Yes Rasta [Hardcover]

Perry Henzell (Author), Patrick Cariou (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

With bold black-and-white portraits and landscapes, Cariou indelibly captured the strict, separatist, jungle-dwelling, fruit-of-the-land lifestyle—popularized by reggae legends Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Burning Spear—in images never before seen, until now. In Yes Rasta—the phrase spoken by true Rastafari when greeting each other—Cariou's direct, classical photographs reveal men whose style and attitude are as distinctive as their dreadlocks. Men who have left the modern world of Babylon in pursuit of their own independence. Men whose lives are intertwined with the tropical landscape, and whose rituals, symbols, philosophies, religion, medicine, agriculture, family structure, and remarkable strength make the definitive statement of self-reliance.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The title here refers to a personal greeting used by Rastafarians who inhabit isolated areas of the mountains of Jamaica. Photographer Cariou (Surfers) was able to gain access to these communities, share their daily living, earn their trust, and photograph them. In his brief introduction, Henzell, a Jamaican-born filmmaker and author, depicts the Rastafarian culture as a spiritual society living simply, independently, and in harmony with the natural environment. While they contemplate their good life, Rastafarians reject "Babylon," a name they use for the industrialized world of environmental pollution and materialism. The book includes more than 100 black-and-white pictures, mostly close-up portraits of stern, mystical-looking, at times noble men within a tropical landscape. There is only an occasional glimpse of women and children, and out of respect for the subjects' privacy, captions have been omitted. This initial investigation of a people apart is recommended for large institutions and wherever there is an interest in Caribbean culture. Joan Levin, MLS, Chicago
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

With a penchant for adventure, it is no wonder photographer Patrick Cariou—whose first book, Surfers, drew tidal waves of praise—journeyed to Jamaica, a land that he calls "pure madness, and one of the most dangerous places on earth that is not at war." There, he entered the secluded world of the Rastafarians, a world, culture, and religion closed to outsiders. Cariou slowly gained their trust, and they began to let him take their picture.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: powerHouse Books; 1 edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576870731
• ISBN-13: 978-1576870730
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 10.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #710,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Practices > Rastafari

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dreadlocks, Cultural Roots, And The Healing Of The Nations, February 1, 2001

By 

Dr Lawrence Hauser (NYC, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Yes Rasta (Hardcover)

I visited Jamaica many times in the fifteen years following my first Negril holiday in 1977. I was in search of Rastafarianism and reggae music. Of the natural mystic blowing through the air.

My first morning in Negril I left my tourist hotel for a walk along the beach toward town. After a while of walking on the white sand and enjoying the glorious sunrise, I noticed two dread-locked men standing off to the side smoking a spliff and gazing out to sea. They were more like an apparition than flesh and blood but then they saw me staring. Smiles of incredible radiance slowly spread out upon their faces as they turned toward me and they nodded graciously. I felt their blessing like a wave of force across the beach. They had such tremendous presence, those two men. Such an aura of power.

Patrick Cariou's homage to Rastafarianism takes this mesmeric presence of the Rastaman as the focus for his deeply moving, sensationally well-executed portfolio of black and white photographs of Jamaica and of its Rasta Nation. The portraits of these men of all ages are among the best I have ever seen. Partly this results from the great technical skill Cariou brings to his work. But clearly the strength of this collection is in the way the subjects felt about their photographer. The way in which they responded to his lens emotionally.

There is one photograph of an elderly Rasta with matted locks down to the ground that is so remarkable. He stands for his portrait with his pancake-flattened dreadlock over one shoulder extending right to his feet in a sumptuous arc. His arms are extended at his sides and his stance suggests submission to fate, his attitude such a natural state of grace. But what makes this image so unforgettable is the communication you can feel between this man and his photographer. His willingness to open himself emotionally for his portrait. The unconditionality of his pose.

Aside from portraits of individuals, there are also numerous photographs of adult men with their children in this gorgeous collection. Of men working in their ganja fields, preparing ital for their meals, smoking the bounty of the marijuana harvest.

And there are photographs of Jamaica itself that capture just amazingly the dramatic mood of the mountains and of the thick, jungle-like vegetation that there abounds. And of the dwellings in which these people live and worship.

In the few inspired pages of text at the beginning of this book Perry Henzell captures the paradox of the Rasta people when he says that 'they projected the humility of the social outcast but bore the high stride of a visionary on the move..." Yes Rasta understands this essential paradox well and visually transmits a view of life informed by it with tremendous sensitivity and respect. I could not imagine a better result

5.0 out of 5 stars yes rasta, October 17, 2000

By 

cathy s stanley (evanston, illinois USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yes Rasta (Hardcover)

this book is a long awaited contribution to the knowledge base of Rastafarian culture. This book is a work of art, compassion and livity. In recent times there has been academic writings of the world of rastafari. This knowledge helps to expand our ways of knowing and provides us with a history of a people that is often lost in other worldviews. The pictures that Patrick captures gives us a visual of strength and dignity of his subjects in their own settings. He and his co-author give praises to the struggle for equal rights and justice and honors the plight of those who have been oppressed. Patrick is very skillful with the lens of the camera and provides us with the powerful images of the faces of Rastafarians in the hills, the beach and on the road. A beautiful tabletop book to pass along to friends for the upcoming holidays.

I give thanks everytime for a remarkable book.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great, May 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Yes Rasta (Hardcover)

Yes Rasta is the best photography book on Rasta, an extraordinary photo documentary on people never seen before