The Promised Key

The Promised Key, kadang juga dikenal dengan judul The Promise Key, adalah buku gerakan Rastafari yang ditulis pada 1935 oleh pengkhotbah Jamaika Leonard Howell yang menggunakan nama samaran Hindu Howell GG Maragh (GG merupakan singkatan dari Gong Guru).^[1]^[2]^[3]

Buku ini diterbitkan pada tahun 1935 oleh Harding Commercial Printery di Kingston, Jamaika, dengan sampul berupa dua kunci yang bersilangan dan nama orang yang diklaim sebagai pendukung buku ini, yaitu "Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Editor African Morning Post, Accra, Gold Coast." Nnamdi Azikiwe sendiri adalah penyunting koran tersebut pada masa itu, tetapi tidak diketahui apakah ia memang pernah mendukung penulisan dan penerbitan buku ini.^[4]

Buku ini mirip dengan buku yang sebelumnya ditulis pada 1926 oleh Fitz Balintine Pettersburg, yaitu Royak Parchment Scroll of Black Supremacy. Beberapa baris dalam buku The Promised Key bahkan diambil mentah-mentah dari buku tersebut, seperti "Kecantikan kotor adalah Ratu di neraka" dan juga cercaan terhadap estetika Barat. Namun, dalam buku ini, identitas "Raja Alfa dan Ratu Omega" diubah dari Fitz Balintine Pettersburg dan istrinya menjadi Kaisar Haile Selassie dan Permaisuri Menen Asfaw. Kini hal ini menjadi salah satu keyakinan utama penganut Rastafari.

Referensi sunting

^ Yoshiko S. Nagashima Rastafarian Music in Contemporary Jamaica: A Study of Socio-religious.. 1984 "Maragh, G. G. 1930? The Promised Key, Kingston: Harding Commercial Printery (Dr. Nuamdi Azikiwe, Accra.)
^ Jamaica Journal Volumes 15-16 1982 "This second ritual identity was expressed through the use of the separate name, 'G.G. Maragh', which was the name Howell employed in his putative role as author of The Promised Key. "
^ Derek Bishton Black Heart Man 1986 p.115 "A pamphlet he wrote setting out the basic tenets of his philosophy, called The Promised Key, is described as written by G. G. Maragh, and Robert Hill provides an explanation. He describes speaking to a Howellite: 'When we say Mr Howell, .."
^ Stephen Davis, Helene Lee The First Rasta: Leonard Howell and the Rise of Rastafarianism 2012 p.97 "On the cover, under two crossed keys (a Masonic symbol), is the name of the pamphlet's putative patron, “Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Editor of the African Morning Post, Accra, Gold Coast”—present-day Ghana. The work is credited to a “G. G. Maragh"

[1] Yoshiko S. Nagashima Rastafarian Music in Contemporary Jamaica: A Study of Socio-religious.. 1984 "Maragh, G. G. 1930? The Promised Key, Kingston: Harding Commercial Printery (Dr. Nuamdi Azikiwe, Accra.)

[2] Jamaica Journal Volumes 15-16 1982 "This second ritual identity was expressed through the use of the separate name, 'G.G. Maragh', which was the name Howell employed in his putative role as author of The Promised Key. "

[3] Derek Bishton Black Heart Man 1986 p.115 "A pamphlet he wrote setting out the basic tenets of his philosophy, called The Promised Key, is described as written by G. G. Maragh, and Robert Hill provides an explanation. He describes speaking to a Howellite: 'When we say Mr Howell, .."

[4] Stephen Davis, Helene Lee The First Rasta: Leonard Howell and the Rise of Rastafarianism 2012 p.97 "On the cover, under two crossed keys (a Masonic symbol), is the name of the pamphlet's putative patron, “Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Editor of the African Morning Post, Accra, Gold Coast”—present-day Ghana. The work is credited to a “G. G. Maragh"

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