Joseph Hibbert
Encyclopedia
Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert (born 1894, date of death unknown) was, along with Leonard Howell
, Archibald Dunkley
, and Robert Hinds, one of the first preachers of the Rastafari movement
in Jamaica
following the coronation of Ras Tafari as Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia on 2 November 1930.
In about 1911, at the age of 17, he moved to Costa Rica where he spent 20 years at farm work, also becoming a member of the Ancient Order of Ethiopia masonic lodge. His background at this time had been with the Ethiopian Baptist Church, that had been founded in Jamaica by the 18th century Baptist preacher George Lisle
. Hibbert returned to Jamaica in 1931, starting his ministry, "Ethiopian Coptic Faith", to teach that the newly-crowned Haile Selassie was divine, in St. Andrew Parish
, in a district called Benoah. He reached this conclusion independently, having studied the Ethiopic translation of the Bible. Somewhat later, he transferred his ministry to Kingston, where he found that another street preacher named Leonard P. Howell was already teaching many similar doctrines. Like Howell and Dunkley, Hibbert was subjected to arrest and imprisonment by authorities, and he was also a founding member of EWF Local 17.
Hibbert was probably among the Rastafari elders, including Mortimer Planno
, who were given the honour of meeting with Haile Selassie I on his historic 1966 visit to Jamaica
. In 1970, Hibbert formally invited the Archbishop Laike Mandefro, whom Haile Selassie had sent to Jamaica as emissary of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
, to teach Rastafarians about the Orthodox Faith, and in about 1971, Mandefro named Hibbert as a "Spiritual Organizer".
Leonard Howell
Leonard Percival Howell , known as The Gong or G.G. Maragh , was a Jamaican religious figure. According to his biographer Hélène Lee, Howell was born in an Anglican family...
, Archibald Dunkley
Archibald Dunkley
Henry Archibald Dunkley was, along with Leonard Howell, Joseph Hibbert, and Robert Hinds, one of the first preachers of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica following the coronation of Ras Tafari as Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia on 2 November 1930....
, and Robert Hinds, one of the first preachers of the Rastafari movement
Rastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
following the coronation of Ras Tafari as Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia on 2 November 1930.
In about 1911, at the age of 17, he moved to Costa Rica where he spent 20 years at farm work, also becoming a member of the Ancient Order of Ethiopia masonic lodge. His background at this time had been with the Ethiopian Baptist Church, that had been founded in Jamaica by the 18th century Baptist preacher George Lisle
George Lisle (Baptist)
George Liele Liele, or Leile, or George Sharp was an African American and emancipated slave who became the founding pastor of the First African Baptist Church, in Savannah, Georgia . He became the first American missionary, leaving in 1782 for Jamaica; this is twenty years before Adoniram Judson...
. Hibbert returned to Jamaica in 1931, starting his ministry, "Ethiopian Coptic Faith", to teach that the newly-crowned Haile Selassie was divine, in St. Andrew Parish
Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica
Saint Andrew is a parish, situated in the southeast of Jamaica in the county of Surrey. It lies north, west and east of Kingston, and stretches into the Blue Mountains and at the 2001 census had the highest population of all the parishes in Jamaica. The Right Excellent George William Gordon Saint...
, in a district called Benoah. He reached this conclusion independently, having studied the Ethiopic translation of the Bible. Somewhat later, he transferred his ministry to Kingston, where he found that another street preacher named Leonard P. Howell was already teaching many similar doctrines. Like Howell and Dunkley, Hibbert was subjected to arrest and imprisonment by authorities, and he was also a founding member of EWF Local 17.
Hibbert was probably among the Rastafari elders, including Mortimer Planno
Mortimer Planno
Mortimo "Kumi" Planno, was a renowned drummer and Rastafari elder and considered one of the ideological founders of this back-to-Africa movement...
, who were given the honour of meeting with Haile Selassie I on his historic 1966 visit to Jamaica
Grounation Day
Grounation Day is an important Rastafarian holy day, and second after Coronation Day . It is celebrated in honor of Haile Selassie's 1966 visit to Jamaica.-Visit of Selassie I to Jamaica:...
. In 1970, Hibbert formally invited the Archbishop Laike Mandefro, whom Haile Selassie had sent to Jamaica as emissary of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
, to teach Rastafarians about the Orthodox Faith, and in about 1971, Mandefro named Hibbert as a "Spiritual Organizer".