Leonard Howell

Leonard Percival Howell ( born June 16, 1896 in Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica, † 1981 in Kingston, Jamaica ) was a major representative of the Rastafarian religion. He was also under his religious name of The Gong or GG Maragh known ( for Gong Guru ). Howell was one of the first significant preachers of the Rastafari movement (along with Joseph Hibbert, Archibald Dunkley, and Robert Hinds ). Part of it is ( "The First Rasta " ) referred to as The First Rasta. In his opinion, living on the American continent blacks should focus on their religious and cultural homeland in Africa. He urged blacks to be proud of themselves and their origin.

According to the biographer Hélène Lee Howells original family was Anglican. Howells parents Thomas and Clementina Howell were self-employed farmers and encouraged Leonard to travel. In the 1920s, he then left Jamaica by ship, traveled to the United States and studied there. Through his radical attitude he came into conflict with the established authorities in Jamaica: the plantation owners, the trading companies, the established churches, the police and the colonial power. Overall, he was arrested over 50 times. He founded a commune called " Pinnacle " in Saint Catherine Parish, which was known as a religious place of Rastafarians.

Howells doctrines

Howell published his ideas and doctrines under the title The Promise Key under the pseudonym GG Maragh. Since the expectations of the Rastafarian religion has political demands, his religious- cultural engagement interfered with its use as a civil rights activist. Its main requirements were:

  • Haile Selassie I. recognition as a living and only leader of black people
  • Respect for the dignity of black people
  • Opposition to the oppression
  • God's retribution for the oppressors
  • Detachment of the oppressors and humanization of their institutions
  • Preparation for the return to Africa
  • Back conquest of Africa by the black people

His claims and beliefs Howell was arrested several times. This multiplied his reputation in the Rastafarian movement and beyond.

Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Integrated Authority File
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