, or in the depths of the sea, or in the belly of a beast, O give our souls a place in thy kingdom forever and forever. Amen.

(From The Holy Bipy by Robert Athlyi Rogers)

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I guess you all realise that I really like traditional folk stories. I’ve sent you enough in these letters to bore the socks off you! My 3 children would sympathise with you, that’s what they were read when they were little. I used to light the fire and all the candles ready, so the room was nice and cosy. They would get changed into pyjamas, have a wash and clean their teeth. Then they would each bring a blanket and we would cuddle up in front of the fire and I would read them a folk story.

We are lucky in Wales (not just cos our rugby team is the best! 😊), we have an amazing history of folk stories. We have The Mabinogion (I’ve sent you quite a few of those stories) as well as stories about Welsh saints and other traditional stories, like the one about Gelert the dog I put in the letter last year.

I love noticing the similarities between my Welsh history and traditions and your Rastafari traditions. I think its one of the ways that you can really get an understanding of a culture…their stories and their cooking. Luckily our stories are good because have you ever tasted traditional Welsh cooking?…its a bit grim! Any country whose traditional dishes are fairly bland lamb stews and seaweed (yes, really 🤢) needs to have a good set of stories (and a decent rugby team) to redeem itself.

Rastafari culture has both….amazing cooking with beautiful flavours AND, I’ve just discovered, some fascinating traditional stories to go with it. So I thought I would put one of them in this letter. Here goes….

Tying Tiger

One great hungry time. Anansi couldn’t get anyt’ing to eat, so he take up his hand-basket an’ a big pot an’ went down to the sea-side to catch fish. When he reach there, he make up a large fire and put the pot on the fire, an’ say, “Come, big fish!” He catch some big fish put them aside. He said, “Big fish go, make little fish come!” He then catch the little fish. He say, “Little fish go, make big fish come!” an’ say, “Big fish go, make little fish come!” He then catch the pot full an’ his hand-basket. He bile the pot full and sit down and eat it off; he then started home back with the pot on his head and the basket. Reaching a little way, he hide the pot away in the bush an take the basket along with him now.

While going along, he meet up Tiger. Now Tiger is a very rough man an’ Anansi ‘fraid of him. Tiger said to him, “What you have in that basket, sah?”–speak to him very rough. Anansi speak in a very feeble voice, say, “Nothing, sah! nothing, sah!” So both of them pass each other, an’ when they went on a little way, Tiger hide in the bush watching Anansi. Anansi then sit down underneath a tree, open his basket, take out the fishes one one, and say, “Pretty little yallah-tail this!” an’ put it aside; he take out a snapper an’ say, “Pretty little snapper this!” an’ put it one side; he take out a jack-fish an’ say, “Pretty little jack-fish!” an’ put it one side. Tiger then run up an’ say, “Think you havn’t not’ing in that basket, sah!” Anansi say, “I jus’ going down to the sea have a bathe, sah, an’ I catch them few ‘itte fishes.” Tiger say, “Give it to me here, sah!”–talk in a very rough manner. An’ Tiger take it an’ eat them all an’ spit up the bones. Anansi then take up the bones an’ eat them, an’ while eating he grumble an’ say, “But look me bwoy labor do!” Tiger say, “What you say?” Anansi say, “Fly humbug me face, sah!” (brushing his face). So booth of them start to go home now with the empty basket, but this time Anansi was studying for Tiger. When he reach part of the way, Anansi see a fruit-tree. Anansi say, “What a pretty fruit-tree!” (looking up in the tree). Tiger say, “Climb it, sah!” (in a rough manner). So when Anansi go up an’ pull some of the fruit, at that time Tiger was standing underneath the tree. Anansi look down on Tiger head an’ said, “Look lice in a Brar Tiger head!” Tiger said, “Come down an’ ketch it, sah!” Anansi come down an’ said to Tiger he kyan’t ketch it without he lean on the tree. Tiger said, “Lean on the tree, sah!” The hair on Tiger head is very long. So while Anansi ketchin’ the lice, Tiger fell asleep. Anansi now take the hair an’ lash it round the tree tie up Tiger on the tree. After he done that he wake up Tiger an’ say that he kyan’t ketch any more. Tiger in a rough manner say, “Come an’ ketch it, sah!” Anansi say, “I won’t!” So Anansi run off, Tiger spring after him, an’ fin’ out that his hair is tied on the tree. So Tiger say, “Come an’ loose me, sah!” Anansi say. “I won’t!” an’ Anansi sing now,

“See how Anansi tie Tiger,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
Tie him like a hog, Tiger,
See how Anansi tie Tiger,
Tie him like a hog, Tiger!”

An’ Anansi leave him go home, am’ a hunter-man come an’ see Tiger tie on the tree, make kill him. (By George Parkes, Mandeville.)

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This is a bit of an explanation from Wikipedia…

Anansi (literally means spider) is a folktale character. He often takes the shape of a spider and is sometimes considered to be a god of all knowledge of stories. Taking the role of trickster, he is also one of the most important characters in folklore. Anansi is most well known for his ability to outsmart and triumph over more powerful opponents through his use of cunning, creativity and wit. Despite taking on the role of the trickster, Anansi’s actions and parables often carry him as protagonist due to his ability to transform his apparent weaknesses into virtues.

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When I was little, my dad used to tell me stories about Brer Rabbit, you all might know those stories, and it seems that they come from the same tradition. Brer Rabbit is a trickster, just like Anansi, and sometimes Anansi is given ‘Brer’ before his name too. There are lots of these stories….so watch out, you know what you will be reading the next few weeks!

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We had a hail storm and snow here last night. It’s completely different to the weather we had when I started writing this letter!

My son has been rushing to get all the harrowing done again, like last year….for those of you who weren’t on board with these letters this time last year, harrowing is what you do to break up and smooth the soil in a field and remove the dead grass. They look a bit like the ones in the picture below but ours are much bigger and loads rustier. So he’s trying to harrow all our fields at least twice, then roll them and then he’s going to his godmother’s farm to harrow all her fields too.

This all has to be done while the ground has dried out a little bit, but isn’t too dry, and it’s not too late in the season so the grass hasn’t really grown too much…quite a juggling act with Welsh weather thrown into the mix.

You remember a couple of weeks ago Anya, my husband’s puppy, managed to run into the gate and bump her eye?…this week my son left the harrows in the field overnight and Anya didn’t notice. Yes, she’s now got a big lump on her side where she boiiinged straight into it. She lives life full-pelt does that one.

To finish off, here is a picture of Lenny the Liability being a foot warmer and cook’s help this evening. He’s probably just waiting for an opportunity to grab the food, but he is a gorgeous boy….

Blessings,

Elizabeth