From the editor: The Old Testament (1. Kings X) supplies the key to the traditional beliefs that when the Queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that rare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. King Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country. According to the Ethiopians, Solomon also gave her a son, who, under the name of Menelik, became the first Emperor of Ethiopia. The official version of this tradition is contained in a work, much treasured, known as the Kebra-Negast or 'Glory of Kings', the standard edition of which dates back from the fourteenth century. This work is translated from a 'Coptic' original found before A.D. 325 amongst the treasure of St. Sophia of Constantinople. It takes up the rather sketchy Old Testament account and elaborates this into a lengthy story, which tells how the kings of Ethiopia, descendents of Solomon, were promised sovereignty over half the Universe.

What did Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia have in common? A love for the Kebra Negast, holy book of Ethiopian Christians and Jamaican Rastafarians. Contemporary scholars date the Kebra Negast to the 14th century, but it retells the stories of much earlier Biblical times, one very important story in particular. According to the Kebra Negast, the Israelites' Ark of the Covenant was spirited away to the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia by wise King Solomon's own son, offspring of the union between Solomon and the exotic Queen Makeda of Ethiopia (a.k.a. the Queen of Sheba). Gerald Hausman, a consummate storyteller of native traditions, presents the core narrative of the Kebra Negast, from Adam to the rise of Solomonid dynasty. On top of this, he injects his own encounters with Rastafarians during his travels in Jamaica--dreadlocked Rastas as modern-day Samsons, their unwavering faith in Jah, and a rare outsider's glimpse at the Nyabinghi ceremony. The combination of ancient tale and modern belief gives Hausman's Kebra Negast the rich flavor of enduring truth.

Pages: 203, Hardcover, 1st Issue
Special Interest: Apocrypha, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Rastafarian, Occult, Secret Orders & Societies, Forbidden Books, Banned Books, Magick, Ritual, Sorcery.