Archibald Dunkley
Encyclopedia
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.
Dunkley had spent much time away from Jamaica, as a seaman employed by the United Fruit Company
, and he returned to Port Antonio
, Jamaica on December 8, 1930, where he switched professions, becoming a street preacher. His studies of the Bible had convinced him that the newly-crowned Haile Selassie was the returned Messiah
, and that Rastafari was a name of God. By 1933, he had relocated to Kingston, where the King of Kings Ethiopian Mission was founded. Following Howell's December 1933 imprisonment for sedition, Dunkley too was imprisoned briefly by the authorities a number of times in 1934 and 1935 on charges of "disorderly conduct". In August 1938, he became one of the foundation members of the first Jamaican local chapter of the Ethiopian World Federation
, Local 17, which however became dormant soon afterward, to be replaced by the more permanent Local 31.
Although not as much is known of his life as that of Howell (the most outspoken founder of Rastafari), Dunkley was reported as still alive as of 1991.
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...
, Joseph Hibbert
Joseph Hibbert
Joseph Nathaniel Hibbert 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...
, 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
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
on 2 November 1930.
Dunkley had spent much time away from Jamaica, as a seaman employed by the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
, and he returned to Port Antonio
Port Antonio
Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 60 miles from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991...
, Jamaica on December 8, 1930, where he switched professions, becoming a street preacher. His studies of the Bible had convinced him that the newly-crowned Haile Selassie was the returned Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, and that Rastafari was a name of God. By 1933, he had relocated to Kingston, where the King of Kings Ethiopian Mission was founded. Following Howell's December 1933 imprisonment for sedition, Dunkley too was imprisoned briefly by the authorities a number of times in 1934 and 1935 on charges of "disorderly conduct". In August 1938, he became one of the foundation members of the first Jamaican local chapter of the Ethiopian World Federation
Ethiopian World Federation
Ethiopian World Federation, Incorporated - History :The Ethiopian World Federation, Incorporated , was originally a not-for-profit membership organization, incorporated in the State of New York, United States of America...
, Local 17, which however became dormant soon afterward, to be replaced by the more permanent Local 31.
Although not as much is known of his life as that of Howell (the most outspoken founder of Rastafari), Dunkley was reported as still alive as of 1991.