Cultural Diversity - The Civil Service

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Land Registry Cultural Diversity• Hannukah (sometimes spelt Chanukah). A festival of lights which commemoratesthe rededication of the temple in ancient times. The festival lasts for a week andeach night candles are lit on a 9 branch candelabra, known as a ChanukahMenorah. It is celebrated during November and December.• Passover (Pesach). A Spring festival which commemorates the deliverance ofIsrael from slavery in Egypt.DressMost of Britain’s Jewish people dress in the same way as the wider community. It istraditional for men to cover their head when in the synagogue and devout Jewish menand boys wear a skull cap at all times. There is one group, however, which isparticularly distinctive in its manner of dress. Male Hassidic Jews (chiefly from EasternEurope) wear dark clothing and wide brimmed hats, and curl their side burns.Dietary LawsThe Jewish faith has many dietary laws; the extent to which they are upheld willdepend on the individual and the degree of their orthodoxy. Many Jews do not eatpork, or shellfish, or dairy and meat products at the same meal. Food which has beenprepared in a ritually acceptable way is known as ‘Kosher’. In the case of meat, forexample, this means that the animal has been slaughtered by a qualified person in away which allows its blood to drain away. In the case of other food, there must havebeen no contact with banned items. An example of this would be an egg which, iffried in bacon fat, would not be permissible.Rites of passageAll Jewish boys are circumcised eight days after birth. They are considered to come ofage in a religious sense at 13 when their Bar-Mitzvah ceremony is held. The Jewishmarriage is both a contract and a holy covenant. Divorce is permitted after allattempts at reconciliation have failed. Most Jews bury their dead, as cremation isstrictly prohibited in Jewish law. This is followed by a week of private mourning and bya further ceremony one year after the death.20
Land Registry Cultural DiversityRastafarianismRastafarianism dates back to the early 1930s when the Prince Regent, Ras (‘Prince’)Tafari, was crowned as Emperor Haile Selassie 1 of Ethiopia (1930-74). It is from RasTafari that this Revivalist Movement gained its name. Rastafarians believe in one God(Jah) and that they and all Africans who have migrated are but exiles in ‘Babylon’.They are destined to be delivered out of captivity by a return to Zion or Africa – theland of their ancestors. There are believed to be about 250,000 adherents to thisreligion world-wide, of whom approximately 5,000 live in the United Kingdom.Key beliefsThe modern characteristics of the Rastafarian movement include a loosely definedbelief system, due to its lack of a single authoritative voice. Some consider theRastafarian movement to be influenced by Marcus Garvey’s own set of beliefs. Heestablished the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1914 in both the UnitedStates and Jamaica. This organisation was the vehicle for Garvey’s aim to return Blackto Africa. His teaching remains the key influence upon this Black religion. Garvey wasthought to have predicted the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie with his allegedphrase “Look to Africa when a Black king shall be crowned, for the day of deliveranceis near”.Despite the lack of a central authority, Rastafarianism is guided by key tenets of faith.The Bible is the main religious text of Rastafarianism. The African race is one of God’schosen races, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel. Jamaica is the biblical ‘Babylon’,although all the places to which Africans have been exiled are also included. ‘Babylon’is the place which will never see spiritual reform and liberation. ‘Jah’ is believed toreside in each person and there is ‘Oneness’ between the individual and God.Revivalism, the belief that they are destined to be delivered out of captivity by a returnto Zion or Africa, is the key tenet of faith held by the adherents to Rastafarianism.Rites and observancesWorship takes place at various times depending upon each Rastafarian commune.Nevertheless, a service is conducted at least once a week. Central to the service ismusic and, sometimes I-TAL (vegetarian, organic and natural food prepared in thecolours red, green and gold). Fasting is observed, sometimes as often as twice eachweek or simply on the first Saturday of every month. On these days, nothing whateveris consumed from noon until evening. Adherents to Rastafarianism consider Saturdayto be the Sabbath day. Cutting of hair is prohibited. Dreadlocks symbolise the ‘maneof the Lion of Judah’ (reference to the divine title of Emperor Haile Selassie).21
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Cultural Diversity - The Civil Service

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